SANCTIONS ON IRAQ CHALLENGED: ANTI-WAR LEADERS TAKE MEDICINE TO BAGHDAD

By Sharon Ayling

Iraq Sanctions Challenge activists are feverishly preparing to send 100
volunteers to Iraq May 6. The delegation will publicly and politically
defy the U.S.  sanctions by carrying millions of dollars worth of
medicine.

Truckloads of purchased medicine fill a New York warehouse. Donated
medicine arrives at the national office by shopping cart and duffel bag.

The Iraq Sanctions Challenge has united many sectors of the anti-war,
labor, civil-rights and student movements and religious groups.

The delegation will include former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark,
the Rev. Lucius Walker of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, Catholic Bishop Thomas
Gumbleton, Kathy Kelly of Voices in the Wilderness, American Muslim
Council President Ahmed El Sherif, Monica Moorehead of Workers World
Party, Clayton Ramey of Fellowship of Reconciliation, Sonya Ostrom of
Metro New York Peace Action, Kadouri Al Kaysi of the Committee in Support
of the Iraqi People, Nellie Bailey of the Harlem Tenants Council, Mike
Alewitz of the Labor Art & Mural Project, Saad Kadhim of the West Harlem
Council, Christoph Arnold of the Bruderhof Community, Sara Flounders,
Gloria La Riva, and Brian Becker of the International Action Center, Dr.
Barbara Nimri Aziz of WBAI-Pacifica Radio, and Manzoor Ghori of the
American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice.

Labor representatives include Auto Workers Local 2334 President Dave
Sole and Hillel Cohen, a delegate sponsored by the 1199 Service
Employees Health & Human Services union. Medical professionals and
Arab-Americans are also well represented.

"It is a remarkable group," Paddy Colligan said. "I'm really inspired
by everyone's deep commitment to this struggle."

Colligan has been processing their applications and making the travel
arrange ments. She said: "Most of the delegates have years of political
involvement. With their experience and contacts, they will really help
to broaden the anti- sanctions movement."

Malik Rahim, a San Francisco housing activist and former Black Panther
Party member, says he is going because "as an African American who has
suffered the same type of sanctions here in the U.S., I know that it is
the poor citizens of Iraq who are the most affected by these sanctions.
As a Muslim, I'm aware the Koran teaches us to stand up for justice."

STUDENTS SAY WHY THEY'RE GOING

Sarah Sloan is a student at Simon's Rock College of Bard, in Great
Barrington, Mass. She publicized her trip by putting Tupperware bowls
containing an Iraqi's daily food rations on each table in the school
lunchroom. She has asked students and faculty to pledge that they will
respond if the U.S. government tries to stop the delegation or seize
the medicine.

"I'm finding that most people are supportive once the issues are
explained," she said. "The greater need is for them to feel something
can be done.

"That's why I'm participating. I want to be part of a larger group
effort that has a chance to really effect change."

Nader Khalaf Uthman, a Palestinian-American student at Emory University
in Atlanta, told Workers World that he sent e-mail fund appeals and
distributed fliers on campus. "I have received a lot of support from
students and faculty, with the Graduate Student Council covering most
of the expense," he said.

Uthman is going to Iraq "to register my deep dissatisfaction with the
policies of the U.S. government. This is my way of making my academic
work real."

Paul Park, a student at Sidwell Friends High School in Washington, said
his recent school-assembly talk on the challenge "has really shook up
the entire school. Everyone is talking about it."

Park added, "I will let the Iraqi people know there is hope for ending
the sanctions, I will let U.S. citizens know we can make a difference,
and I will let the U.S. government know that their sanctions will not
be tolerated."

Young people from the Detroit-area Arab community are holding a "Walk
for Survival" through Detroit and suburban Southfield to raise funds
for medicine for the challenge.

WIDE INTEREST, RULING-CLASS CONCERN

An article in the April 23 New York Times was headlined "Americans,
Flouting UN Embargo, Organize Relief Efforts." The article highlighted
the Iraq Sanctions Challenge-which shows that the effort is attracting
wide interest in general and ruling-class concern in particular.

