PeaceNews #2440: Article

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Andrea Needham & Ippy

August 6 marked the 10th anniversary of the imposition of UN sanctions on Iraq - a policy which has caused a humanitarian crisis of massive proportions.
After a decade of this lethal policy, the only remaining enthusiasts are the British and US governments, and it is in these countries that the movement calling for the lifting of sanctions on Iraq has become most active.
    Voices in the Wilderness was set up in the US in 1995 with the aim of openly breaking the sanctions by delivering medicines to Iraqi hospitals without applying for export licences. As well as breaking the sanctions, delegates spend time visiting hospitals, homes and schools, talking to ordinary people about their lives and trying to understand the realities of life in Iraq. Sharing these experiences with people at home helps more people understand the real, human, impact of sanctions - these are not simply statistics, but real children, with names and faces and families who love them.
    To mark the 10th anniversary of sanctions, Voices in the Wilderness, together with other antisanctions groups, organised mass civil disobedience in Washington DC and London. With more than 100 arrests outside the White House and (a modest) five arrests at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, hundreds of activists took to the streets in both cities to show their opposition to the punitive sanctions. In Britain a mass "die-in" saw up to 100 people occupy and effectively blockade Whitehall - the location of several government departments and Downing Street - taking the police by surprise. In the US, activists poured blood on the street and occupied an area outside the White House where protest is expressly forbidden, resulting in mass arrests. British activists canvassed after taking part in the "die-in" said they felt the action had been very effective and that they had had a positive and empowering experience.
    They hoped to show that there are large numbers of people who are concerned and angry about this issue - concerned and angry enough to peacefully break the law in order to make their voices heard. The message is simple: lift the economic sanctions, stop the suffering. Whether our governments will heed it remains to be seen.

Voices in the wilderness U, 16b Cherwell Street Oxford OX4 1BG (+44 01865 243232, email voices@viwuk.freeserve.co.uk., http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw )
Voices in the wilderness USA, 1460 West Carmen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60640, USA (email: kkelly@igc.apc.org).