LOS ANGELES ACTIVIST LEADS CALIFORNIA DELEGATION OF RAMSEY CLARK'S SANCTIONS CHALLENGE IV: DELEGATION TO DEFY U.S. SANCTIONS AND BRING AID TO IRAQ AND PALESTINE ON 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF GULF WAR
9 Jan 2001--Defying U.S./UN sanctions, a group of over 50 delegates led by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark will depart from the United States for the Middle East on Jan. 12 and leave from Amman, Jordan to Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 13. The delegation from the U.S., including seven California residents, plans to arrive in Iraq to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the U.S.-led Gulf War.
This is the fourth Iraq Sanctions Challenge by Clark's International Action Center.
John Parker, co-coordinator of the Los Angeles chapter of the International Action Center, will lead the California delegation of residents from San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
Parker was one of the leading organizers of the protest at the Democratic National Convention here last August to free award-winning journalist and death row inmate, Mumia Abu-Jamal. He will be among many in the delegation who are anti-war and anti-sanctions activists, educators, students and members of religious groups. The delegation will defy U.S./UN imposed sanctions by taking supplies to Iraq without license.
"Unfortunately, the humanitarian aid we bring is not nearly sufficient in meeting the needs of the Iraqi people," said delegate John Parker. "This trip will once again expose the genocidal nature of the U.S. imposed sanctions against Iraq which does not allow the normal trade relations that could bring an end to the country's horrific economic situation. And that situation, according to the UN's own statistics, is killing over 4000 children per month."
"It boggles the mind," Parker continued, "but the truth is that more than 1 million Iraqi people, mostly children and seniors, died as a result of 10 years of U.S./UN sanctions."
The delegates plan to fly on Royal Jordanian Airlines directly to Baghdad. In recent months people from many countries, including UN Security Council countries Russia, Britain and France, Spain, Greece and many Middle East nations, have defied the U.S./British illegal ban on flights to Iraq.
After visiting Iraq, delegates plan to visit a Palestinian refugee camp in Amman, Jordan and then deliver medicines to the West Bank in solidarity with the uprising against Israeli occupation. The trip is sponsored by the International Action Center.
"As we had to in the previous Administration, we must remain on alert. One of the first statements made by George W. Bush's Secretary of State Nominee Gen. Colin Powell was to threaten tighter sanctions and increased aggression against Iraq. Since Powell headed the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Bush's father and commanded U.S. forces during the 1991 Gulf War this is very significant."
Further commenting on Powell's statement, Sara Flounders, one of the New York delegates and co-director of the International Action Center, said, "This demonstrates the great urgency for anti-war and anti- sanctions forces to stand up and mobilize right now. We must send a strong message to the incoming Bush administration that we won't tolerate further aggression against the Iraqi people.
"Jan. 16-17 is the tenth anniversary of the start of one of the worst massacres in history," Flounders continued. "More than 100,000 Iraqis were killed while the United States lost about 141 personnel in the Gulf War. The U.S. used an integrated strategy of massive bombing, more than 110,000 ariel sorties in 42 days, and tight economic sanctions in an effort to permanently weaken Iraq. Washington's goal has always been to return Iraq to semi-colonial bondage so that U.S. oil companies and banks can dominate its vast oil resources."
Parker said that the IAC is urging anti-sanctions activists to turn out en masse at two very important demonstrations. One is here in Los Angeles on January 16th at the Westwood Federal Building at 6 pm commemorating the 10th year anniversary against the bombing of Iraq. And, the national demonstration that has received much exposure is the Jan. 20 counter-inaugural protest in Washington and San Francisco.
Groups participating in the Iraq Sanctions Challenge include International Peace Project, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Student for Unity Portland State University, Veterans for Peace, Shifa International, Committee in Support of the Iraqi People, Fight Israeli State Terrorism (FIST), American Muslims for Global Peace & Justice, Canadian Islamic Congress, Al Awda, Bard Student Action Collective, Pax Christi, Arab Cultural Association of Japan, Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center and the American Muslim Council. Almost half the delegates are students and educators representing colleges and universities across the U.S.
For updates on the Iraq Sanctions Challenge or for information on planned protests, visit the Web site www.iacenter.org or call (213) 487-2368.
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