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March 5, 2003 BAGHDAD -- The "human shield" action aimed at stopping a U.S. military attack against Iraq was damaged Tuesday as dozens of foreign anti-war protesters left the country after differences with the government over how they should be used. In a meeting with the peace activists over the weekend, the Iraqi official overseeing the human shields, Abdelrazak Hashimi, unveiled a list of 60 strategic sites and told the volunteers to move to the sites the next day, said Gordon Sloan, a spokesman for the human shield campaign who was at the session. The protesters balked, said Sloan, a 30-year-old Australian activist. Some said they wanted to move into hospitals and help treat civilian casualties if there is war. Others insisted that the Iraqi plan, by spreading the activists far apart, would render their anti-war effort ineffective and unnecessarily jeopardize their safety. Within 48 hours, defections began. About 40 protesters had left Iraq by Tuesday, leaving about 110 people. At its peak, there were 270 foreign participants in the human shield campaign, including Americans, Britons, Norwegians, French and Turks. On Tuesday, Ken O'Keefe, the organizer of the campaign, said some activists had been scheduled to leave, others were scared and some were frustrated in the pursuit of their political agendas. "The numbers are decreasing, but our cohesiveness is increasing," said O'Keefe, 33, a former Marine who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf war but has since renounced his U.S. citizenship. Hashimi, the government liaison to the human shields, declined to comment. The protesters had hoped that their presence at Iraqi power plants, oil refineries and water treatment plants would dissuade the United States from bombing the sites. But statements by U.S. officials have eroded those hopes. Army Gen. Tommy Franks, who would run the military campaign against Iraq, said in Qatar last week that U.S. war planners would not "necessarily" take the human shields into account. Sloan said Franks' comments scared some of the human shields and spurred their departure. "At the moment, this is a Club Med war zone. What would they have been like with troops in the streets and fingers on the trigger?" Sloan said. For the human shields that remain, there is a mood of resignation and quiet defiance. In apparent agreement with the government, they have moved to five sites around Baghdad, including a water treatment plant, a silo and an oil refinery. Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune To return to the France & Germany Gateway page, click HERE To return to the “Active Boycotts” index, click HERE To return to the HOME page, click HERE To leave a comment, click HERE To join our confidential email list, click HERE
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To view the Boycott Network’s “Super Index” of boycott information hosted on this website, click HERE |
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Due to the extensive scope and breath of coverage pertaining to the power grab of the “Franco-German Axis,” the Boycott Network recommends use of their special subject index by clicking HERE |
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