Vienna: demo on the 15th anniversary of the first attack on Iraq
No to war, occupation, genocide, embargos and torture
17 January 2006 marks the 15th anniversary of the attack on Iraq by the West in 1991. The resulting embargo led to the worst food crisis, killing around 2 million people according to the United Nations.
Despite being a small minority, we demonstrated every year. The recent and illegitimate war in Iraq and the open claim for sole dominance turned the majority against the US-manipulations. Nevertheless the Austrian government keeps siding with Washington.
Torture prisons in Poland and Romania, secret air transports of prisoners over Europe – including Austria -, and the rejection to allow Haj Ali, the most prominent torture victim, entry into Austria; the list of the obvious subordination of Europe to the US torture regime does not stop here. Chancellor Schüssel did not even deem it necessary to ask for an explanation.
What characterises US-politics? War, both internally against its own minorities and externally together with its allies against the damned of this world. Violation of human rights, such as white phosphor in Falluja, abductions of “unwanted” persons by the US and their allies, such as in Iraq or in the US-supported Latin American dictatorships, and finally the torture and humiliation of those persons in CIA camps – Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo – or anywhere in the world.
The image of the good “democratic” West is tarnished by the photographs from Abu Ghraib, which show the painful and bloody face of the bellicose reality. It is perhaps for this reason that reports by the victims of this torture are unwanted in Europe. Thus, the request by Haj Ali was obediently rejected both in Italy and in the allegedly neutral Austria. Haj Ali, who became the symbol for the cruelty of US occupation in Iraq through the picture of him hooded and connected to electrodes in Abu Ghraib prison, is not allowed to speak out here. On the other hand, Talabani, the executor of American “democracy” in Iraq, received a highly official invitation to Austria.
The alleged opposition of some European countries against the bellicose US politics is obviously turning into a security strategy. Shortly after 9/11, the EU adopted the “black list”, which declared a majority of the worldwide resistance and independence movements as terrorists. Also, European states align themselves with Washington in threatening further “rogue states” in the Muslim and Arab world – such as Syria among others. Hence, under the Austrian EU presidency, a deepening of European-American relations is planned.
Consequently, the under international law illegitimate war on Iraq is legitimatised with hindsight, while a blind eye is turned to torture and war crimes. The cooperation even goes to the silent agreement on transports of prisoners over the allegedly neutral Austria.
We are now fighting for the right of the victims of the American torture regime to be heard, so that you cannot claim to not have known about what is going on.
Closure of Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and all US-torture prisons!
Peace through the end of occupation and through recognition of resistance as the true representation of the people!
Support the resistance of the Iraqi and Palestinian people!
Enough of the US terror-war, no new aggressions against “rogue states”!
No to the subordination under the American empire, for Austria’s neutrality!
Iraqi community
Palestinian community
Syrian community
Arab Palestine Club
Anti-imperialist Camp
Sedunia
