|
WHAT'S NEW IN INES? |
||||
|
No.11/2003 |
Dateline: April 16, 2003 |
|||
This is the weekly electronic information service of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility
Editor: Tobias Damjanov, e-mail:
WNII is archived at: http://inesglobal.org/archive.htm
INES homepages: http://inesglobal.org http://www.inesglobal.com/
INES International Office
INES Chair: Prof. Armin Tenner [Please note that the first "1" in q18 is the number one, while the last "l" is an "L"]
CONTENTS of WNII No. 11/2003
MEMBERSHIP AND PROJECTS NEWS
"INES Newsletter" No. 40
The "INES Newsletter" No. 40/February 2003 carries the following:
The "INES Newsletter" is edited by Armin Tenner:
A pure ASCII version is available for distribution by e-mail. Ask the "INES Newsletter" editor to put you on his distribution list.
The current "INES Newsletter" is also available at: http://inesglobal.org/NEWS40.htm
Previous issues are archived at: http://inesglobal.org/ines2.htm
THE US/UK WAR AGAINST IRAQ
U.S. Threatens Iraqi Scientists (Sources: IslamOnline.net, 12 April 03; mailing by David Krieger forwarded by INESAP Coordinator, 14 April 03)
Dear All, This seems to me an issue in which INES should become involved.
David Krieger
CAIRO. – Appealing to the world community to protect them from the U.S. aggression aimed at obliterating Iraq’s minds, a number of Iraqi scientists and university professors sent an SOS e-mail complaining American occupation forces were threatening their lives.
In their e-mail, a copy of which was sent to IslamOnlin.net Friday, April 11, they said they have dictated their message to a respected Iraqi scientist in the Netherlands over phone, urging him to circulate it to all parties concerned to protect them from the arbitrary inquires and arrests by the U.S. occupation forces.
Iraqi scientists asserted that occupation troops demanded them, particularly physicists, chemists and mathematicians, to hand over all documents and researches in their possession.
The appeal message also said that looting and robberies were being taken place under the watchful eye of the occupation soldiers.
The occupation soldiers, the e-mail added, are transporting mobs to the scientific institutions, such as Mosul University and different educational institutions, to destroy scientific research centers and confiscate all papers and documents to nip in the bud any Iraqi scientific renaissance.
The frantic scientists also underlined that some of them were placed under house arrest and deprived of going to their laboratories and universities.
Some of them were also approached by agents from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to entice them away to foreign scientific centers, the message cautioned.
The e-mail also noted that occupation forces had drawn up lists of the names, addresses and researches of the Iraqi scientists to assist them in their harassment tasks in light of the chaos and anarchy that sit in after the toppling of the Iraqi regime on April, 9.
Reports Claim Scientists Fled To Syria As part of the "concerted campaign" campaign against Syria, The Washington Times newspaper claimed Saturday, April 12, that some of Iraq's top scientists have already fled their country and are in Syria, from where they may seek political safety in France.
Quoting U.S. administration officials, the American paper said there are intelligence reports that Iraqi scientists are seeking safety in France.
According to the daily, U.S. officials declined to put a number on how many Iraqi weapons scientists have entered Syria, but estimated it is fewer than 10 at this point.
Among those claimed to have made it to Syria are Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash and Rihab Taha, both top scientists in Iraq's alleged biological-weapons program, said The Washington Times.
The two women are notable not only for their scientific expertise, but also because they attained senior positions among the male-dominated Ba'ath Party, the paper said.
Mrs. Taha, a British-trained microbiologist, is married to Iraq's oil minister Amir Rashid Mohammed Ubaydi, on the American most-wanted list of 55.
The Times claims she ran Iraq's biological-warfare program at a research lab in the town of Hakam beginning in the mid-1980s.
Mrs. Taha was not listed, although she is wanted for questioning.
Mrs. Ammash has been photographed at Saddam's Cabinet meetings, and at a meeting with his son, Qusay, according the U.S. daily.
On Friday, April 11, Mrs. Ammash's picture and name were listed by the U.S. Central Command as one of 55 “most-wanted” Iraqis.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has warned Syria several times publicly to stop helping the Iraqi regime, asserting that some Iraqi leaders had fled to the country.
[unedited; the ed.]
Blair's open letter to Iraq, to be distributed as a leaflet by British troops in Iraq (Source: The Guardian, 4 Apr 03)
This is the text of the message from the prime minister, Tony Blair, to be distributed as a leaflet by British troops in Iraq
"From Tony Blair
"As soon as Saddam Hussein's regime falls, the work to build a new free and united Iraq will begin. A peaceful, prosperous Iraq which will be run by and for the Iraqi people. Not by America, not by Britain, not by the UN - though all of us will help - but by you the people of Iraq.
"For the first time in 25 years you will be free from the shadow of Saddam and can look forward to a new beginning for your families and your country.
"That is already starting to happen in those parts of your country that have been liberated. But you want to know that we will stay to get the job done. You want to know that Saddam will be gone.
"I assure you: he will be. Then, coalition forces will make the country safe, and will work with the United Nations to help Iraq get back on its feet. We will continue to provide immediate humanitarian aid, and we will help with longer-term projects.
"Our troops will leave as soon as they can. They will not stay a day longer than necessary.
"We will make sure deliveries of vital aid such as food, medicine and drinking water get through.
