News Categories PROTESTORS MARK FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF IRAQ WAR
| PROTESTORS MARK FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF IRAQ WAR |
| Thursday, 22 March 2007 | |
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Ex-President Lagos: Chile Worked To The Last Minute To Avoid War “Today we’re not only demanding the withdrawal of troops (from Iraq). We’re also marching as a way to call on all Latin American people, especially Chileans, to move toward peace,” said Hirsch. Unfortunately, instead of pushing for peace, Chile is buying arms at an alarming rate, he said. “Chile is at the vanguard when it comes to arms, tanks and submarines. What a stupid way to spend money. The country should be spending money instead on problems related to healthcare and housing.” Last year, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Chile spent an estimated US$4.6 billion on defense, placing it 30th on the list of the world’s top military spenders. Though it represents just a fraction of the estimated US$644 billion the United States spends annually, Chile’s US$4.6 billion defense budget was nevertheless higher than that of North Korea, Pakistan and Venezuela, to name just a few. A similar protest against U.S. occupation of Iraq took place Friday evening in Valparaíso’s historic Plaza Anibal Pinto, and there are plans for more demonstrations in the coming days. On Tuesday, Iraq war opponents – including a number of U.S. citizens living in Chile – will once again demonstrate in front of the U.S. Embassy. Organized by the Association for Citizen Action and Taxes on Speculative Transactions (ATTAC) and Le Monde Diplomatique, the gathering is set to take place between 8 and 10 p.m. “We were inspired by some of the things we read and by our own faith to stand up and oppose the war because it’s fundamentally against life,” U.S. citizen Bob Mosher, who plans to participate in Tuesday’s demonstration, told the Santiago Times. “It’s a violent, unjustified activity on the part of the U.S. government,” he added. “It advances the interests of big business and the military industrial complex, and betrays the basic values of our people and country.” The Chilean demonstrations coincide with protests all over the globe. In Washington, D.C. an estimated 10,000 people marched from the city center to the Pentagon Saturday. In addition, protestors took to the streets in Chicago and Los Angeles, and in Madrid, Spain, an estimated 400,000 demonstrated against the war. The upcoming anniversary of the March 20, 2003 Iraq invasion also prompted comments this past weekend from former President Ricardo Lagos, who participated Saturday in a seminar entitled “Globalization and the Future of the State of Well-Being.” “The truth be told, Chile believed it was possible to take more time to find out if there were weapons of mass destruction (in Iraq),” the ex-president said. “We worked tremendously hard, right up to the last (minute). Together with Prime Minister (Tony) Blair, we were on the verge of coming up with a resolution. In the end it didn’t work.” In the days and weeks leading up to the outbreak of war, Chile – at the time a temporary member of the U.N. Security Council – played a very significant diplomatic role (ST, March 17, 2003). With the Council’s other member states split over whether or not to back a co-authored U.S., British and Spanish resolution calling for Iraq to meet U.N. disarmament requirements or face swift military reprisals, Chile in many ways broke the stalemate by siding against the pending invasion. Just days after Chile finally made its position clear, the United States – having failed to gain majority support with the Council – decided to sidestep the United Nations altogether. Four years later, U.S. forces are bogged down in the conflict, with casualties mounting on all sides. More than 3,200 U.S. soldiers have died, while the death toll of Iraqi (combatants and citizens) is placed by some sources at more than 100,000. “How different things would have been if (the invasion) had had the legitimate international backing of the United Nations instead of being a more or less unilateral action,” said Lagos. SOURCE: EMOL, RADIO COOPERATIVA By Benjamin Witte ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) |
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