Supporters continue to hold rallies and fundraising events.

In California, an April 25 rally at Sacramento State University
attracted students from several campuses and raised $1,000. In
Rochester, N.Y., the same day, a diverse group raised $500 for
medicine and signed up to support the challenge and to protest any
U.S. provocation against Iraq.

Send-off rallies and news conferences for the delegates will be held on
the West Coast in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Santa Clara , Calif.,
and Seattle; in the Midwest in Detroit and Minneapolis; and in the East
in Philadelphia, Durham, N.C., and New York.

   [NOTE:  The North Carolina Triangle Chapter of the Global Movement
   to End the War against Iraq held a fundraising dinner in support
   of the Iraq Sanctions Challenge on the 28th of April in Durham,
   NC. Approximately $3,000 was raised!  - R.Masri]

The national send-off rally for all delegates will be in New York on
May 5--the eve of departure. It will be at Judson Memorial Church, 55
Washington Square South, at 6:30 p.m.

Ramsey Clark, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Kathy Kelly, the Rev. Lucius
Walker, Michael Tarif Warren, Gloria La Riva and others will speak.

Challenge supporters in several cities will be holding solidarity
actions against the sanctions May 6-13 while the delegation is in
the Middle East.

Readers can contact the Iraq Sanctions Challenge by calling
212-633-6646 or by sending email to iacen...@iacenter.org.

                         - END -

(Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted if
source is cited. For more information contact Workers World,
55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: w...@workers.org.
For subscription info send message to: i...@workers.org.
Web: http://workers.org)

 >>>---------------------------------------------------<<<
    >>   Further Informations about Iraq and Palestine:
    >>   http://www.germany.net/teilnehmer/101,88843
 >>>---------------------------------------------------<<<

 CHALLENGE UPDATE (4/30/98)

 Momentum is building tremendously for the Iraq Sanctions
 Challenge! Today's "Baltimore Sun" had a lengthy front
 page article about the Challenge!

 In San Francisco a press conference brought out the NBC
 and CBS affiliates as well as the talk radio station KCBS,
 the Oakland Tribune and the Santa Maria Times. Articles
 have appeared in the New York Times on the UPI network and
 in Asahi Shimbun in Japan. Today delegates from Santa
 Barbara, Iowa and East Orange New Jersey got newspapers in
 their area to call in to the National Office for
 interviews and details about the delegation.

 Medicine fills a New York warehouse and activists are busy
 preparing for the trip. One hundred people who have
 signed up to go on the trip will soon be arriving in New
 York and other departure points. An orientation for the
 delegation is scheduled for May 5; at Judson Memorial
 Church, 55 Washington Square South at 6:30 p.m., departure
 for Amman is May 6 with arrival in Baghdad on May 8. New
 York will give the delegation a big send-off, and many
 other cities are organizing send-off rallies for their
 local delegates.

 The delegation includes participants from many sectors:
 the anti-war movement, labor, civil rights, students and
 religious groups. They reflect the diversity of Black,
 Arab, Asian, Latino, white, women, men, youth, elders, gay
 and straight.

 With 20 states and many more cities represented on the
 Sanctions Challenge trip, local activities will be a key
 part of publicity and the support system for the trip.

 LOCAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE IRAQI SANCTIONS CHALLENGE

 The National Organizing Center for the Iraqi Sanctions
 Challenge is asking all local organizing centers to:

 ** Hold local demonstrations and media activities during
    the week of May 7 to 13, while the delegation is in Iraq.
 ** Let the Organizing Center know about your local
    demonstrations and activities  so that we may post the
    information on the web page.
 ** Begin now to activate an Emergency Response Network.
    This should consist of people who are willing to act if
    the U.S. government tries in any way to restrict the
    Sanctions Challenge from completing its mission.
 ** Check the Web Page on a regular and ongoing basis to
    keep informed of the latest developments.

