Stop the War - Stop the Slaughter - End the Occupation!

Workers' Daily Internet Edition News Release: Article Index :

April 12, 2003, National Demonstration:
Stop the War - Stop the Slaughter - End the Occupation!

Speeches at Hyde Park, April 12, 2003

Worldwide Actions Oppose US Occupation of Iraq

Profits from the Iraq War?

Southall Meeting Pays Tribute to Indian Martyrs

Report by Stop the War Coalition

Over 200,000 people demonstrated in Central London on Saturday to call for an end to the occupation of Iraq. The demonstration was jointly organised by the Stop the War Coalition, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Muslim Association of Britain.

A massive crowd in Hyde Park heard a range of speakers, including Pakistani cricketer, Imran Khan, denounce Tony Blair and George Bush and their lies about "liberating" the Iraqi people while bombing and shooting them, and their claims that Iraq had "weapons of mass destruction". Britain and the US have nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

The anti-war movement has been vindicated in the most tragic way, as Blair and his cabinet are responsible for a humanitarian catastrophe.

The speakers called for Blair to resign and for all British and American troops to leave the Gulf immediately, to tremendous applause.

People brought flowers, cards and wreaths to lay outside 10 Downing Street as we walked past. We also stopped both demonstrations as they arrived at Parliament and held a minute's silence in memory of all those who have died so far in Iraq.

This was one of many international demonstrations against the War on Iraq taking place on or around the April 12.

Andrew Murray, for the co-organisers Stop the War Coalition, said we were marching today against the continuing war in Iraq, which was illegal and based on the fraud of "weapons of mass destruction". He spoke of the danger of the war spreading to Syria and Iran and other countries and said we must fight to stop this. Iraq was under military occupation and the effect of this would bring chaos and bloodshed to the Middle East for years to come.

Anas Altikviti of the Muslim Association of Britain said that the warmongers would have blood on their hands, on their consciences, for ever and their reputations would be ruined. Once more, he said, London had been brought to a standstill, with all creeds, all social classes marching shoulder to shoulder. The war remained immoral and we must say No to occupation.

Dr Doud Abdullah of the Muslim Council of Britain said that what had happened in Iraq bore all the hallmarks of colonialism. Killing and bloodletting continued and the political authority of the land of Iraq had been usurped. There was now a race to grab the economic resources of the Iraqi people. The issue was oil not "weapons of mass destruction". He called for an immediate end to the military occupation of Iraq and the withdrawal of all foreign troops. For too long the Iraqi people had suffered meddling from foreign powers, which had brought only turmoil and misery to the region. Algeria had been conquered by the French in the name of "democracy and freedom" and had remained under their rule for 135 years. The British in 1915 had implanted a cancer in the Arab lands. For 60 years there had been war after war. He said he was concerned for the future of Iraq. Military occupations only led to bloodshed, he said, citing the military occupation of Palestinian lands as an example.

Anita Halpin of the National Union of Journalists condemned the war as an outrage. She pointed out that the first British casualty had been a journalist, an NUJ member. She spoke of the increasing attacks on journalists covering conflicts since the bombing of Serb TV five years ago. One way of control was the so-called "embedding" of journalists in the military. She pointed out that the bombing of Al Jazeera in Kabul and now in Baghdad as well as the attack on the Palestine Hotel was illegal under the Geneva Convention, under which civil installations were protected. She said her union opposed the war and called to Bring British Troops Home Now.

Alistair Mackie of CND, describing himself as a former military man, said he was ashamed of the way the forces were being used. He said war was hardly done and there was looting, anarchy and further deaths. The only "weapons of mass destruction" evident were Anglo-American. The USA, he said, was extending its Empire. Afghanistan was a puppet and now Iraq was a puppet. The Caspian region of the former Soviet Union was also ripe for colonial conquest. We ain’t seen nothing yet, he said.

Three school students, Hannah, Sinead and Catherine, spoke passionately against the war. Hannah spoke of the school student protests which had been so condemned in the media. If Iraqi children are old enough to blow up, she said, we are old enough to protest about it! She said we need liberating from the Murdoch press.

