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Iraqi Novelist Haifa Zangana: U.S. Troops Must Withdraw Now
Crackdown on Civil Liberties in the UK: Roundtable Discussion
on New Anti-Protest Laws, Extraordinary Rendition, Immigration
Laws & Torture
Iraqi Novelist Haifa Zangana: U.S. Troops Must Withdraw
Now
Zangana, a former prisoner under the Baathist regime in
Iraq, speaks out against the occupation and increasing violence
in Iraq. She also warns that hundreds of Iraqi academics have
been assassinated since the war began. [includes rush
transcript]
We turn now to the war in Iraq. The latest bloodshed comes
amid a spike of killings following the bombing of one of the
holiest sites to Shiite Muslims. As many as 1,300 Iraqis were
killed the week following the February 22nd bombing of the
gold dome of the Askariya shrine in Samarra. It marked one
of the bloodiest periods since the U.S. invaded the country
nearly three years ago.
Today we are going to look at the targeting of one group
that has received little attention -- hundreds of Iraqi academics
and scientists have been assassinated since the 2003 US invasion
of Iraq. The exact figure of deaths is unknown; estimates
range from about 300 to more than 1,000. Iraqi novelist Haifa
Zangana wrote in the Guardian last month that Baghdad universities
alone have lost 80 members of their staffs. These figures
do not include those who have survived assassination attempts.
Zangana writes there is a systematic campaign to assassinate
Iraqis who speak out against the occupation.
- Haifa Zangana, an Iraqi-born novelist and artist, and
former prisoner of the Baathist regime.
Crackdown on Civil Liberties in the UK: Roundtable
Discussion on New Anti-Protest Laws, Extraordinary Rendition,
Immigration Laws & Torture
Shami Chakrabarti, an attorney and director of the British
civil rights group Liberty, Milan Rai, of Justice Not Vengeance,
and former diplomat Brian Barder discuss the state of civil
liberties in Britain. [includes rush
transcript]
"I don't destroy civil liberties, I protect them"
- that's the title of an article by British Prime Minister
Tony Blair published last month in the Observer newspaper.
In it, Blair suggests that critics of recently-passed anti-terror
measures do not understand the nature of crimes in the modern
world. Blair writes "The question is not one of individual
liberty versus the state but of which approach best guarantees
most liberty for the largest number of people. In theory,
traditional court processes and attitudes to civil liberties
could work. But the modern world is different from the world
for which these court processes were designed." The prime
minister concludes by saying "If the nature of the threat
changes, so should our policies. That is not destroying our
liberties, but protecting them." Blair wrote the piece
in defense of several sweeping anti-terror measures passed
in the wake of the subway bombings of last July.
The measures include deportation and exclusion of foreigners
who are accused of "condoning and inciting violence."
They also incorporate closing worship places used for "fomenting
terrorism" and stripping people of their British nationality
if proved acting against British interests. He is currently
also fighting to pass an amendment through parliament that
would making "glorification of terrorism" a crime.
Other issues at the forefront of national debate in Britain
are a proposed new points-based immigration system as well
as the introduction of a national identity card. Britain's
role in the CIA's practice of "extraordinary rendition"
is also coming under scrutiny. In Parliament, lawmakers are
debating legislation that would grant the British government
new authority to search any aircraft thought to be carrying
terror suspects. Advocates of the proposed measure say the
bill would help prevent British complicity in the practice
of flying detainees to countries where they face torture.
Just this week, government officials admitted CIA aircraft
made at least 14 landings at two local airbases between October
2003 and May 2004.
Today we host a roundtable discussion on how these issues
are being dealt with in Britain today.
- Milan Rai, founding member of Voices in the Wilderness,
formed in the mid-1990s to draw attention to the effects
of the US-British led economic sanctions on Iraq. He is
currently coordinating the group Justice Not Vengeance.
Milan Rai is also the first person charged with "organizing
an unauthorized demonstration" under the new "Serious
Organized Crime and Policing Act." Rai and another
protester were arrested at an anti-war demonstration in
London last year as they read out the names of British soldiers
killed in Iraq. He is also the author of "7/7: The
London Bombings, Islam and the Iraq War" and "Regime
Unchanged."
- Shami Chakrabarti, an attorney and director of the British
civil rights group Liberty. She sits on the Advisory Board
of the British Institute of Human Rights and the Executive
Committee of the Administrative Law Bar Association.
- Brian Barder, retired British diplomat with decades of
experience in government service at home and abroad. His
posts include serving as British ambassador to Ethiopia,
Poland and the Republic of Benin. He has also served stints
as British High Commissioner in Nigeria and Australia. In
January 2004, Brian Barder resigned from the Special Immigration
Appeals Commission over his objection to laws allowing the
indefinite detention and deportation of terrorist suspects
without trial.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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