 Together we have been able to gather several million
 dollars worth of vitally needed medicines to send with the
 delegation. The pressure we exert on the U.S. government
 will ensure that the delegation gets safely to Iraq and
 brings much needed solidarity and medicines to the Iraqi
 people.

 >>>---------------------------------------------------<<<
    >>   Further Informations about Iraq and Palestine:
    >>   http://www.germany.net/teilnehmer/101,88843
 >>>---------------------------------------------------<<<

Hi,

we are a middle older couple, and we like young men till 30y. Did you visit
Germany ?
Let me know more about you, replay or connect to: NickTh...@bigfoot.de

Dear People from Muslim World:
Immigration To Canada
 To obtain a Canadian Visa for:
     (1) Permanent Residence
     (2) Sponsorship
     (3) Student Visa
     (4) Business Programs and Investment

 May Day: Iraqi workers call for sanctions end

 South News May 1

 BAGHDAD: Iraqi workers marked International Labour Day on Friday
 denouncing the US and rejecting the UN Security Council decision
 to prolong the embargo imposed against Iraq.

 "Down with America, down with America," shouted
 hundreds of marchers as they torched two American flags
 outside United Nations headquarters in Baghdad.

 The workers, led by leaders of Iraqi and Arab trade unions,
 handed a senior official at the headquarters a letter to U.N.
 chief Kofi Annan denouncing the Security Council decision
 to prolong the embargo imposed on Iraq nearly eight years
 ago.

 "Iraqi workers, and with them the Arab and international
 delegations which join them in the May 1 International
 Labour Day celebrations, express their extreme denouncement
 and rejection of the Security Council decision to prolong
 the embargo imposed against Iraq," the letter said.

 "They stress that this decision is against the humanitarian
 principles and the rights of independence and sovereignty as
 it leads to more Iraqi deaths and subjects millions of them to
 the catastrophes of hunger, disease and death," the letter
 added.

 Iraqi officials have said that some 1.5 million Iraqis, many
 of them children, have died as a result of severe shortages
 of medicine and food since the sanctions were imposed.

 The letter was handed to Peter Kouwenberg, the UNDP deputy
 resident representative in Iraq, who told the march leaders
 that he would convey it to Annan on Friday.

 Addressing Kouwenberg, Iraqi trade union chief Fadhel
 Ghareeb said: "We see that the aim of the embargo is the
 genocide of the Iraqi people...If the embargo is not lifted,
 then why are there any inspections teams (in Iraq)?"

 The letter said the prolonging of the sanctions imposed
 against Baghdad deprives Iraq of enjoying its riches and
 shows that the Security Council and UNSCOM were just tools
 in an anti-Iraq American design.

 "This resolution came after Iraq has implemented all its
 obligations...to stress that the Security Council is totally
 subjected to the policy of the American administration and
 it is a tool of it," it said.

 "It is very clear that it is impossible for any change in
 Iraq's interest to take place so long as the American control
 on the (U.N.) Special Commission and Richard Butler's fol-
 lowing of it continues."

 >>>---------------------------------------------------<<<
    >>   Further Informations about Iraq and Palestine:
    >>   http://www.germany.net/teilnehmer/101,88843
 >>>---------------------------------------------------<<<

        Iraqi refiners say pollution cost of U.N.
              sanctions is 'astronomical'

 News & Observer. Copyright © 1998 Nando.net Copyright
 © 1998 Reuters News Service

--------------------------------------------------------

 BAIJI, Iraq (April 27, 1998 09:55 a.m. EDT) - Iraq's refiners say
 that their oil refineries, hit by U.N. sanctions, are in dire need
 of equipment and spare parts essential for processing industrial
 waste polluting the environment.

 "We have 600 cubic meters an hour of industrial waste from the
 production units ... This is an astronomical figure," said Ali
 Hamid, Director General of the 400,000 barrels-per-day (bpd)
 North Refineries Enterprise at Baiji.

 "Where do you go with all this waste? ... This is pollution and it
 is very dangerous," Hamid told reporters at the sprawling complex
 138 miles north of Baghdad, the largest of Iraq's three state-run
 oil refining enterprises.

 "We need new spare parts and equipment. Whole units need to be
 renewed ... This is the state of Iraqis now," he added.

 U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed allowing Iraq to
 spend $300 million to repair its dilapidated oil industry,
 including $90 million for the downstream refining sector.

 But Hamid said a report by oil experts used as the basis for
 Annan's plan did not take account of pollution. He said the
 experts who visited Iraq last month to assess damage to the oil
 industry did not take into consideration what he called the
 urgent need to stop environmental damage.

 The team concentrated on Iraq's crude oil production and export
 ability to meet an expanded U.N. "oil-for-food" deal, Hamid said.

 All Iraqi refineries were hit during the 1990-91 Gulf War. All
 have been rehabilitated using locally made materials, but
 essential units that were completely destroyed are yet to be
 replaced.

 "Six cruise missiles hit us all at the same time, hitting our
 complex equipment. Then this was followed by ferocious aerial
 bombing which kept the fires at the refinery raging for three
 months," Hamid said.

 He said before the U.N. sanctions imposed in 1990, four waste-
 processing units at the Baiji complex isolated poisonous chemical
 by-products and dealt with them by using waste-eating bacteria.

 But they were knocked out in the war, leaving the only alternative
 to dump the most hazardous waste into depleted wells, he said.

 Improvising on chemical processing, a nine-mile canal was also dug
 to let the sun's rays evaporate some of the waste, he said.

 Air pollution from gases like hydrogen sulfide (H2S) also posed a
 threat to the environment and rendered the refining complex
 dangerous for the workers. "Sometimes here you can smell the H2S
 gas, which is poisonous," he said. "We used to have units that
 controlled it."

 Iraqi refiners argue that lack of spare parts and sufficient
 additives to upgrade oil products due to the U.N. embargo has
 left the fuel produced by their plants far below acceptable
 environmental standards.

 "Environment pollution is not our top priority now,"

 "For Iraqi gasoline, the octane number used to be 92 now it is
 81 ... For lubricating oils for modern cars we're still below
 international specifications," said a senior engineer at the
 country's second largest refinery, the 100,000-bpd Doura refinery
 at the outskirts of Baghdad.

 Like Baiji, the refinery was also heavily bombed in the Gulf War,
 including direct hits by cruise missiles, but was rehabilitated
 within one year.

 Octane is a measure of the way fuel performs in an engine. The
 most widely traded grade in Europe is 95 octane while the United
 States typically trades 87 and 92.

 "The kerosene in Iraq used to be better than from neighboring Arab
 countries," Doura general manager Kamil al-Fatli told Reuters.

 Additives used now, such as tetraethyl lead, are poisonous when
 used for domestic heating, he continued. Iraqi diesel was also way
 below European specifications.

 At Baiji, Hamid said damage to the complex's sulfur retrieval unit
 left fuel oil with up to five percent sulfur content, way below
 acceptable standards. But he said quality problems could be solved
 easily were the embargo to be lifted.

 "If the cracker works, we can produce the best types of gas oil of
 zero sulfur content, but it was destroyed in the aggression (Gulf
 War)," he added.

 The cracking process in a refinery breaks feedstock down into
 heavier and lighter types of fuel.

 By Haitham Haddadin, Reuters

 >>>---------------------------------------------------<<<
    >>   Further Informations about Iraq and Palestine:
    >>   http://www.germany.net/teilnehmer/101,88843
 >>>---------------------------------------------------<<<

Greetings again, seekers of truth! Here is this week's article. It is also
available on the web sites mentioned below.

Om Shanti
Zulfikar Khan

http://home.onestop.net/jayate
http://members.tripod.com/~TruthAloneTriumphs/
http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/armada/92/index.html
http://www.eccentrica.org/satyamevajayate
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate

         Islam - Terrorism, Inc. - Part II

One of the greatest concerns of all civilized cultures is the alarming
incidence of violent crimes in today's world. Many governments of the world
are analyzing the suitability of violence in movies, books and TV programs for
younger audiences. In countries like the USA, even Music CDs are labelled with
warnings if they contain violent content in them. Parents and administrators
have come together and made many laws to protect their children from the
growing trend of violent crime. It has been scientifically proven that
prolonged exposure to intensely violent scenes and literature impacts children
in a very adverse way. The Criminal Justice System admits, that most convicted
criminals who have committed extremely violent crimes against society, were
subjected to some form of violent propoganda or behaviour in their childhood
and/or adolescence.

Muslims all over the world have been known to point their fingers at Western
society and comment on how degenerate westerners have no sense of family, and
that as a consequence, crime, immorality and violence are rampant all over the
West. The implication is that Western society is ridden with the consequences
of their "descadent and immoral" liberality and irreligious attitude.

The truth is something completely different. The fact is that the highest
incidences of violent crimes such as murder, rape, child molestation,
dismemberment and armed robbery happen in Islamic countries. In Non-Islamic
countries, wherever terrorist and subversive activities take place, one is
sure to find the presence of Muslims.

This pattern is so obvious that it leads one to wonder what exactly is it that
makes Muslims so viciously engaged in violent crimes against the rest of
humanity. Why are all terrorist activities that target innocent Non-Muslim
victims always abetted by Muslim terrorists? What is it that makes the Muslim
mind so subject to criminality and the display of such violent tendencies
right from his/her childhood days?

The answer lies in the systematic brainwashing that Muslims are subjected to
since birth. The majority of the Non-Islamic world has deluded itself into
believing that the principles of Islam are tolerant in nature. This
misconception is heightened when people think that the fault lies with only a
handful of misguided Muslims who are not adhering to Islamic principles and
hence indulge in terrorism. It is time for the entire world to realise that
Islam by its very nature and through its essential principles openly supports,
encourages and propogates Terrorism of the worst kind. Therefore the Islamic
terrorist is in fact the most devout Muslim, because he is following exactly
what Islam teaches through the Divine Koran. It is this very Koran which is
considered by Muslims to be the holy word of their Allah himself. The Koran
functions as the central terrorist manual that urges them to slaughter, rape,
torture,pillage, mutilate and molest all Non-Muslims.

The Muslim is exhorted by their GOD to kill, mutilate, molest, rape and steal.
This repetitive conditioning of the mind is performed by indoctrinating the
Koranic Surahs in every Muslim child at Madarsas (Islamic schools). The Muslim
child daily memorizes the Koranic Surahs which exhort him/her to murder,
violence, hatred and crime against every Non-Muslim. The Muslim child learns
to hate Non-Muslims, before he loses his first tooth. The doctrines that are
forced down his throat are so deeply embedded in the child's mind, that he
cannot view the world in any other perspective except as a composition of
Muslims and Kafirs (Infidel). It is also made clear to the child that ALL
Kafirs (Non-Muslims) are evil by their very nature and that it is every
Muslim's moral and religious duty to either convert all the Kafirs to Islam by
force or Kill each and every one of them.

Imagine being forced to watch the most violent scenes imaginable, day in and
day out throughout your childhood and then being told by your elders that all
that violence is Allah's will. Imagine being told that to be a good Muslim,
you MUST commit the same violent and heinous actions as the barbaric Prophet
Mohammed or else be prepared to be damned and go to hell for not performing
your religious duty. Is it any wonder that in every corner of the world,
terrorism is synonomous with Islam ? Any Muslim child or adult who dares to
question the criminal and violent nature of the acts sanctioned by Allah and
perpetrated by Mohammed, is threatened with the direst consequences. Any
Muslim daring to question the authority of the Koran is immediately silenced
by force. Therefore it is hardly surprising that all Muslims grow up to become
direct or indirect supporters of Terrorism and Violent Crime against
Non-Muslims (And many times against other Muslims as well). Intolerance,
Hatred, Violence, Fundamentalism, Fascism and Ignorance are inculcated into
every Muslim's child's head before he can even pronounce the alphabet.

To get an idea of what kind of conditioning the Muslim mind undergoes, one
need only open the Koran. Every chapter is brimming over with hatred,
ruthlessness, cruelty and the sort of invective that would make the Ku Klux
Klan shake in their shoes. Since the verses espousing violence in the Koran
are so numerous, I can only quote a few of the most horrifying ones at a time.
The exceptionally cruel, sadistic and violent nature of Mohammed's motivations
and Allah's inspirations spill out through every Verse in the Koran. I will
let the words speak for themselves:

Koran 17:16-17
When we decide to destroy a population, we send a definite order to them who
have the good things in life and yet transgress; so that Allah's word is
proved true against them: then we destroy them utterly. How many generations
have we destroyed after Noah? And enough is thy Lord to note and see the Sins
of his servants

Here Allah, the God of the Muslims is clearly stating the exact method that he
adopts when he commits genocide of an entire POPULATION. And why does Allah
decide to destroy entire populations? Simply because they don't believe in
Allah and so Allah will kill them all, to take revenge. Next Allah is
indulging in an unbelievable display of conceit. He is actually BOASTING about
how many generations he has destroyed after Noah. If Allah had a list of his
merits, no doubt genocide of numerous generations of people would top his
list. Allah enjoys watching the annhilation of thousands of Non-Muslims at the
hands of his pious followers, the Muslims.

Koran 8:37
In order that Allah may seperate the impure from the pure, Put All the impure
ones (Non-Muslim), one on top of the another in a Heap and cast them into
Hell. They will be the ones to have lost

The "All-Merciful Allah" is now specifically instructing all "peace-loving
Muslims" to heap up a mountain of corpses of the non believers. Of course, in
order to do this holy task for Allah, the Muslim must first go out and attack
innocent Non-Muslims and massacre them so that Allah's wishes are fulfilled.
Allah seems to have an inexhaustible thirst for the blood of innocents. Note
that the reason given to massacre non-believers is that "Allah may seperate
the Impure from the Pure". It has nothing to do with self-defense or
protection as Muslims try to argue. The explicit purpose for this heinous
crime is so that Allah can easily differentiate between the Muslims and
Non-Muslims. This way it becomes a lot easier for Allah and his angelic
helpers to dump the heaps of murdered Non-Muslims into Hellfire.

Koran 21:11
How many were the populations we utterly destroyed because of their
inequities, setting up in their place other peoples

Again Allah is boasting about his amazing exploits such as genocide and
displacement of innocent people. The justification for this crime is that
these innocent people had "inequities". Apparently any community which is not
Muslim is full of inequities by Islamic definition and therefore fair game for
all pious Muslims to massacre and plunder.

Koran 2:8-10
In their (Non-Muslims) hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their
disease and grievous is the penalty they will incur, because they are false.

So Allah not only exhorts Muslims to kill all the non-believers, he also
strikes down the surviving ones with disease and pain. Any good Muslim must
surely carry out their beloved Allah's word. In fact Allah's word seems to be
very much in effect in today's world. This is why one sees pious, Allah-loving
Muslims like Saddam Hussain nursing factories that make weapons of biological
and chemical warfare. Saddam is complying perfectly with Allah's wishes to the
letter when he manufactures strains of deadly viruses to be unleashed on
unsuspecting non-believers like the Israelis and Americans. He has secured a
place in Islamic "Jannat" (Paradise) for himself by following Allah's orders
so religiously.

Koran 58:5
Those who resist Allah and His Messenger will be crumbled to dust, as were
those before them: for we have already sent down Clear Signs and the
Unbelievers will have a humiliating Penalty

Those who resist Allah and His Messenger" obviously refers to anyone who is
not a Muslim. Therefore every Non-Muslim must be crushed to death by the holy
edict of Allah. No doubt it was this very verse which must have served as a
motivation for those pious Muslims who bombed the World Trade Center. Allah
must have been extremely pleased to watch all those innocent Non-Muslims being
crumbled to death.