"Our aim is to move as soon as possible to an interim authority run by Iraqis. This will pave the way for a truly representative Iraqi government, which respects human rights and the rule of law; develops public services; and spends Iraq's wealth not on palaces and weapons of mass destruction, but on schools and hospitals.
"The money from Iraqi oil will be yours. It will no longer be used by Saddam Hussein for his own benefit and that of his regime. It will be used to build prosperity for you and your families.
"You should be free to travel, free to have access to independent media, free to express your views.
"As we made clear from the start, this is not a war of conquest. This is a campaign that will end dictatorship, remove the weapons of mass destruction and liberate the Iraqi people so you can determine your own future - a better future. This is not a war on Iraq. This is a campaign against Saddam Hussein's regime.
"For too long the world ignored the plight of the Iraqi people. That was wrong. We know and understand that many of you live in fear of Saddam. We promise that the events of 1991 will not happen again. We have pledged to remove Saddam. And we will deliver. Once he is gone, we will help Iraq rebuild itself, and become once more a member of the international family of nations.
"In the spirit of true friendship and goodwill, we will do our utmost to help."
From the Economists Allied for Arms Reduction homepage Economists Allied for Arms Reduction (ECAAR) is one of the US-based INES member organisations: http://www.ecaar.org/
International Peace Bureau joins global call for boycott of US products (Source: IPB Press Communiqué, 14 April 03)
On 14 April, the International Peace Bureau (IPB) called for a non-violent boycott of US products, and supported the Day of Action organised on April 15. The 1910 Nobel Peace Prize laureate wants to raise pressure on the US government to re-join the international community, complying with the rules of the United Nations and international law. Colin Archer, IPB Secretary-General, believes that the US's unilateral policies pose a serious risk to international security and must be reversed. "The boycott is not against the American people or the American soldiers", he said, "but against the Bush administration and its unilateralist policies."
The IPB wants the boycott to be used to press the US administration:
IPB urges its members and all working for disarmament, human rights and the environment to support and sign-on to the boycott. All details, including products to boycott and list of endorsing organisations, at: http://www.motherearth.org/USboycott/index_en.php#pledge
Colin Archer, Secretary-General of the IPB: < >
INES is an IPB member organisation
US rejects Iraq DU clean-up (Source: BBC, 14 Apr 03)
"The US says it has no plans to remove the debris left over from depleted uranium (DU) weapons it is using in Iraq. It says no clean-up is needed, because research shows DU has no long-term effects. It says a 1990 study suggesting health risks to local people and veterans is out of date.
"A United Nations study found DU contaminating air and water seven years after it was used. DU, left over after natural uranium has been enriched, is 1.7 times denser than lead, and very effective for punching through armoured vehicles. When a weapon with a DU tip or core strikes a solid object, like the side of a tank, it goes straight through before erupting in a burning cloud of vapour. This settles as chemically poisonous and radioactive dust. (…)"
US troops encouraged ransacking (Source: IPB mailing forwarding The Wisdom Fund's twflist information of 15 April 03)
At the following URL, you can find a number of press clips (eg. from Dagens Nyheter (Sweden), The Times (UK), The Independent (UK), The New York Times, etc.), with particular emphasis on the destruction of ancient and unique artifacts at the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad:
http://www.twf.org/News.html
Women, Democracy and Iraq
Program Officer of the Women Peacemakers Program (WPP) of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), Shelley Anderson, has written a very interesting Open Letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George Bush. The letter, dated April 15, expresses grave concern "about the needs of Iraqi women and girls, both in the short term and in the long term," and urges Bush and Blair, "to devote all the resources necessary in order to ensure that these basic needs are addressed."
For the letter in full, contact Shelley Anderson at: < >
The letter is also available from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
India Mulls 'Pre-Emptive' Pakistan Strike, Cites U.S. Iraq War Precedent (Source: IPB citing Agence France Press, 11 Apr 03)
Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes reiterated Indian warnings that Pakistan was a prime case for pre-emptive strikes. "There are enough reasons to launch such strikes against Pakistan, but I cannot make public statements on whatever action that may be taken," Fernandes told a meeting of ex-soldiers in the northern Indian city of Jodhpur on April 11. Fernandes also said he endorsed [Indian] Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha's recent comments that India had "a much better case to go for pre-emptive action against Pakistan than the United States has in Iraq." Sinha also argued that Pakistan was "a fit case" for US military action, because it had weapons of mass destruction and terrorists. (…)
"Trust & Verify" No. 107/March-April 2003
The latest issue of "Trust & Verify," published by the London-based "Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC)," carries the following:
CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, SEMINARS
IPB Peace Academy calendar
This is a peace education service for the International Peace Bureau (IPB) provided by the Norwegian Peace Alliance. At the following web site, you can find a list of peace events, conferences, seminars, workshops, etc: http://www.nowar.no/peaceacademy/calendar.html
Global Ecological Integrity, Human Rights, and Human Responsibilities Intersections Between International Law and Public Health
The conference will address issues of public policy. It will explore strategies to promote eco-justice under the umbrella of human rights, considering the legal and political aspects of health and environmental sustainability. Scientific and ethical discussions of these themes will be essential to inform the discussion.
For more details, contact: Laura Westra, Ph.D.: < > http://www.ecointegrity.net or: Colin. L. Soskolne, Ph.D.: http://www.phs.ualberta.ca/staff/soskolne
No new or changed email or web addresses in this issue. All INES e-mail addresses and homepages are available upon request from:
< < < < < end of No. 11/2003 what's new in ines < < < < <