Two million pencils collected by the
Spanish Campaign for Lifting the Sanctions on Iraq will be shipped
to Iraq next Thursday October 11th from Valencia
(CSCAweb, 8th october, 2001)
The second shipment of educational materials will be shipped
from the port city of Valencia to Iraq next Thursday, October
11th. This is the final stage in the solidarity campaign initiated
last May by the Spanish Campaign for Lifting the Sanctions on
Iraq (SCLSI) in solidarity with Iraqi children.
The materials will be shipped from the port city of Valencia
to the Jordanian city of Aqaba. From there, they will be transported
by road to Baghdad where they will be handed to the Iraqi Minister
of Education. A new Spanish delegation is scheduled to visit
Iraq next January in order to check upon the distribution of
materials among Iraqi children.
Because of the considerable amount of material collected in
the numerous activities carried throughout these past months
by organizations and institutions throughout the country as well
as the economic support to the campaign, this new initiative
against the embargo and in solidarity with the Iraqi people initiated
by the SCLSI must be considered as a great success.
Last December, a first shipment of educational material arrived
in Iraq on the first direct flight between Madrid and Baghdad
since the sanctions against Iraq were approved in 1990. Eight
tons of educational material were collected throughout the year
2000.
This second shipment (50 tons) includes, together with the
educational material collected in educational centres countrywide,
two million pencils that have been acquired thanks to the economic
support of individuals, social organizations, and local institutions
countrywide . Every pencil has a logo in Arabic that reads "Campaign
for Lifting the Sanctions on Iraq Spanish State". The
campaign initially hoped for sending just one million pencils
to Iraq.
The shipment of this material has suffered a notable delay
due to the administrative delay of the UNSC Sanctions Committee.
The UNSC Sanctions Committee is in charge of authorizing the
entry in Iraq of any donation or goods bought under the "oil
for food" program, including the humanitarian aid. The Sanctions
Committee authorized the shipment of educational material on
July 31st, that is, four months after the Spanish goverment presented
the request on behalf of the SCLSI. These delays are, on the
other hand, typical of the US and British attitude of obstructing
the UN "oil for food" program. The delay has forced
the SCLSI to postpone on two occasions the projected travel
to Iraq of Spanish delegates who participated in the campaign.
Since the beginning of the campaign last may, 11,924,161 pesetas
have been collected (64,454 US $). The total expenses are 1,937,935
pesetas (10,475 US $). There are still pending expenses relating
to the shipping of the materials from Valencia to Baghdad.
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