Sinead spoke of the students at her school being in mourning, but bigger than that was the anger. They did not support the war being fought in their name, she said. Pointing out that her generation had been portrayed as "apathetic", she asked if they were so apathetic now! School students, she said, looked forward to a much better world, a world without war.

Catherine asked if a school had been bombed in Central London, would it be described as "collateral damage"? She said school students were not stupid. This would affect us for years, she said. Education should be freed up. Money should be spent on education, not killing. School students would not forget, she said, "Tony Blair your time will come!"

Former Labour Party leader Michael Foot said this latest march was even more important than those before. We must go on protesting, he said. The events being perpetrated in our name were even more criminal than those we protested about 20 years ago. The greatest test was would the world survive. The weapons of mass destruction were more dangerous than ever. It was most shameful that the work of the weapons inspectors had been put aside. They had shown there were no such weapons in Iraq, but there were certainly weapons of mass destruction in Israel, Britain and especially the USA, where an even fiercer breed were being developed. All these weapons must be done away with.

In a message to the rally Tam Dalyell MP pointed out that while not protecting hospitals in Baghdad, the US troops had protected the Ministry of Oil. If the march achieved nothing else, he wrote, it would show the support there was for the position that US aggression was totally unacceptable.

In another message Alice Mahon MP wrote that the demonstration today was even more necessary than those before. Iraq had been occupied not liberated. There was not even order. Civilians had been killed in their thousands. You are still the conscience of the country, she said.

Tony Kearns of the Communication Workers Union condemned the obscene gloating over the war. So much for peace, he said, all was death and destruction, violence and looting, doctors having to protect hospitals with rifles. It was not liberation but humiliation for the Iraqi people. The US Army was an army of occupation. Illegal war was now illegal occupation. Only the Iraqi people could liberate Iraq. The CWU had called on all its branches to support the movement against the war.

Hafief Shakira of the Iraqi Islamic Party said that the departure of Saddam Hussein was a lesson to all dictators. The USA had installed him, supported him, and then got rid of him. His party was against Saddam Hussein, against the occupation by Anglo-American forces, against the replacement of one dictatorship by another. The USA and Britain were morally and legally responsible for the anarchy and chaos, he pointed out, and must provide essential food, water and medical aid for the population. He appealed to the international community to stand by the Iraqi people. The USA and Britain had no right to determine the future of either the politics or the oil of Iraq. This right belonged only to the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people had always opposed foreign occupation, he said. Freedom for Iraq!

Aqif Busa representing the Kurdish National Congress said that the Kurds would never forget Saddam Hussein’s crimes against them, crimes supported at the time by the USA and Britain. He said there could be no peace in the Middle East until the Palestinian issue was resolved, and also the Kurdish issue. We must continue the fight, he said, we are the majority.

Campaigning journalist Felicity Arbuthnot said we are all Palestinians, Iraqis, Arabs. These are dark times, she said, but this war for oil will be defeated. If not, it would leave a legacy of hate. This "crusade" by two so-called Christian leaders must be stopped. How ironic was Tony Blair’s phrase about being "on the road to Damascus". We will win, she said.

Susan Kasim, describing herself as a British citizen with family in Baghdad, spoke movingly of her 11 relatives killed in the current aggression. "Winning hearts and minds", she said, was more accurately broken hearts and destroyed minds. "Freedom" was thousands of dead bodies. How dare Geoff Hoon say this was "justified"! Today, she said, all colours and creeds had come together to protest. We must demand justice and honour for blood. The aggressors were all criminals!

Alan Simpson MP said the war was being paid for in the lives of children. This march, he said, was the real London Marathon. What had started as opposition to the war on Iraq was now opposition to the wars which would follow. We were here for the long haul, he said. The war on Iraq was illegal, against international law. There should be trials for the war criminals, he said, as well as those who dropped illegal cluster bombs. He pointed out that the US Army was issuing cards to its troops of those to be assassinated on sight. Assassination after conflict was in breach of the Geneva Conventions, he said. He also pointed out that to fail to meet the responsibility of occupiers to maintain civil peace for the civilian population was a criminal act under the Conventions. Describing how he had seen weapons of mass destruction being developed in the USA he pointed out that any rulings regarding such weapons must begin with the rich and powerful. He said the international peace movement must stop the warmongers.

