Mon, 31 Jan 2005

Press Release: US Hypocrisy on Show

Peace Action Wellington will today (Monday) use street theatre to highlight the hypocrisy of Iraq being forced to have so-called democratic elections whilst many of its citizens continue to stare down the barrel of the US-led coalition's destructive arsenal of murder.

"Democratic elections should occur when the people of Iraq make that decision collectively, not by Western countries who have invaded, obliterated and caused long-lasting conflict within Iraq," said Stephen Hay, spokesperson for Peace Action Wellington (PAW).

"How can this be democracy?" asked Hay. "This election, like the phony transfer of power, will change nothing on the ground in Iraq."

"Clearly the sole intent of the election is to provide legitimacy for the US-led occupation, to marginalise the resistance and anti-war movements and to create an illusion of progress, which we all know is far from the case."

It is important to note that the current US Ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, served as the ambassador to Honduras between 1981 and 1985, a period in which Honduras was the launching pad from which the Reagan Administration conducted its violent attacks on Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. Many of the atrocities that occurred at that time, such as kidnappings, rape, torture and killing of suspected dissidents, were later condemned by the International World Court in the Hague.

"After the Iraqi elections, more than 150,000 US troops will still occupy Iraq, the torture chambers of Abu Ghraib will still be full of Iraqi civilians, CIA employee Iyad Allawi will still be the US-appointed dictator and privatisation of Iraq's infrastructure will continue to see foreign corporates increasingly benefit from this never-ending war of terror," said Hay.

The street theatre performed by Peace Action Wellington will take place today (Monday 31st January) at 12 noon on the stage in Cuba Mall, followed afterwards by another performance in Midland Park, Lambton Quay.

ENDS