> Protest at Downing Street over Iraq air strikes > =============================== > LONDON, Feb 17 (AFP) - > > A group of 50 protesters staged a demonstration on Saturday outside Downing > Street, the offices of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to condemn > British and American air strikes against Iraq. > > Voices in the Wilderness, a group which campaigns for the lifting of > economic sanctions on Iraq, claimed the bombing was counter-productive > because it would serve to strengthen Saddam Hussein's regime. > > Spokesman Malin Rai said: "The bombing has no foundation in international > law." > > "The US and Britain are seeking desperately to shore up a sanctions regime > which kills over 100 children a day, according to a former UN official." > > Also at the protest was Jean Lambert, a Green Party Member of the European > Parliament (MEP) for London, who said: "We are appalled by the bombing of > Iraq. > > "It risks de-stabilising the area and it is no solution to the plight of > the Iraqi peoples." > > Madsoon Pachachi, from anti-sanction group Act Together, said: "All these > actions do is simple serve to strengthen Saddam Hussein's regime." > > Green Party MEP for south-east England, Caroline Lucas, said Iraqis were > suffering three times over -- "firstly from Saddam Hussein's brutal > dictatorship, secondly from sanctions which are devastating the lives of > ordinary people, and thirdly from the bombing by the US and Britain." > > Two people were killed late Friday when eight Royal Air Force planes joined > US jets in attacking Iraqi air defences close to Baghdad, according to the > Iraqi health ministry. > > Britain's Ministry of Defence said US and British aircraft bombed command > and control centres to stem an increased threat from Iraqi air defences to > aircraft policing a southern "no-fly" zone. > > George Galloway, a deputy of Britain's ruling Labour party and a vociferous > critic of the government's policy on Iraq, was Saturday flying out to > Baghdad to assess the damage done by the attacks. > > He condemned the bombing raids and said they were neither legally nor > morally legitimate. > > He added: "At a time when around 7,000 Iraqi children a month are dying > because of sanctions, this is a cruel and criminal attack on the ordinary > people of the country." > > Britain and the US imposed two no-fly zones in Iraq following the 1991 Gulf > war and continue to patrol and enforce the zones, which are not recognised > by Baghdad and which are not backed by any UN resolution. > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > *** Iraq Action Coalition Discussion Forum *** > > http://iraqaction.org/discussion.html > ------------------------------------ > *To Post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > *To Subscribe, send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > *To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > * To see the List Guidelines, go to: http://iraqaction.org/discussion.html > *Any questions, contact the List Moderator at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ----------------------------------------------- >
