————————————————————–
Islamic Human Rights Commission
————————————————————–

14th May 2004

Press Release: If Bush Really Listens to You Tony – Now’s the Time to Talk
Protestors Urge British Government to Stop a Najaf Bloodbath and Call in the UN Now

As protestors gather outside 10 Downing Street in their hundreds after a vigil was called to vociferously object to the allied incursions into Najaf in Iraq, IHRC is calling on the British Prime Minister to recall the many principles his government espoused when first coming into power.

Speaking today, IHRC Chairman Massoud Shadjareh said:

“New Labour’s now notorious ‘ethical foreign policy’ is a distant dream, and all that remains is the nightmare of a Bush – Blair alliance that has seen a bloodbath in Fallujah before the reinstatement of Baathist rule in that area, and now an impending bloodbath in Najaf.

“We hear the oft-peddled justification from our government that had it not been for the counsel of our Prime Minister the actions of the US would have been more brutal. If Tony Blair really does have any influence on the American war machine, now is the time for him to call for an end to all incursions into Najaf and its surrounds. Peace can only come to Iraq when all facets of its society have confidence that those entrusted with its reconstruction do so out of principle. The only way this process can start is by immediate withdrawal of allied troops and replacement by international and regional community structures.”

IHRC notes that Lebanon’s post civil war processes were enacted in this manner. It is still not too late for Iraq to be saved from the blood-letting that the US and its supporters seem to be spoiling for. The question for those calling their government to account outside Downing Street today, is simply whether the British government has any principles left to take a stance on.

For more information, please contact the Press Office on (+44) 7958 522 196 or (+44) 7903 053362 or (+44) 7958 60 74 75.

Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 598
Wembley
HA9 7XH
United Kingdom

Telephone (+44) 20 8904 4222
Fax (+44) 20 8904 5183
Email: info@ihrc.org
Web: www.ihrc.org