STATEMENT CONDEMNING ATTACKS ON IRAQI TRADE UNIONISTS

            Please join Stanley Aronowitz, Medea Benjamin, Norman Birnbaum, Eileen Boris, Noam Chomsky, Joshua Cohen, Marc Cooper, Richard Deats, Daniel Ellsberg, Barry Finger, Barbara Garson, Jill Godmilow, Gary Groth, Mina Hamilton, Thomas Harrison, Doug Henwood, Adam Hochschild, Doug Ireland, Hany Khalil, Joanne Landy, Jesse Lemisch, Mark LeVine, Nelson Lichtenstein, Betty Reid Mandell, Marvin Mandell, David McReynolds, Timothy Mitchell, David Oakford, Mike Parker, Glenn Perusek, Katha Pollitt, Nancy Romer, Matthew Rothschild, Jennifer Scarlott, Lynne Schwartz, Sunil Sharma, Adam Shatz, Alan Sokal, Chris Toensing, Jay Schaffner, Immanuel Wallerstein, Naomi Weisstein, Reginald Wilson, and others in signing this statement.

            To add your name and to see the full list of signers and their identifying affiliations, please go to www.cpdweb.org

Thank you,

Joanne Landy, Thomas Harrison, Jennifer Scarlott
Co-Directors, Campaign for Peace and Democracy

OPPONENTS OF THE OCCUPATION CONDEMN ATTACKS ON IRAQI TRADE UNIONISTS

          We, who opposed the U.S.-led war on Iraq and who call for an immediate end to the occupation of that country, are appalled by the torture and assassination in Baghdad on January 4, 2005 of Hadi Salih, International Officer of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU). There are also disturbing reports of intimidation, death threats and murders targeting other IFTU members, trade unionists in general, and political activists.

          We utterly condemn the assassination of Hadi Salih. We call upon all sides in the conflict in Iraq to respect the rights of non-combatants as required by international law and to recognize the rights of workers to organize freely, without threat or harm, in trade unions of their own choosing in accordance with International Labor Organization (ILO) standards.

          We believe that the physical targeting of trade unionists is in no way politically or morally acceptable, even though we disagree strongly with the IFTU's support of UN Resolution 1546, which supports the U.S. military presence in Iraq. This resolution has been used by the Bush Administration to justify keeping U.S. troops in the country.

          We also oppose the victory of those elements of the resistance whose agenda is to impose a repressive, authoritarian regime on the Iraqi people, whether that regime is Baathist or theocratic-fundamentalist. We do not know whether such authoritarian elements have gained decisive control over the resistance to the U.S. forces and their Iraqi and international allies. We do know, however, that the continuing occupation of Iraq, which grows more brutal with every passing day, only strengthens these elements, increases their influence over the resistance and makes their ultimate victory more likely.

          We further oppose the occupation because it is part and parcel of an imperial U.S. foreign policy that shores up undemocratic regimes like those of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, gives one-sided support to Israel against the Palestinians, and promotes unjust, inequitable economic policies throughout the world. Not only in Iraq but throughout the Middle East and globally U.S. foreign and military policy either directly or indirectly subverts freedom and democracy.

To add your name, go to www.cpdweb.org
For further information about the issue,  contact us at cpd@igc.org