Report on the journey to Baghdad

Upon invitation of the Truth Committee Baytol Himka, a delegation of the Anti-imperialist Camp visited Baghdad from May 6 to May 10 to participate in an international conference against the embargo to which Iraq has been submitted for more than ten years.
Delegations from about fifty countries were present at the conference, most of which from the periphery of the Empire. All of them expressed their full solidarity with the Iraqi people for the unutterable suffering to which it is being submitted. They expressed as well their solidarity with the Government and Army, who despite the considerable pressures put on them continue to defend both the country's sovereignty and the population's basic interest against the imperialist stranglehold.
Whatever criticism there may be to the address of Saddam Hussein's government, we considered it to be our duty not only to bring our solidarity to Iraqi people but also to ensure them that the Anti-imperialist Camp will continue to struggle not only for the abolishment of the embargo imposed on Iraq as well as on many other countries, but moreover to give a halt to imperialism and colonialism.
This was the spirit of our comrade's speech delivered during the above conference, which has met considerable and serious consent, above all by the Asian and African delegations. In fact, the Anti-imperialist Camp has had the opportunity to foster friendly relations in the perspective of co-operation with these organisations.
During their stay our delegation could see with their own eyes the terrifying results of the bombings repeatedly carried out by the US headed imperial coalition. They could see as well evidence of the massacres committed on defenseless people resulting in a real genocide. There is lack of medicine, food, baby milk, spare parts for the industry and the salaries are very low.
But our delegation could also see how deep the anger against the USA and their regional allies was, as well as the symptoms of economic and civil life recovery which gives hope for a rebirth of this tortured country. Tortured but not isolated. Our participation in this conference has, in fact, allowed us to understand how broad the sympathy towards Iraq is, how numerous the forces willing to resist and to struggle for a fairer world are. Among those forces there are not only movements and parties belonging to the Marxist tradition, but as well progressive forces of various nature: laicistic, religious, popular or intellectual.
We are proud that some of these forces will participate in the next Anti-imperialist Camp, which will be even broader and pluralistic than the last year.

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)