An Appeal for the Release of the Italian and
Iraqi Aid
Workers Abducted in Baghdad
THEY ARE NOT INSTRUMENTS OF THE OCCUPYING FORCES
We are individuals and organizations from around the world who opposed
and continue to oppose the occupation of Iraq and we plead for the
release of two Italian and two Iraqi humanitarian workers who were abducted in Iraq
last September 7, 2004.
Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both Italians, and Ra¹ad Ali Abdul Azziz and Mahnoaz Bassam, both
Iraqis, are members of Un Ponter Per Baghdad (Bridges to Baghdad) an independent Italian humanitarian
organization that has been working in Iraq since
1992. During the embargo, other humanitarian organizations refused to operate in Iraq, Bridges
defied that in the belief that the suffering of civilians should not be used as a politicalbargaining chip.
In this occupation, the United States and its
coalition cynically blurred the distinction between
the humanitarian and the political, using aid and
relief as an apparatus for pacifying the Iraqis. As a
result, Iraqis have become increasingly and
understandably suspicious of international
humanitarian organizations. Despite the perils caused
by this confusion, Bridges consciously decided to
continue its operations in Iraq, convinced that
Iraqis will see through their intentions.
Bridges is not an instrument of the Italian
government, nor of the US-led coalition, to make the
occupation more bearable, and therefore, more
acceptable to the Iraqis. From the very beginning,
Bridges has been open and consistent with its
positions: it opposed the embargo, it opposed the
invasion, and it opposes the occupation. In Italy,
Bridges has been a leading critic of the government¹s
decision to join the US-led coalition. It plays a
leading role in the nation-wide movement that
mobilized over a million Italians to march against
the war in February 15, 2003, as well as in various
demonstrations after. Bridges has also been very
active in the global anti-war movement, maintaining
links with various anti-war organizations around the
world and playing a key role in establishing the
Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad, a center for
monitoring the occupation founded by anti-war
organizations and coalitions from different
countries.
Simona Turretta has spent a third of her life for
Iraq; Simona Pari joined her in 2003. As chief of
Bridges¹ in-country operations, Simona Turreta has
been supervising projects to rehabilitate Iraq¹s
decrepit water infrastructure and to repair school
buildings. Among other things, Simona Pari was
organizing educational programs for Iraq¹s
traumatized children. Ra'ad is an Iraqi engineer who
took charge of Bridges school projects in Baghdad and
Basra. Mahnoaz was involved in the social programs.
Aside from these projects, Bridges has also helped
build the capacity of local Iraqi organizations to
document and report cases of human rights abuses
committed by occupation forces. In April this year,
Bridges organized a humanitarian convoy that
delivered food, water, blood, and medicine to
civilians under siege in Fallujah. Last month, as US
and Iraqi 'interim government forces' mounted their
offensive in Najaf, Bridges was also there, providing
aid and assistance to Iraqis caught in the crossfire.
Simona, Simona, Ra¹d and Mahnoaz are not enemies of
the Iraqi people. They stand shoulder-to-shoulder
with them in calling for an immediate end to the
occupation. We appeal to those holding them to
release them immediately.
We also call on the Italian government to immediately
withdraw its membership in the US-led coalition. We
call on the United States and the remaining members
of the coalition to end the occupation.
SIGNED:
As of 8 September, 3 PM GMT
[Organizations]
Iraq International Occupation Watch
Center
Alianza Social Continental (Latin Americano)
Campaign Genoa 2001 (Greece)
Continental Campaign Against FTAA (Latin
Americano)
Code Pink (United States)
Global Exchange (United States)
Globalize Resistance (United Kingdom)
Focus on the Global South (Philippines, Thailand,
and India)
International Civilian Campaign for the
Protection of Palestinians (France)
Palestinian Workers Union
Stop the War Coalition - Greece
Stop the War Coalition - UK
(To sign this appeal, please send an e-mail with your
name, organization, country, contact details, to
free-our-friends@focusweb.org. Please indicate if you wish to sign
as an organization or as an individual.)
September 2004