Speech by Dr Renwar Reben at Sydney Palm Sunday Rally 2003

The Western media have been trying hard to convince people that Kurdish are pro-war and pro-American, but the reality is different. Here there is a group of Kurds who are anti-America anti-Saddam and anti-war.

As you know, the first chapter of this conflict between two old friends is over.

Both of them are enemies of the Iraqi people with the victory of the American empire over Saddam's regime.
The second chapter of this conflict is almost starting, which is the conflict between what's in America agenda and the struggle of the Iraqi people for real freedom.

Even for the minority who believed America's propaganda of liberating the people of Iraq, at the start of war it became clear to them that what's in America's agenda is domination, power and oil, not liberation and freedom, as people can't be liberated by cruise missiles.

America, for its political and economic interest, supported the most brutal dictator for 35 years - the Baath Party and Saddam Hussain. America got him into power, supported him in his war against Iran, and provided him with chemical and biological weapons. George Bush senior vetoed the attempt by the UN Security Council to condemn Saddam's use of chemical bombs against the Kurds, which ended the lives of 18,200 innocent people. The Iraqi major NIZAR ALKAZRAJI who performed this crime against humanity is part of the pro-America coalition.

After the First Gulf War in 1991, with waves of uprising in Kurdistan and the South of Iraq against the Baath regime, America supported Saddam again against the struggle of the Iraqi and Kurdish people for freedom, gave Saddam full authority to use his ruthless military machine to create a bloodbath against Kurds and Shia.

America, by imposing economic sanctions, is responsible at least partially for the deaths of 1.5 million Iraqis from diseases, malnutrition and lack of medicine.

Radiation levels in some areas in Iraq are 84 times higher than the World Health Organization's safe limit. Rates of cancer have risen by 500% in Kurdistan as a result of radioactive pollution from depleted uranium weapons used by US and allied forces.

That's how America supported Saddam Hussain and how it drove the Iraqi people into disaster after disaster.
These tragedies caused by Saddam and America are not forgettable. What's the expected outcome of this war? It is America domination, oil control, total destruction of infrastructure of Iraq, killing and starving Iraqi people and replacing one dictator with another dictator. That's the agenda of the Coalition of Willing - Bush, Blair and Howard.

They want to continue their sanction on Iraq and oil for food program. They want to control the Iraqi economy and oil.

INC, the Iraqi National Congress, which call themselves Iraqi opposition - they are not any better than Saddam Hussain. They are a mixture of reactionary religious groups, nationalists, monarchists and former officers in the Iraqi army, who have committed crimes against the people of Iraq and Kurdistan.

Neither America nor the pro-American groups are acceptable to the people in Iraq. The Iraqi people want to determine their political future by themselves. They are struggling for real freedom, they won't accept another dictator.
This is a black and dark scenario. To prevent further genocide of the Iraqi people and forthcoming disasters, the people in Iraq need our help and support.

This black scenario can be avoided only by putting pressure on Bush - Blair - Howard to take their troops out of Iraq and the region now and leave the Iraqi people to determine their political future, and supporting the fair demands of Kurdish and Palestinian people for self-determination and freedom.

Long live the struggle of the Iraqi and Kurdish people for real freedom!

IRAQ FOR IRAQIS

TROOPS OUT NOW

Dr Renwar Reben is a member of the Executive Committee of the Anti-War Kurdish Progressive Committee, Sydney.

© Walk Against the War Coalition 2003.
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