Iraq anti-war conference to go on despite Spanish gov’t

Groups opposing the U.S. occupation of Iraq say they will go on with a conference set for mid-June despite the Spanish government’s reversal of earlier promises to issue visas to Iraqi participants.

The Spanish Campaign against the Occupation and for the Sovereignty of Iraq (CEOSI) announced on May 29 that the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation had informed them in essence that it would give no support to activities planned in Gijón and Madrid between June 18 and 21 at the “International Conference of the Iraqi Political Resistance: Iraq, sovereignty and democratic reconstruction.”

Essentially, this means the Spanish foreign ministry is reversing earlier promises to issue visas to Iraqis to enter Spain and participate in the conference. CEOSI notes that these invited Iraqis are all representatives of anti-occupation Iraqi organizations or legitimate representatives of Iraqi communities and that many have previously received Spanish visas. In addition, the new visas had been agreed upon in discussions earlier in the year when CEOSI agreed to postpone the conference from March to June.

The conference has been aimed at bringing four of the major Iraqi anti-occupation fronts together outside of Iraq, along with individuals and organizations from Europe and the United States, including Iraqi exiles, who are known in the anti-war movement and who support Iraqi sovereignty and have been working to end the occupation. According to CEOSI, “the highest representatives of the main anti-occupation Iraqi political and civilian groups” had committed to coming, including from the Nationalist and Islamic Patriotic Front, the Association of Muslim Scholars, the Political Council of the Iraqi Resistance and the Iraqi National Foundation Congress.

The conference will be organized with the collaboration of the Damascus-based Independence Study Center, whose president is Khalid Al-Maani. Personalities and representatives from the U.S., Europe and Arab world organizations, such as former United Nations official Hans von Sponeck — who resigned after seeing how the 1990-2003 blockade was killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis — and U.S.-based human rights activist Ramsey Clark, will also attend.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry claims its reversal is based on a request from the Iraqi interim government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to stop the Iraqis from entering and to turn them over to his regime. Some in the anti-war movement believe the heavier pressure on the Spanish government comes from Washington, especially since the Iraqi occupation regime owes its existence and its continuation in power to the U.S. occupation.

The groups among the conference invitees — taken together — are much more legitimate representatives of the Iraqi population than the regime in Baghdad.

CEOSI, with the assistance of others supporting the conference, is continuing the struggle to obtain visas and to receive guarantees from the Spanish Foreign Ministry that the government will provide adequate protection to the Iraqi guests. The group said in its May 29 statement that it “reiterates its commitment to hold its initiative and will evaluate with its Iraqi, European and U.S. partners the situation created by the decision of the Spanish Government, studying the possible alternatives with the collaborating institutions of the Principality of the Government of Asturias and City Council of Gijón.”

For more information in Spanish, Arabic and English see iraqsolidaridad.org

Catalinotto has been invited to the conference to represent the International Action Center.