And, this petition seems well-intentioned enough, but to whom is it addressed? The kidnappers? How will you deliver it to them?
Liza
> From: mitchelcohen at mindspring.com
> Reply-To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 12:28:33 -0400
> To: free-our-friends at focusweb.org
> Subject: [lbo-talk] Petition to Free Italian and Iraqi Aid Workers Abducted in
> Baghdad
>
> I urge everyone to sign this petition. In addition to the statement below,
> which I agree with and wholeheartedly add my signature, I want to say that
> those who kidnapped and who are threatening to execute these anti-war
> activists in Iraq are most likely in the pay of the CIA, and at the very
> least are doing the work of the U.S. government by kidnappings and
> executions directed against civilian anti-war activists.
>
> - Mitchel Cohen
> Brooklyn Greens / Green Party of NY State, USA
>
>
>
> An Appeal for the Release the Italian and Iraqi Aid Workers Abducted in
> Baghdad:
>
> THEY ARE NOT INSTRUMENTS OF THE OCCUPYING FORCES
>
> We are individuals and organizations from around the world who opposed and
> continue to oppose the occupation of Iraq and we plead for the release of
> two Italian and two Iraqi humanitarian workers who were abducted in Iraq
> last September 7, 2004.
>
> Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both Italians, and Ra'ad Ali Abdul Azziz
> and Mahnoaz Bassam, both Iraqis, are members of Un Ponter Per Baghdad
> (Bridges to Baghdad) an independent Italian humanitarian organization that
> has been working in Iraq since 1992. During the embargo, other humanitarian
> organizations refused to operate in Iraq, Bridges defied that in the belief
> that the suffering of civilians should not be used as a political
> bargaining chip.
>
> In this occupation, the United States and its coalition cynically blurred
> the distinction between the humanitarian and the political, using aid and
> relief as an apparatus for pacifying the Iraqis. As a result, Iraqis have
> become increasingly and understandably suspicious of international
> humanitarian organizations. Despite the perils caused by this confusion,
> Bridges consciously decided to continue its operations in Iraq, convinced
> that Iraqis will see through their intentions.
>
> Bridges is not an instrument of the Italian government, nor of the US-led
> coalition, to make the occupation more bearable, and therefore, more
> acceptable to the Iraqis. From the very beginning, Bridges has been open
> and consistent with its positions: it opposed the embargo, it opposed the
> invasion, and it opposes the occupation. In Italy, Bridges has been a
> leading critic of the government's decision to join the US-led coalition.
>
> It plays a leading role in the nation-wide movement that mobilized over a
> million Italians to march against the war in February 15, 2003, as well as
> in various demonstrations after. Bridges has also been very active in the
> global anti-war movement, maintaining links with various anti-war
> organizations around the world and playing a key role in establishing the
> Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad, a center for monitoring the occupation
> founded by anti-war organizations and coalitions from different countries.
>
> Simona Turretta has spent a third of her life for Iraq; Simona Pari joined
> her in 2003. As chief of Bridges' in-country operations, Simona Turreta has
> been supervising projects to rehabilitate Iraq's decrepit water
> infrastructure and to repair school buildings. Among other things, Simona
> Pari was organizing educational programs for Iraq's traumatized children.
> Ra'ad is an Iraqi engineer who took charge of Bridges' school projects in
> Baghdad and Basra. Manaf was involved in the social programs.
>
> Aside from these projects, Bridges has also helped build the capacity of
> local Iraqi organizations to document and report cases of human rights
> abuses committed by occupation forces. In April this year, Bridges
> organized a humanitarian convoy that delivered food, water, blood, and
> medicine to civilians under siege in Fallujah. Last month, as US and Iraqi
> "interim government forces" mounted their offensive in Najaf, Bridges was
> also there, providing aid and assistance to Iraqis caught in the crossfire.
> Simona, Simona, Ra'ad and Mahnoaz are not enemies of the Iraqi people. They
> stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in calling for an immediate end to the
> occupation. We appeal to those holding them to release them immediately.
>
> We also call on the Italian government to immediately withdraw its
> membership in the US-led coalition. We call on the United States and the
> remaining members of the coalition to end the occupation.
>
> (To sign this appeal, please send an e-mail (copy this one) to
> free-our-friends at focusweb.org)
>
>
> SIGNED: Mitchel Cohen
> Organizations: Brooklyn Greens / Green Party of NY State, USA
>
>
>
>
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