'Peace mom' Cindy Sheehan returns from Jordan with a vital message, writes LOUISE NOUSRATPOUR.
Wednesday August 22, 2007
The Morning Star
US anti-war campaigner Cindy Sheehan issued an urgent clarion call on Tuesday for the British and US public to defy their warmongering leaders.
Speaking at a conference in London, Ms Sheehan said that Iraqi refugees whom she met on her recent visit to Jordan "want people in Britain and the US to rise up against their government and force an end to the occupation."
The high-profile "peace mom," whose son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004, stopped off in Britain on her return journey to the US from Jordan, where she met Iraqis dealing with the massive refugee crisis that has seen over 4.2 million people displaced by the war.
"They told us that what will help them the most is when the occupying forces leave and their country is stable enough for them to go back to," Ms Sheehan told the meeting organised by the Stop the War Coalition.
She urged Britain to join an international solidarity coalition with Iraqis, which was launched at the event to raise awareness about the crisis and to gather emergency aid.
"There is a humanitarian crisis in the Middle East that is destabilising the entire region," Ms Sheehan said.
"It started in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's spread to especially Syria and Jordan, who have taken the brunt of the refugees who are displaced outside the country.
"Iraqi refugees have no prospect of employment. Mothers and young girls are forced to prostitute themselves to feed their families, while millions are left without a home and children can't go to school."
A joint report by Oxfam and NGOs in Iraq found last month that a third of all Iraqis needed emergency aid because of the humanitarian crisis caused by war.
Around 43 per cent are living in absolute poverty and there has been a sharp increase in the number of children being born underweight or suffer malnutrition, the report warned.
US-based community group Hip Hop Caucus president Rev Lennox Yearwood, who accompanied Ms Sheehan on her humanitarian visit to Jordan, said: "This is not a cause. This is an emergency.
"Countries like Syria and Jordan are at a breaking point and desperately need more resources and international aid to cope with the crisis."
Ms Sheehan demanded that Britain and the US help with the emergency aid operation and take on more refugees from the area.
Britain approves a pathetic 12 per cent of Iraqi asylum claims, while the US has only accepted 250 of the 7,000 Iraqi refugees there. By comparison, Sweden has a 91 per cent refugee approval rate and has suspended forcible returns.
The solidarity coalition's first major event will be co-ordinated mass marches in the US and Iraq on September 15 - the week that US commander of the multinational force General David Petraeus is to give his "progress" report on the situation in Iraq.
"Our message on that day will be to end the war, not only to save the lives of our soldiers but to save the lives of those living in Iraq," Ms Sheehan said.
General Petaeus's report will be followed by a statement from Prime Minister Gordon Brown about the future of British troops in Iraq.
Stop the War Coalition convener Lindsey German, who chaired the meeting, said: "We want to hear Mr Brown announce that Britain will be withdrawing all troops from there."
Ms Sheehan went on to express US citizens' "disgust" at the Democrat Party, saying: "They were elected to Congress House to bring political change. Instead, they are co-operating with the much-hated Bush administration.
"Some 75 per cent of the US public are against the war, but the Democrats have failed to reflect this."
Asked if she was serious about her intention to stand against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, she replied: "I'm a very serious candidate for Congress and I believe I have a very good chance of beating her."
Ms Sheehan announced her candidacy last month, after Ms Pelosi rejected a one million-strong petition calling for the impeachment of US President George Bush for war crimes.
No comments:
Post a Comment