Stoppt den drohenden Irakkrieg
Friedensmission "in letzter Minute"
15.3.2003
Leo Gabriel aus Wien ist der Organisator des europäischen Teils der Friedensmission "in letzter Minute", an der sich auch bekannte Aktivsten aus den Philippinen, Thailand, Indonesien, Indien und Pakistan - unter ihnen Walden Bello - beteiligen.
Leos Mitarbeiterin in Wien informierte mich, dass er am vergangenen Samstag nach Bagdad geflogen ist. Wir werden auch Informationen der beteiligten thailändischen Organisation "Focus on Global South" (www.focusweb.org) in unsere homepage stellen.
Matthias Reichl
Lieber Matthias,
Ich weiß, dass ich in den paar Minuten, die es möglich ist, aus einem Hotel in Bagdad zu kommunizieren, keinen Abschlussbericht unserer Reise geben kann. Deshalb im Telegrammstil auf den Punkt gebracht:
1) Den Irak in der derzeitigen Verfassung militärisch besiegen zu wollen ist ein wahnsinniges Vorhaben. Im Süden können Bodentruppen relativ rasch vorrücken, aber über Bagdad müßte schon eine Wasserstoffbombe abgeworfen werden, um diese Festung von 5 Millionen Einwohnern einzunehmen.
2) Wenn Bush&Blair das trotzdem tun, dann müssen sie mit Vietnam II rechnen. Denn so sicher wie sie aus der ersten Phase als Sieger hervorgehen werden, so sicher ist auch der guerra popular prolongada (verlängerter Volkskrieg), der darauf folgen wird.
3) Das hat weniger mit der militärischen Stärke der irakischen Armee zu tun, als mit der Verteidigungsstrategie: es wird in der zweiten Phase einen Territorialkrieg geben, wo jeder Meter mehrfach kontrolliert ist. Man steigt auf jedem beliebigen Fleck im Land aus dem Auto aus und innerhalb von Sekunden sind Militärs, Baath-Parteigänger und Sicherheitsbeamte zur Stelle.
4) Das diktatorische System ist durch die US-Agression gestärkt worden. Der Zusammenhalt der Bevölkerung ist (mit Ausnahme der Gebiete im Norden) größer denn je.
Das alles bedeutet nichts Gutes: ein immenses Blutbad ist vorprogrammiert.
Morgen gibts eine große Friedensdemonstration im ganzen Land. Wir müssen alles daran setzen, dass der 15. und folgende eine Fortsetzung des 15. Februar wird. Der hat nämlich seine Wirkung getan. Das weiß man auch hierzulande und hat uns deshalb mit großem Respekt empfangen, obwohl wir mit unserer Meinung bezüglich ..... nicht hinter dem Berg gehalten haben.
Mit herzlichen Grüßen an alle Daheimgebliebenen.
Leo Gabriel
dzt. Koordinator einer ESF-WSF (Europäisches und Welt-Sozialforum) - Delegation im Irak
Per e-mail am 14.3.2003 um 19.39 erhalten.
Weitere Berichte siehe auch Die letzten Tage der Menschlichkeit
Erste Presseaussendung der asiatischen Delegation:
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Focus on Global South
Website: www.focusweb.org
11 March 2003
Asian peace mission flies to Iraq in last-ditch effort to stop war
WHILE EMBASSY STAFF, migrant workers, and other international non-government organizations are packing up to leave Iraq, a group of prominent Asian intellectuals, parliamentarians, civil society leaders, and activists are flying to Baghdad in a desperate last-ditch effort to avert the war.
Composed of delegates from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and Pakistan, the team will be in Iraq from March 14 to 18. The peace mission hopes to express a powerful last-minute appeal to prevent war through a strong symbolic action at a critical time. It will serve as a live message of solidarity from fellow Asians to the Iraqi people in their hour of need.
