ALBRIGHT'S SUPPORT OF THE SANCTIONS AND GENOCIDE CAN'T BE
IGNORED
Protesters confronted Madeline Albright outside the induction ceremonies for the Women's Hall of Fame, in Seneca Falls New York. The protest was against the U.S./UN sanctions against Iraq. The demonstration was called by a coalition of groups including the International Action Center, Iraq Sanctions Challenge, Pax Christi, Syracuse and Rochester.
"Madeline Albright should be on trial in front of an international war crimes tribunal, not receiving an honor," said Sarah Sloan of the Iraq Sanctions Challenge. "I was just in Iraq in May and I saw the effects of the sanctions on women and children there. There are no medicines for anyone, no effective pre-natal care can be done. Women are so malnourished they can't breast feed their babies. There is no clean water for drinking because chlorine can't be imported in great enough quantities to do the job. Under the sanctions chlorine is considered duel-use, which means that it may have a military application. Meantime, 80% of the sickness we saw in the hospitals in Baghdad and Basra is due to drinking untreated and contaminated water."
Sloan continued, "The sanctions have a devastating effect on the lives of women in Iraq. They can't be forgotten. In 1996, when queried on CBS's `60 Minutes' as to whether the death of a half million children was worth the price, Albright's response was, `That's a tough question, but yes we think the price is worth it.' Such an admission and support of the crime of genocide is not acceptable. Madeline Albright may try to blame Iraq for the suffering but the real criminals are those in the U.S. government who support and enforce the sanctions."
Demonstrators passed out leaflets to a supportive crowd and chanetd "Madeline Albright, you tell lies, Iraqi women and children die" and "Madeline Albright you can't hide, we charge you with genocide."
"We don't want to have organizations for women's rights
co-opted by government officials who carry out the orders
of big oil companies in search of super-profits,"
concluded Sloan. "The 150th anniversary of the founding of
the women's movement for voting rights and social justice
is a time for us to renew the battle for women and women's
rights all over the world."
--30--
From: "International Action Center"
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 21:18:24 -0500
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