Former Pakistan test cricket captain and now prominent politician Imran Khan said he was grateful for the opportunity to register his protest against the illegal war on Iraq. He said that weaker countries were now petrified by the way international law was being by-passed. The UN had been set up after the Second World War in order to prevent a Third World War and to resolve conflicts peacefully. It was now fatally wounded by US action, which had established the principle that "Might Makes Right". They had set a new doctrine of pre-emption, of the strong attacking the weak who in future, so they claimed, might be a threat to them. This latest war, he said, was first justified as being against "terrorism", then against "weapons of mass destruction", then for "liberation and true democracy". Pakistan was thus vulnerable, he said. It already had weapons of mass destruction and it was accused of harbouring terrorists. He said protest was right even when this war was finished. It was essential. The hawks in Washington were emboldened by their attack on Afghanistan and now on Iraq. The question was where next? He congratulated the marchers for continuing their protest when the war on Iraq was almost over and when there was the difficulty of British troops still fighting. They were standing for something much bigger, something far-reaching for the world. It was important, he said, to build the international institutions. One country could not be judge, jury and executioner.

Ann Quesne of the Land Mines Campaign spoke of the terrible dangers posed by the cluster bombs used in Iraq. She called for the outlawing of such bombs and for humanitarian laws governing their clear up and compensation for victims. She said that the Ministry of Defence was responsible for their effects and denounced Geoff Hoon for his shameful hypocrisy.

Bernard Regan of Palestine Solidarity Campaign called for support for the May 17 Trafalgar Square Rally. Of George W Bush’s "roadmap" three points he said firstly that "terrorist violence" could be stopped by the Israeli army withdrawing from Palestinian lands; secondly that "an independent Palestinian state" was a right not an option; and thirdly that "effective Palestinian security" could only come with an end to the Israeli veto on discussions and recognition of the Palestinian right of self-determination.

Sue Doughty of the Liberal Democrats said that 75% of the world was against the US and British action, which was illegal and cruel. It should end now. It would cause damage for years to come and was a disgrace to the country and people. The UN must be allowed in to Iraq to provide aid. She asked where next for the Coalition: Syria, Iran? She said the answer must be No. She asked when would the so-called "roadmap" for Palestine begin and demanded justice for the Palestinian people. She pointed out that Afghanistan was suffering the after-effects of its war where the aggressors had caused such suffering and then just walked away. She called for an end to arms sales and for a Budget for peace not war. She said we must stand by the people of the Middle East.

In a message to the rally Glenda Jackson MP said the US and British actions were as illegal now as they were before. She wrote that she was deeply ashamed of the Labour government.

Haifa Zengana, an Iraqi exile novelist, said that the majority of Iraqis were not celebrating now. They were busy burying their dead, searching for their beloved ones, mourning death and watching in horror at the disruption and destruction of their cities, including precious historical sites. She denounced Geoff Hoon for saying the looting was the people "liberating what was owned by the Iraqi regime". What if the British Museum, the Tate, were looted? Would he say the same? She denounced the British Army for abusing in the most filthy manner respected elders in Basra who had volunteered to help restore order. She said the Iraqi people were proud people who would not allow themselves to be subjected to occupation.

Jeremy Corbyn MP said we mourned all those five thousand or so Iraqis who had already died, some from illegal cluster bombs and depleted uranium. We should oppose the continued occupation. The price of war, he said, was paid by the poorest. War could have been avoided. The USA knew this. Tony Blair knew this. War and occupation had the aim of pumping oil. It was no accident the US troops had by-passed the cities and headed straight for the oilfields. The troops, he said, had an obligation to defend the hospitals and other facilities of the people. The real looters were those preparing to loot the oil. US aims were clear, he said. They would choose a government and would impose on the Iraqi people an unpayable debt which would impoverish the people for decades. He said in the wider context we were seeing the reimposition of Western imperialist power. The deaths will continue. But the movement for peace, justice and liberty will also continue. We will outlive the militarists, he said.

