Saving Iraq's Academics: Petition to sign . . . Letter to write . . .

Fri Feb 3 17:13:56 EST 2006

Dear Colleagues,

I have just received this appeal, from Dr Ian Douglas of the Brussels Tribunal Advisory Committee, dated 16 January, asking academics around the world  (see attachment) to sign a "global petition and call for action in defence of Iraq's educators, over 250 of which have been assassinated since 2003 with many thousands more fleeing for their lives. This appeal speaks not only to other academics, but all those who understand that education is the foundation of sovereignty and justice." 

"This appeal has been endorsed by recognised champions of human conscience, including Noam Chomsky, Harold Pinter, J M Coetzee, Bianca Jagger, Tony Benn and Eduardo Galeano . . . along with numerous academic associations." The names of some of the others who have signed are listed on pages 5 to 13 of the attachment. 

Canadians who have signed include Naomi Klein, Michel Chossudovksy, Jim Harding,  Amy Bartholomew, Paresh Chattopadhyav, Michael A. Lebowitz, Tareq Ismael, Khairalla Said, and Joe Emersberger.

Page 4 provides a list of five statements that might serve as something of a template if you choose to write a letter of protest.  The letter can be sent to info at brusselstribunal.org .

The petition is meant to be signed at <http://www.petitiononline.com/Iraqacad/petition.html>
It will be sent to "the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) in Geneva. It is an integral part of a coordinated action aimed at providing the special rapporteur with justification for organising an immediate fact-finding country visit to Iraq." 
Please note: I could not sign the petition in this way. It kept taking me to a notice saying the server isn't working.  I tried to send a message to technical support but it was rejected.  Perhaps the system is overloaded and later attempts are necessary.  My email went through successfully, however, and I emailed them a second time to tell them that the server is down. 

However, if you go to http://www.brusselstribunal.org you will be able to sign the petition from a link there.  There seems to be no reason not to use this method.  I signed without any difficulty. You will find a link from the petition to a list of the names of the total of 6394 people and organisations that have signed so far.  There are other important links from http://www.brusselstribunal.org--one that goes directly to the email address to which you can send your email letter of protest; another to a list of the names of 131 Iraqi academics who have been killed, threatened, or kidnapped; and another, "Stop the Killing of Iraqi Academics," which, among other sources of information, takes you to links for online articles from a variety of sources covering this tragic situation.

The following statement (taken from the attachment) elaborates on the situation that Iraqi academics have faced and are facing: 

"A little known aspect of the tragedy engulfing Iraq is the systematic liquidation of the country's academics. Even according to conservative estimates, over 250 educators have been assassinated, and many hundreds more have disappeared. With thousands fleeing the country in fear for their lives, not only is Iraq undergoing a major brain drain, the secular middle class - which has refused to be co-opted by the US occupation - is being decimated, with far-reaching consequences for the future of Iraq. 

Already on July 14, 2004, veteran correspondent Robert Fisk reported from Iraq that: "University staff suspect that there is a campaign to strip Iraq of its academics, to complete the destruction of Iraq's cultural identity which began when the American army entered Baghdad." 

The wave of assassinations appears non-partisan and non-sectarian, targeting women as well as men, and is countrywide. It is indiscriminate of expertise: professors of geography, history and Arabic literature as well as science are among the dead. Not one individual has been apprehended in connection with these assassinations. 

According to the United Nations University, some 84 per cent of Iraq's institutions of higher education have already been burnt, looted or destroyed. Iraq's educational system used to be among the best in the region; one of the country's most important assets was its well-educated people. 

This situation is a mirror of the occupation as a whole: a catastrophe of staggering proportions unfolding in a climate of criminal disregard. As an occupying power, and under international humanitarian law, final responsibility for protecting Iraqi citizens, including academics, lies with the United States. 

With this petition we want to break the silence. 

1. We appeal to organisations which work to enforce or defend international humanitarian law to put these crimes on the agenda. 

2. We request that an independent international investigation be launched immediately to probe these extrajudicial killings. This investigation should also examine the issue of responsibility to clearly identify who is accountable for this state of affairs. We appeal to the special rapporteur on summary executions at UNHCHR in Geneva."

--Denis Salter.

__________________________________________________________
"When a people forget a language, they forfeit the heart of who they  
are and the ability to comprehend the stories that are central to their 
cultural, spiritual and emotional health."--Keren Rice.
____________________________________________________________________
"That's what hybrids were invented for: survival in changing ecologies."--Lisa Doollittle 
_______________________________________________________________________
"To celebrate this award, and the work it recognizes of those around the world, let me recall the words of Gandhi: 'My life is my message.' Also, plant a tree."  Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize for Peace.

__________________________________________________
Denis Salter
Professor of Theatre
McGill University
853 Sherbrooke St. West
Montréal, QC
H3A 2T6
Tel (514) 398 6550
Regular Fax (514) 398 8146
Computer Fax (309) 294 0444
denis.salter at mcgill.ca
d.salter at videotron.ca
__________________
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