'No to Sanctions on Iraq, No to Occupation of Palestine': The Spanish State Delegation's Solidarity Visit to Jordan

Hisham Bustani

Amman, Sunday, January 13, 2002

From Madrid to Amman and Baghdad and Jerusalem, there is one line of Humanity that links all of our just causes. We welcome the Spanish peoples' delegation that has an internationalist heart and an Arab pulse. Our friends in the SCLSI did not come to us in sympathy, nor came to us in a humanitarian or a charity mission, they came to us with a clear political message: NO to the US embargo on Iraq, NO to the threats thrown on Iraq in the name of "combating terrorism", and NO to the Zionist occupation of Palestine"

The Spanish State Campaign for Lifting the Sanctions on Iraq (SCLSI), that visited Baghdad in solidarity between January 2nd and 10th, was on for an intensive program in Jordan on Friday 11th.

The delegation, comprised of 93 activists representing all of the Spanish State regions and peoples, paid a solidarity visit to the injured heroes of the Intifada that are currently being treated in Jordan Hospital by a team of Iraqi physicians. They were briefed on the numbers of those injured, types of injuries, and the role played by Iraqi medical teams in their
treatment.

Followingly, the delegation was transported to Union of Professional Associations' (UPA) Complex, where they were on a rendezvous with about 200 Jordanian activists, party leaders and members, and other social and political groups and organizations. A meeting that was sponsored by the Jordan Dental Association (JDA).

"Why is Iraq being punished with an Embargo?" Dr. Hisham Bustani, the moderator of the meeting asked in his opening speech. "It is because Iraq is the last holding Arab fort. It's because Iraq said NO to Madrid [Conference], NO to Oslo [agreement], and NO to Wadi Araba [agreement] (...) It's because he said NO to the fragmentation of Palestine into withering Bantustans... Its because Iraq said, and continues to say, that Palestine should be Arab and Free from the [Red] Sea to the [Jordan] River (the whole historic Palestine occupied since 1948)". Dr. Bustani also welcomed the visiting delegation: "From Madrid to Amman and Baghdad and Jerusalem, there is one line of Humanity that links all of our just causes. We welcome the
Spanish peoples' delegation that has an internationalist heart and an Arab pulse. Our friends in the SCLSI did not come to us in sympathy, nor came to us in a humanitarian or a charity mission, they came to us with a clear POLITICAL message: NO to the US embargo on Iraq, NO to the threats thrown on Iraq in the name of "combating terrorism", and NO to the Zionist occupation of Palestine."

Then there were speeches by Dr. Fayez Khalayleh, Head of JDA's Iraq's Support Committee, Dr. Ma'moom Salhab, Vice-President of the JDA, Mr. Hakem Al-Fayez, Head of the National Mobilization Committee for the Defense of Iraq, Dr. Moh'md Al-Oran, Head of the Council of Presidents of UPA. There were also comments by Mr. Bahjat Abu-Gharbeyyeh, a prominent opposition figure and the eldest of the Palestinian freedom fighters, Mr. Hamzeh Mansour, Vice-President of the Islamic Action Front and Ibrahim Alloush, Media Coordinator of the Association Against Zionism and Racism.

All speeches stressed on the condemnations of the sanctions and threats on Iraq, the solidarity with the struggle of the Arab people in Palestine until its complete liberation, and the indictment of the United States of America as being the most predominant terrorist in the world. Speeches also insisted that our international comrades should play a more "pressurizing" role on their governments regarding the issues of Palestine and Iraq, and should do their utmost to try and stop Zionist immigration into Palestine.

In his speech, Mr. Carlos Varea, Coordinator of the SCLSI and President of the Arab Cause Solidarity Committee (ACSC), said that "the American intervention in Iraq was to establish the "New World Order" called for by Bush Senior, and that the start of the "peace" process in Madrid and the destruction of Iraq are dialectally interrelated." Mr. Varea stressed that "what started in Madrid in 1992 is not a peace process, but a crime" and that the Intifada "has ended the dynamics of Oslo, and the awakening of the Iraqi people has ended the ambitions of the United States to destroy Iraq". He also clarified that "the geopolitics of the region is inimaginable without Iraq, and that the USA wants to control Arab oil, plant "Israel"
economically in the region, infiltrate any Arab coalition, force normalization [with the Zionist entity] and divide Iraq." Mr. Varea pointed out that "Oslo, the sanctions [on Iraq], and preventing Arab Renascence have all suffered a sever failure, therefore, the USA wants to force a direct and complete hegemony on the [Arab] region after September 11", stressing that all what's happening in the region is in close relationship with "World Bank and IMF schemes".

The delegation then had a light lunch, and continued a closed discussion with several Jordanian activists in the fields of Anti-Normalization, Anti-Globalization, and others, for a more in-depth understanding of the situation in Jordan and the Arab World, and to establish practical suggestions for mutual cooperation and solidarity.

The delegation then visited the 5 injured Palestinians in Jaysh Al-Tahreer Hospital who were off with the delegation to Spain on Saturday to receive medical treatment in Spanish hospitals.

We thank the SCLSI and the ACSC for their visit, which, in contrary to NGOs' (SCLSI and ACSC are NOT NGOs!) fragmenting and infiltrative policies and actions, provided direct political solidarity with the Arab cause, which lies in the heart of International issues, and is a clear example on the destructive effects of Capitalism, Globalization and Interventionism.