Darren Johnson of the Green Party said that his party had denounced the war on Iraq as illegal and immoral before, during and now with the continuing conflict. The tyranny of Saddam Hussein had been replaced by the tyranny of illegal occupation by the USA. International law had descended into anarchy. It was a dangerous precedent. Where next, he asked? Would the innocents be slaughtered in North Korea, Syria, Iran? The war was supposed to be against terrorism. Was it now less likely? It was then against "weapons of mass destruction". None had been found and now Hans Blix was accusing the US of fabrication. There were however such weapons in Britain! But the peace movement was growing stronger. Britain must get rid of its weapons of mass destruction, he said, and we must get rid of Tony Blair!

Mark Seddon, Editor of Tribune, also mentioned that Hans Blix had accused the US of fabricating evidence. He said that if the US cannot find such weapons they will plant them. He said the war had been a "wake-up call" to people across the world. US hawks were talking of the "American century" and were planning permanent war unless we stopped them. He said if asked why we were here after Baghdad had fallen, the answer was to stop the next war. War was not worth the limbs of one Iraqi child or one British soldier, he said. He urged marchers to write to Tony Blair protesting against the proposed suspension of George Galloway and Tam Dalyell from the Labour Party.

Former MP Tony Benn said there were three things we must all do. One was to understand that the US had invaded Iraq and turned it into a US colony. The new Iraq was totally undemocratic, occupied by troops with weapons of mass destruction and a threat to its neighbours, especially Syria. And there was serious looting going on – of Iraqi oil! All imperialists, he said, presented themselves as humanitarians. But a people enslaved cannot be liberated by an enemy who steals their possessions. Secondly we must build on the fantastic support for the anti-war movement. Never had he seen this size of a movement. We must build on the friendship of so many people. The Muslims in Britain had millions of friends. Millions of Americans supported us too, with George W Bush even cutting benefits to Vietnam veterans to finance the war. Thirdly we must act. Britain was a US colony. We must free ourselves from domination. The bases must be closed. We must pin our hopes on the UN, which must be made democratic with members bound to obey its laws. Most importantly, the movement must be kept alive. It is the only power able to control the new Empire. The people of the world must unite.

Michel Massih, a Palestinian QC, said the war was not over. It was illegal and immoral. He pointed out that one country had breached every UN resolution about it and that was Israel. If George W Bush was looking for war criminals he had no need to find Saddam Hussein, he could have Ariel Sharon. Israeli occupation had uprooted the Palestinian people from their lands. Free Palestine!

Lindsey German of Stop the War Coalition said that when the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad was pulled down by a US tank there had been talk of "liberation" and the "true voice of the Iraqi people". Three days later the Red Cross were talking of a catastrophe! We were facing a new American century of barbarism and war. They had deliberately attacked Al Jazeera. The US were colonial occupiers and were setting up a gangster regime headed by a pro-Israeli retired general and a convicted fraudster. It was a war of the rich against the poor. It was back to a world of Empire, with the British superseded by the Americans. The USA, she said, will not win the peace, they would not win hearts and minds. This movement was most remarkable. She said the war had been based on a lie – of weapons of mass destruction. But they had not been found. The truth was such weapons were in the hands of the US and Britain. Now they were threatening to attack Syria and Iran. We were entering a period where the US was attempting to reshape the world in its own image. We must oppose this. Our government was not acting in our name. She said that the movement must continue. We must march every time they go to war. She called to End the Occupation of Iraq Now! Bring the Troops Home!

Faziah Ibrahim, an Iraqi exile college lecturer, said he shed no tears for the fallen regime, but for those the invaders had claimed to liberate. It was an imperialist war of conquest, he said. What was not destroyed by bombs was now being destroyed by thieves and looters. The forces did not protect the hospitals. The breakdown of law and order, the incitement to sectarian violence, was a deliberate policy, he said. It had been a showcase of the might of the US. But the world had said No! No to imperialist war.

