We call on those states responsible for the invasion and occupation of Iraq to terminate their illegal and immoral war, and express our solidarity with the Iraqi people in their struggle for peace, justice and self-determination.

In particular, we demand:

  1. An immediate end to the US and UK-led occupation of Iraq;
  2. Urgent action to fully address the current humanitarian crises facing Iraq’s people, including help for the more than three million refugees and displaced persons;
  3. An end to all foreign interference in Iraq's affairs, including its oil industry, so that Iraqis can exercise their right to self-determination;
  4. Compensation and reparations from those countries responsible for war and sanctions on Iraq;
  5. Prosecution of all those responsible for war crimes, human rights abuses, and the theft of Iraq's resources.

We demand justice for Iraq.

This statement was adopted by the Justice for Iraq conference in London on 19th July 2008. We plan to publish this more widely in future. If you would like to add your name to the list of supporters please contact us.

Friday 8 January 2016

Iraq Occupation Focus Newsletter No 291

Iraq Occupation Focus www.justiceforiraq.blogspot.co.uk
Newsletter No. 291 December 9th, 2015
 
Iraq summons Turkish ambassador to demand withdrawal of troops
Reuters report (December 5th): Iraq’s foreign ministry has summoned the Turkish ambassador to demand that Turkey immediately withdraw hundreds of troops deployed to northern Iraq, near the Islamic State controlled city of Mosul.
Sunnis suffer abuse in areas taken from ISIL Al Jazeera reports (December 4th): Sunni Muslims are facing forced evictions, abductions, and other serious human rights abuses in areas of Iraq freed from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) control, the United Nations said.
Gov't siege of Fallujah starving local population AlAraby report (December 3rd): Locals in the IS-controlled Iraqi city of Fallujah could soon starve to death if government forces continue a siege of the city, leaders in the city have said.
We don't need foreign troops to fight ISIL AlJazeera reports (December 2nd): Iraq has said that any deployment of foreign troops on its soil cannot happen without approval of its government.The Iraqi prime minister's comments came in response to the earlier announcement by Ashton Carter, US defence secretary, that the US will deploy "specialised" troops to Iraq to help fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Iraq UN Security Council reports (December 2nd): Iraq has been engulfed in a wave of violence with dramatic consequences for children, states the second report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Iraq, covering the period from 1 January 2011 to 30 June 2015. Killing and maiming, acts of extreme violence, the abduction of close to 1,400 boys and girls, recurrent attacks on schools and hospitals, the recruitment and use of children and sexual violence used as a tactic of war by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are a few examples of the grim reality faced by the children of Iraq.
Iraqis think the U.S. is in cahoots with the Islamic State, and it is hurting the war Washington Post reports (December 1st): On the front lines of the battle against the Islamic State, suspicion of the United States runs deep. Iraqi fighters say they have all seen the videos purportedly showing U.S. helicopters airdropping weapons to the militants, and many claim they have friends and relatives who have witnessed similar instances of collusion.Ordinary people also have seen the videos, heard the stories and reached the same conclusion — one that might seem absurd to Americans but is widely believed among Iraqis — that the United States is supporting the Islamic State for a variety of pernicious reasons that have to do with asserting U.S. control over Iraq, the wider Middle East and, perhaps, its oil.
US Special Operations Forces Expanding in Iraq to Battle ISIS CBC reports (December 1st): Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Congress that the U.S. would establish a special operations "targeting force" in Iraq as part of the intensified military effort to fight ISIS.
Civilian deaths reported in Iraqi army shelling Al Jazeera report s (November 30th): At least five civilians including a child have died following Iraqi army shelling on residential areas in and around the city of Fallujah, medical sources say.

No comments: