gCHRISTMAS DAY VIGIL 12 TO 1PM US EMBASSY Ballsbridge

[John Fitzgibbon <fitzgij@connect.ie>]

Dear Friends and supporters of Peace & Justice issues,

I wish you all a very happy Christmas and invite any of you that can to join us at the US Embassy, Ballsbridge, between 12 and 1 on Christmas day for a 1 hour vigil in memory of the over half a million (500,000) young Iraqi children killed by United Nations sanctions.  Maybe it should be at the Dept of Foreign Affairs to show that our government must withdraw its support for the11 year old sanctions that have such devastating effects.

At this time we are celebrating the birth of a child, the renowned Jesus Christ. His message was- to love ALL people as brothers and sisters, surely an admirable goal for all, and a must for those who claim to be Christians, followers of Christ. 

Two weeks ago my daughter Yvonne gave birth to her first baby, our first grandchild. The excitement and joy of this occasion was wonderful. It adds a new dimension to Christmas for us this year.

Contrast this with the unimaginable grief of each parent, brother, sister, granny etc of each of the 50,000+ Iraqi children that died this year as a result of futile sanctions imposed & sustained on my behalf, disturbs me deeply.  I can't claim to be a Christian while I allow this to continue.

The death of one child here, even when due to accident or human error, causes a furore & often massive media coverage. Why do the deaths of 135 Iraqi children each day, with our assent/complicity? due to our governments inaction, not merit an appropriate response until we have withdrawn our, at least tacit, support for this appalling crime now ongoing for 10+ years.

I first became aware of the enormity of crimes being inflicted on the Iraqi people when Denis Halliday (former UN Asst Secretary General & Coordinator of the Oil for Food program in Iraq who resigned (as did his successor Hans Von Sponeck) in protest at what he called genocide) spoke with great power & conviction at the Feile Brighde in Feb 2000.  Soon afterwards I joined the campaign to end the sanctions and assisted in all the recognised ways in attempting to get our government to withdraw its support. 

Most ordinary citizens seem to readily accept the evidence that the economic sanctions no longer have any validity & must be ended immediately. In spite of  this, we seem to have had no evident effect whatsoever on government policy which is to follow the US/UK line, i.e. that sanctions will only  be ended when weapons inspectors are allowed back into Iraq. Clearly, after 11 years of this ploy, neither the deaths of the children nor the other major hardships infllicted on the Iraqi people have any significance for the US/UK governments, nor it would seem for ours.

Your support will be very much appreciated on Christmas day if you can make i t. More importantly we must over the Christmas period review our campaign and find new ways to make it effective as a matter of great urgency.  Please contact us if you have any suggestions or plans that might be useful. With the exception of violence, it seems no holds can be barred from making the campaign successful. Might it be useful to find some high profile candidates in marginal (or other constituencies) in the general election. A fraction of the less than 4% of  citizens who are members of political parties preselect more than 90% of all Dail deputies.  Maybe it's time that that changed?

Recently the Irish R.C. heirarchy statement  (in a different context) said
"Nothing can ever justify the deliberate killing of an innocent human being... . The basic right to life is a natural and moral right which does not depend on legal or political recognition for its value." 

On this Christmas Day once again, the children and people of Iraq cry out for mercy, justice, peace.  Whoever your God is- the God of Christians, of Allah, Yahweh, the Higher Power of Alcoholics anonymous etc or, if you are a concerned humanist  remember the innocent victims of the war and sanctions and determine, by every means available to you, to end Irish support for them early in the new year.

"If you know you can, you will   If you know you can't you're right"              Henry Ford

5000 children below the age of 5 die EACH month  (Minister at Foreign Affairs- Liz O Donnell last June Sunday B Post)

Thanking all of you who assisted in any way during the year I attach the Exec summary of the excellent Trocaire/ Caritas Europa (the 48 Trocaires of Europe) report "A People Sacrificed" for your perusal.  The full report is available from info@Trocaire.ie

Le gach dea ghui oraibh go leir, (every blessing on you all) John Fitz. 353 (0)1 2853387

John Fitzgibbon.              PS  I will be in Canada for 3 weeks after Christmas celebrating the new arrival. The thought that near 3000 more Iraqi families will be grieving the tragic & totally unnecessary loss of their child in that period is devastating & beyond comprehension in our supposedly civilised world.

The Official campaign address is as below 
Campaign to End Iraq Sanctions
125 Winter Garden, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. (Sandeep)
Ph. 01 6727803Sandeep           087 2225742Michael
email: info@endiraqsanctions.net;   Website:  http://www.endiraqsanctions.net

The Caritas Europa Exec Summary says-
 "The current comprehensive sanctions regime imposed on Iraq by the United Nations Security Council should be immediately suspended and a new relationship initiated and developed between  the international community and Iraq.  Such a new relationship should lead to a situation where the current miserable chapter of immeasurable suffering in Iraq is brought to a close."

The Delegation identified in particular with the statement of the Malaysian Rep. on the Sec. Council on 24/3/2000 (Page 4)-
 "Clearly sanctions did more than hurt.  Sanctions killed, especiallly the most vulnerable.  How ironic it was that the same policy that was supposed to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction had, itself, become a weapon of mass destruction, through the deaths of innocent children.  In the name of the international community, United Nations sanctions were incapacitating an entire society."

The Summary quoted Hubert Vedrine, French Foreign Minister (2 Aug.2000) 
"They (sanctions) are cruel because they punish exclusively the Iraqi people and the weakest among them.  They are ineffective because they do not touch the Regime, which is not encouraged to cooperate, and they are dangerous because they ... accentuate the disintegration of society."

CEXSUMRY.RTF

MANDLA.RTF