George Galloway MP began by saying he would not take lectures in patriotism from the likes of Rupert Murdoch, a man who had been a "patriot" of three countries in fifteen years! He said he would not be silenced either from the sewer or the gutter press. And he would not be silenced by the Labour Party leadership either! He said Mr Blair wished to throw him out of the House of Commons. Clearly he wanted free speech in Baghdad but not in the British Parliament. He hoped every person there would write to Tony Blair that they would not accept the moves against himself and Tam Dalyell. On Wednesday, he said, they were gloating. But how Pyrrhic the victory! Was Tony Blair proud of what he had done to the Iraqi people? Every dead Iraqi, maimed and wounded, every building destroyed would be on his conscience for the rest of his life! The blood of the Iraqi people would stain his hands and all the perfumes of Arabia would not cleanse them. He asked of the maiming of a little Iraqi boy, was this the disarming of Iraq? He said the biggest looters were still to come. They would wear not the rags of the poor but the pinstriped suits of Wall Street and the City. He said it had already been decided that the new currency of Iraq would be the US dollar, and that the oil would be privatised under the likes of Exxon, Shell and BP. Contracts to rebuild Iraq were already agreed before they had finished destroying it. He said just as the Palestinians had resisted foreign occupation, so would the Iraqis resist US and British occupation. And we resisting in Britain would not go away either.

A 16-year–old Iraqi girl, a supporter of the Muslim Association of Britain, called for Free Iraq and Free Palestine! She said Baghdad was the cradle of civilisation. It had been invaded by the Moguls and destroyed once before. The war was illegal, she said, we would not forget or forgive. It was not a war of liberation but of conquest. It was based on lies. The US and Britain were as Saddam Hussein. We must continue to march and demonstrate.

Louise Christian, the human rights lawyer, said she knew only three lawyers who considered the war legal: the Attorney General, his adviser, and the Prime Minister’s wife! Hans Blix had now said the whole thing was planned in advance. The whole world knew it was not lawful. The US list of potential assassinations gave a clear message to Ariel Sharon, she said. Cluster bombs had been used, as was depleted uranium, and journalists had been targeted. All were unlawful and morally repugnant. She said that she was representing nine British citizens imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. The US was here in breach of international law and the British government would do nothing. Tony Blair, Geoff Hoon, Lewis Moody, Jack Straw, were all war criminals, she said. The International Criminal Court should do something.

A message from the Iraqi Communist Party said that the Iraqi people did not want one dictator replaced by another. The US and Britain as occupying powers were responsible for the population. Their party would politically mobilise for a free and democratic Iraq.

Handi Sedam, an Egyptian MP, speaking in Arabic, said the Egyptian people stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of the world against the US and British aggression. Thousands of Egyptians had taken to the streets. Speeches had called for another "Hyde Park" in Cairo! He said the Arab peoples rejected the occupation of Iraq.

A representative of the Workers’ Communist Party of Iraq said the Iraqi people had a simple message to Bush and Blair. Leave Iraq immediately! He said they did not want one bunch of dictators replaced by another. The people must decide. The war was immoral and illegal, against humanity. Bush and Blair were war criminals.

Dr Siddiqui of the Muslim Parliament pointed out that Saddam Hussein had been brought to power by the US as a butcher to attack Iran. He said if Saddam Hussein was brought to trial then Reagan, Bush senior and Rumsfeld should join him in the dock. He denounced the plans for occupation, for an Iraq run by big business. The anti-war movement, he said, was the great hope. It had inspired people in the Arab world. Arab civilisation had inspired Europe and now the favour was being returned. And the Arab leaders must listen to the people, he said.

Veteran peace campaigner Bruce Kent said that he had studied law as a young man. To kill deliberately without legal authority was murder. Tony Blair must be brought before the International Criminal Court. And Bush must be tried at a Special Citizens Tribunal, as the US was not a signatory. It was not true, he said, that there was only one superpower. There is you, he said! We must unite to build a world of peace and justice. We can live as human beings. Get involved!

Paul Mackney of NATFHE denounced the hypocrisy of Tony Blair and his Ministers. He asked why the government could find money for war but not for universities. He denounced the slaughter, destruction and chaos in Iraq and the big looting of the oil which was about to begin. He said a war crime had been committed. It was an ignominious moment in British history. We must continue to demonstrate, he said, we can change things.

On April 12, militant anti-war protests took place in more than 60 countries against the US occupation of Iraq.

Some 30,000 people demonstrated in Washington, DC, on April 12 against the US-British invasion and occupation of Iraq. The demonstration, which coincided with the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and G7 finance ministers, targeted the offices of the corporations and mass media that have either profited from the invasion and occupation or served as the principal purveyors of the lies and disinformation in the service of the war machine, including the Carlyle Group, Fox News, the Justice Department and FBI, the White House, Bechtel, the Washington Post, the New York Times and the office of Halliburton. The International A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, which organised the action, reports, "The demonstrators... asserted that the Bush administration was engaged in a strategy of endless war that would further target Syria, Iran, southern Lebanon, Palestine, north Korea, the Philippines, Colombia, Zimbabwe and other countries that sought to achieve national liberation and independence or sovereign control over their own resources." It further said, "Although the US corporate-dominated media has proclaimed that the US-British invasion of Iraq and accompanying slaughter of Iraqis is a victory, people all over the world took to the streets today proving the continuation the massive peace and social-justice movement that swiftly emerged in recent months as a direct response to the Bush administration's war drive." The Coalition reports, "DC police forces carried out a series of unprovoked attacks against the demonstrators, using clubs and pepper spray as they assaulted people who were chanting 'Stop the US War Machine, from Iraq to Korea to the Philippines.'" Actions were also organised in Los Angeles, San Francisco and many other US cities.

Actions were held in more than 30 cities and towns across Canada from Halifax to Vancouver.

More than half a million people demonstrated in the streets of Rome, organisers reported. According to a poll published in the Corriere della Sera newspaper, 60 per cent of Italians interviewed upheld the necessity to continue protesting wars of aggression. News agencies report that 200,000 people demonstrated in Barcelona chanting "Aznar resign!" in response to Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's support for the US-British invasion of Iraq despite its rejection by the vast majority of the Spanish people. Some 200,000 took to the streets of Madrid, organisers said. In Paris, more than 10,000 rallied behind a banner: "Iraq to the Iraqis." In Berlin some 15,000 anti-war protesters demonstrated at the Brandenburg Gate.

Thousands of people marched from Mandi House to the US Information Services (USIS) in New Delhi. Talking to IRNA during the march, G N Saibaba, secretary of All India Peoples Resistance Forum (AIPRF), said war against Iraq is not final and some other countries will now be targeted in the form of neo-colonialism and imperialism. Explaining the form of US invasion, he said neo-colonialists are trying to completely destroy the local industry and are helping their multinational corporations. He said US and British forces are abetting and encouraging hooligans and looters to carry on lawlessness and creating a chasm within Iraqi society by trying to divide Iraqis along communal and sectarian lines. The protesters came from Punjab and Haryana and New Delhi wearing "No War" shirts, IRNA reports. The demonstration was closely watched by Delhi Police and the protesters were stopped at Tolstoy Road before the USIS centre where they burned the effigy of US President George W Bush. Later a delegation comprised of members of the World Peoples Resistance Movement (WPRM) and Forum Against Imperialist Aggression on Iraq, among others, went to the UN centre in New Delhi to submit a memorandum addressed to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan demanding the immediate withdrawal of Anglo-American military forces and their occupation project in Iraq. They demanded that the UN General Assembly be called for an emergency session and the US and British governments be held responsible for the illegal occupation. The US and Britain should be made to pay compensation for the destruction of infrastructure of Iraq, they said.

Some 300,000 people marched in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 12 to protest against the invasion of Iraq in the biggest demonstration in the country since the US-British aggression began, news agencies report. The protesters carried banners and posters with anti-war slogans, including, "Peace, no war", "Hands off Iraq", "Save the world", "Stop killing women and children in Iraq", "Withdraw US bases from the Middle East". The protesters shouted slogans such as "Down with imperialism", "World's people be free" and "Disarm USA". Before the start of the march, various political parties held rallies where speakers called on the people to raise their voices against the US-led aggression. An "anti-imperialism dais" was set up in a main intersection where literary and art workers staged anti-war street theatre. Various professional groups formed human chains against the invasion of Iraq.

