Delegation of SCOSI to Iraq
A delegation of the Spanish Campaign against the Occupation of Iraq and for the Iraqi Sovereignty (SCOSI) travels to Iraq
SCOSI, Informative Note
IraqSolidaridad (www.nodo50.org/iraq)
April 18, 2005
"The SCOSI wants to highlight, through this new initiative, the need and the solidarity compromise of the international movement against the war and the occupation to maintain open wide the communication channels with the Iraqi people and the political and social organizations who are demanding the immediate withdrawal of the occupation forces, the whole restitution of their sovereignty and the establishment of a democratic and non-sectarian system, which fully respects the political, social and economical rights of the Iraqi population."
A delegation of the Spanish Campaign against the Occupation of Iraq and for the Iraqi Sovereignty (SCOSI, CEOSI in Spanish) is since Monday, April 18, in Iraq. The group expects to stay in this country until Tuesday, April 26. Once set up in Baghdad, the group will try to visiting some other places in the country.
Information and contacts with the delegation can be made through to the Spanish coordination phone established by the SCOSI in Revolta, Valence (Spain): + 34 608 27 50 94.
The delegation is made up of seven members: four representatives of the platform SCOSI in Andalusia (Manuel Garcàa Morales, general secretary of trade union CCOO FECOHTAN), Basque Country (Miren Karmele Colera, representative of Vasc internationalist organization KI); Madrid (Javier Couso, the Family, Friends and Colleagues of Josà© Couso ) and Catalonia (Francisco Ramà³n Esteban, member of the Catalonian platform PASI and the secretary of World Tribunal on Iraq`s Barcelona Session); two members of the coordinative group, who also would act as translators (Pedro Rojo, director of Al Fanar, and Houmad El Kadiri, representative of the "Jerusalem" Spanish-Palestinian Community Association) and finally the Spanish coordinator of the SCOSI (Carlos Varea, coordinator of the Brigades to Iraq Against the War initiative in 2003 and professor of the Univesidad Autonoma, Madrid).
The delegation has been invited by the organization Human Rights Watch of Kerbala. The SCOSI has already informed the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs about its decision to travel to Iraq.
This initiative was approved in both October, 2004 and January, 2005 SCOSI`s Meetings.
The compromise with Iraq
Nowadays Iraq is a n isolated country, during so long months under a state of emergency and immersed in a situation of war all over the country. With almost no independent mass media presence, the occupiers provide a biased image of Iraq to the world, which balances just between the news about indiscriminate attacks and kidnappings …whose authors are dubious-, and the news from the Iraqi authorities, absolutely yielded to the occupiers. In the meanwhile, the Iraqi society is sinking in misery, sicknesses and generalized violence, caricaturized in sects confronted among them.
The SCOSI wants to highlight, through this new initiative, the need and the solidarity compromise of the international movement aganst the war and the occupation to maintain open wide the communication channels with the Iraqi people and the political and social organizations who are demanding the immediate withdrawal of the occupation forces, the whole restitution of their sovereignty and the establishment of a democratic and non-sectarian system, which fully respects the political, social and economical rights of the Iraqi population.
The delegation expects to maintain informative contacts with representatives of different bodies and Iraqi organizations, included those that compose the Iraqi National Foundation Congress (INFC) The delegation will take advantage of its stage in Iraq to finish off the participation of Iraqi panelist participating in World Tribunal on Iraq`s Spanish Session -from 17 to 22 of May).
The delegation will proceed to carry out the funds, up to 15,000 euros, collected in the first phase of the sanitary campaign of support to the people of Falluyah, that began this year is carried out by the SCOSI. The funds will be donated to the Central Hospital of Falluyah, destroyed by the US forces during the November assault to the city.
Finally, the delegation will be visiting several hospitals in Baghdad to which the SCOSI -and the former Spanish Campaign for Lifting the Sanctions on Iraq (SCLSI)- has been keep relations of cooperation during the last decade, including regular visits during the March-April 2003 war made up by the Spanish Bride.