While in Baghdad, the team will visit hospitals, orphanages, schools, and interact with Iraqi civilians who will likely be killed as "collateral damage" when the bombs start to rain down on their city. US war plans call for the launching of 3,000 cruise missiles for Baghdad in the first 48 hours and US generals have been quoted as saying that civilian casualties will be inevitable consequences of the looming war. According to the military officer who drew up the strategy, the effect would be "rather like the nuclear weapons at Hiroshima."
The mission members will also hold dialogues with officials from UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations who have warned that a war on Iraq will have catastrophic consequences for the Iraqi people.
The peace mission will link up with a number of other contingents who are also currently in Baghdad. This includes a Thai parliamentary and civil society delegation, an international peace delegation from Europe headed by Austrian activist Leo Gabriel, and the Iraqi Peace Teams organized by the American organization Voices in the Wilderness.
"The clouds of war may now be about to burst, but so long as there is the slightest sliver of hope for peace, we must be prepared to seize it or history will never forgive us. This is the desperate dream that animates this mission," says Prof. Walden Bello, one of Asia¹s most recognized progressive intellectuals and executive director of Focus on the Global South.
Leading the mission is Congressman Loretta Ann Rosales, who was among those who fought the Marcos dictatorship and is now the Akbayan! party-list representative in the Philippine Congress. The composition of the peace mission reflects the growing anxiety about escalating tension and hostilities in a number of countries in Asia. Among its members include Hussin Amin, a parliamentarian from the Philippine province of Sulu, who opposes the scheduled deployment of US combat troops to wage war against the extremist Abu Sayaff group.
The mission also includes two former high-ranking military officers from a potential flashpoint of war, India and Pakistan, and who have since become committed and outspoken peace activists. Zulfiqar Gondal is a retired Major and is now a Member of Parliament of Pakistan. Retired Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas¹ was former chief of the Indian Navy and is now very active in anti-war organizations.
In Baghdad, the mission will link up with members of the Nonviolent Peaceforce from South Korea, which is now getting more and more worried about the heightening conflict between North Korea and the United States.
Another member of the team, Dita Sari, is a prominent labor leader from Indonesia, the world¹s largest Muslim country. Jaran Ditapichai is National Human Rights Commissioner of Thailand. Among those who will be affected adversely by this war will be migrant contract workers in the Middle East from countries like Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines.
After the mission, the members of the delegation are expected to issue a report and conduct speaking tours in their respective countries, in Asia, and other parts of the world to share their experiences. In addition, a documentary report to be prepared by a professional television team that will be accompanying the mission will be broadcast and distributed around the region End
LIST OF MISSION MEMBERS
1. Congressman Hussin Amin, Philippine House of Representatives
2. Dr Walden Bello, Executive Director, Focus on the Global South
3. Jaran Ditapichai, National Human Rights Commissioner (Thailand)
4. Zulfiqar Gondal, Member of Parliament, Pakistan
5. Admiral (Ret.) Laxminarayan Ramdas, former chief of the Indian Navy
6. Congresswoman Loretta Rosales, Akbayan! party-list representative and head of the Committee on Human Rights, Philippine House of Representatives
7. Dita Sari, respected labor leader from Indonesia
SPEAKERS:
1. Cong. Loretta Ann P. Rosales (Akbayan! party-list representative)
2. Dr. Walden Bello, Executive Director Focus on the Global South
3. Cong. Hussin Amin (1st district, Sulu)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact Focus on the Global South:
Marylou Malig
marylou@focusweb.org
+63-917-8996568
+63-2-4330899
+63-2-8420463
Herbert Docena
herbert@focusphilippines.org
+63-917-8130877
+63-2-4330899
+63-2-414-2916
Focus on the Global South (FOCUS)
c/o CUSRI, Chulalongkorn University
Bangkok 10330 THAILAND
Tel: 662 218 7363/7364/7365/7383
Email: marylou@focusweb.org
Website: www.focusweb.org
put on the internet by M.Reichl 16.03.2003