Actions were also held in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Burma (Myanmar), Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ecuador, Finland, Greece, Guatemala, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Mexico, Morocco, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yemen.

ANALYSIS: Deutsche Presse-Agentur, April 12, 2003

The US guns were still roaring in Iraq when the US Defence Department began awarding reconstruction contracts to large American corporations and members of the US Congress began asking if there might be something fishy about such lucrative financial dealings.

The most conspicuous of those deals was the 7 billion dollar two-year contract awarded by the US Corps of Engineers to a subsidiary of the Halliburton Corporation, the company that was formerly headed by US Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Two members of Congress asked the General Accounting Office, the watchdog arm of the US Congress, to look into whether the corporation had received preferential treatment, at the expense of other companies.

The contract was for fighting and extinguishing oil-well fires in Iraq, something that few companies are equipped to do. The Corps of Engineers said in a response to the congressmen that the contract was awarded without competition because speed was necessary.

As it turns out, however, there are no oil well fires in Iraq. The horrendous clouds of black smoke around Iraqi cities comes from trenches filled with oil and then ignited by the Iraqis as a means of blinding American laser-guided weapons.

One American defence contractor who asked not to be identified said there is essentially no oil well fire extinguishing work to be done in Iraq and most of the reconstruction work will be the kind that any large international firm could handle.

The way that the Halliburton subsidiary's contract was drawn up, according to the contractor, it adds up to a blank check for general construction over a two-year period, allowing for 7 percent profit above costs of 490 million dollars.

The Halliburton companies were not chosen for other reconstruction contracts, but other large companies with close connections to the Republican White House were picked by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Administration officials have responded that such jobs require experience, expertise and the size to handle large demanding jobs, and it should not be surprising that businessmen who run such firms have natural affinities for the conservative Republican party.

Foreign construction firms have not been eligible to bid on the American contracts. That is the way American laws are written, which does not make those foreign firms any happier about being excluded.

Despite the administration's justification for the contracts to American corporations, the anti-war community in the United States and elsewhere have erupted in anger. Demonstrators have blocked the doors of the Bechtel construction firm in San Francisco, shouting that the company is getting fat off the profits of a bloody war.

So far, the demonstrations and the investigations have not affected President George W. Bush's popularity as reflected in recent polls, which show an upsurge in support for him. But the complications that remain after the swift American and British advances suggest that the real cost will be in the aftermath of the war.

Preliminary estimates suggest that the reconstruction bill for Iraq in which Bush says the United States will play a leading central role will amount to 100 billion dollars.

The recent looting orgies in Iraqi cities suggest the price for recovery will be much more, if only in restoring the ruined medical clinics, hospitals and water purification plants. Nothing about wars is simple, especially their aftermaths.

A meeting was held in Southall on March 22 to pay tribute to Shaeed Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and Sukhdev, marking the 72nd anniversary of their martyrdom.

There were speakers from IWA(GB), Chris Coleman spoke on behalf of RCPB(ML), and Suresh Grover paid tribute from AWAAZ-South Asia Watch and The Monitoring Group.

The meeting included a cultural programme of poems, songs, Bhangra and an excellent play by young children, paying tribute to the life and vision of Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and Sukhdev. The Punjabi dancers gave a wonderful exposition of Bhangra. The children’s play condemned the unjust war against the Iraqi people and reflected the people’s aspirations for peace. The audience showed tremendous admiration for the children participating in the play.

The speakers condemned the unjust war against the Iraqi people, and the meeting called upon the people to unite to oppose state-organised racist attacks.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh led the struggle for genuine freedom from the yoke of British colonialism, speakers pointed out. British colonialism tried to justify its wars of conquest for world domination on the basis that they were shouldering the responsibility of "civilising" the countries subjected to colonial rule. Now US imperialism and the British government are advancing a similar pretext that they are "liberating" the Iraqi people from an oppressive regime.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh organised the Indian people to overthrow colonial rule, The most fitting tribute we can give to the Indian martyrs is to further the struggle for the creation of a society which places the interests of human beings at the centre, speakers emphasised.