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Press Release Sat 3 August 16:00
Voices in the Wilderness/ Trident Ploughshares
Richard Byrne 0845 4560282/ 0794 783 9992 (Voices)
David Mackenzie 0870 458 3117 (07876593016) (Trident Ploughshares)
Latest US warmongering no surprise to anti sactions campaigners.
Members of Voices in the Wilderness UK (1), preparing for Tuesday's (August 6th) "Don't nuke Iraq"
demonstration, expressed no surprise at Saturday's statement of war rhetoric by US under-secretary
for arms control John Bolton. Mr. Bolton insisted that the US Govenment's intended Iraqi regime
change will be unaffected by Iraq re-admitting UN weapons inspectors. (2)
"The US has always used the weapons inspections issue for their own aims, to continue sanctions, or
to prosecute warfare on Iraq," explained Richard Byrne, who visited Iraq in January 2000 on a
sanctions breaking trip, " Bolton's statement is merely a continuation of over 10 years of US
hypocrisy over weapons inspections, pretending they are concerned about Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction capabilities, whilst hindering the inspectors when they were in, using the inspections
teams for spying and undermining efforts to re-introduce inspectors. In the past two months the US
Government has made a number of plays to hinder negotiations on re-admitting weapons inspectors
(3). Bolton's response to Iraq's offer of talks with UNMOVIC [the UN weapons inspections team] is
the most blatant example. The only surprise is that people are still surprised the US is hindering
weapons inspections. The US Government is clearly hell bent on war with Iraq and won't let a few UN
Resolutions about weapons inspectors, international law, or concerns about the terrible suffering
another attack on Iraq will cause get in the way."
Voices UK members are gathering with members of anti nuclear direct action group Trident
Ploughshares at Faslane to protest against nuclear threats made by the British Defence Secretary
against Iraq (4). They will stage a symbolic "Die-In" in front of the gates at Faslane, the
Scottish naval base which hosts Britain's Trident submarines.
Call Richard Byrne 0845 4560282/ 0794 783 9992 (Voices)
David Mackenzie 0870 458 3117 (07876593016) (Trident
Ploughshares)
(1) voices in the wilderness is a campaign group calling for the immediate and unconditional
lifting of economic sanctions on Iraq.
(2) Press association August 3rd 2002, " Despite weapons offer, US still 'wants Saddam out'"
www.ananova.com
(3) See ARROW anti war briefing "Torpedoeing the Inspectors"
http://www.j-n-v.org/ARROW_aw_briefings/ARROW_briefing019.htm
(4) See ARROW briefing "Don't nuke Iraq" www.justicenotvengeance.org
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