Iraq's academics are being liquidated: urgent appeal

[Newdem@aol.com]

Dave  Stratman
_newdemocracyworld.org_ (http://newdemocracyworld.org/) 
20  Moraine Street
Boston, MA 02130
617-524-4073
*****************
URGENT
APPEAL TO SAVE IRAQ'S ACADEMICS

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 that  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.

You can sign this petition by clicking:  
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Iraqacad/

This petition was launched by the  BRussells tribunal and is already
signed by the following:

See also  the call for action
[underneath] and  http://
www.brusselstribunal.org/Academics.htm
______________________________________________________________________
________________________

Call  for action

1. We call upon all people, especially academics and students,  to
help end the silence that  surrounds the ongoing crime of  the
destruction of Iraq's educational infrastructure and the
assassination  of Iraqi academics, and support Iraqi academics' right
and hope to live in an  independent, democratic Iraq, free of foreign
occupation and  hegemony.

2. We urge that academic institutions and organisations  declare
solidarity with their Iraqi colleagues.

3. We urge that  academics forge links between Iraqi educators, both
in exile
and in Iraq,  and universities worldwide.

4. We urge that student organisations link  with Iraqi students
organisations.

5. We urge that educators mobilise  colleagues and concerned citizens
to take up the cause of the salvation of  Iraq's intellectual wealth,
by organising seminars, teach-ins and forums on  the plight of Iraq's
academics.

The world's academics and  intellectuals must act now to save the
lives of their colleagues in  Iraq.

The Brussells Tribunal has started to build a network of contacts  and
raise public awareness and can provide information and support  to
individuals and groups who wish to mobilise on this issue.  We  are
able to act as a depository and hub for this  campaign.

http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Academics.htm

Preliminary  list of endorsers:

Noam Chomsky, Professor of Linguistics, Philosophy of  Language,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Linguistics  &
Philosophy, USA
Tony Benn, President of the STOP THE WAR COALITION,  Former MP,
Cabinet Minister and Chairman of the British Labour Party,  UK
Eduardo Galeano, essayist, journalist, historian, and activist,  Uruguay.
Hans von Sponeck (Former UN Assistant Secretary General &  United
Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq 1998-2000 -  Germany)
Howard Zinn, professor, writer, educator, and leader in  nonviolent
social protest, USA
John Pilger, journalist and documentary  film-maker, UK/Australia
Dr. Curtis F.J. Doebbler, International Human Rights  Lawyer.
Prof. Em.
Francois Houtart, Director of the Tricontinental Center  -
Cetri, Belgium
Prof. Immanuel Wallerstein,  Yale University,  USA.
Gabriel Kolko, author and historian.
Tareq Ismael, Prof. of Political  Science, University of Calgary.
Mohammed Aref, Science writer based in  Surrey, UK Former advisor to
Arab Science and Technology Foundation in United  Arab Emirates
(2000-2003) and science editor for Al Hayat newspaper in  London
(1988-2000).
Raymond William Baker, President of IAMES  (International Association
of Middle East Studies) and President of the  Administrative Board of
a transnational initiative to build an international  university in
Iraq, Global Partners for the International University of Iraq  GP-IUI).
Prof. Dr. Guenter Meyer, Centre for Research on the Arab  World
(CERAW), University of Mainz , Germany
Michel  Chossudovsky,
Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa,
director  Centre for Research on Globalization, Canada
Prof. Lieven De Cauter,  philosopher, K.U. Leuven / Rits
Dr. Ian Douglas, Visiting Professor Political  Science Department An-
Najah National University Nablus, Palestine
Abdul  Ilah Al-Bayaty (Writer - Iraq / France)
Haifa Zangana (Novelist - Iraq /  UK)
Sabah Al-Mukhtar (President of the Arab Lawyers Association - Iraq /  UK)
Dr. Imad Khadduri (Nuclear scientist - Iraq / Canada)
Sami Ramadani  (Senior lecturer in sociology at London Metropolitan
University - Iraq /  UK)
Mundher Al-Adhami (Research Fellow at Kings College London - Iraq /  UK)
Amir Al Ani (Sociologist - Iraq / France)
Ghali Hassan (Science and  Mathematics Education Centre, Curtin
University - Perth,  Australia)
Niloufer Bhagwat (Vice President of Indian Lawyers  Association
- -
Mumbai / India)
Karen Parker (Attorney , Association of  Humanitarian Lawyers,
partners of the BRussells Tribunal - USA)
Jan Fermon  (Lawyer of  Court case against General Tommy Franks in
Brussels,  Progress Lawyers Network - Belgium)
Amy Bartholomew (Law professor -  Canada)
Ayse Gul Altinay , Assistant Professor of Cultural  Anthropology,
Sabanci University, Turkey
Gabriele Zamparini (independent  filmmaker - Italy/UK)
Paola Pisi (College professor) Uruknet -  Italy
Jeffrey Blankfort (Former editor of the Middle East Labor  Bulletin
and currently hosts radio programs - USA)
Jeff Archer/Malcom  Lagauche (Journalist - USA)
Corinne Kumar (Secretary General of El Taller  International -
Tunesia / India)
Dahr Jamail, independent journalist,  USA.
Carlos Varea (coordinator of SCOSI - Spanish Campaign  against
Occupation and
for the Sovereignty of Iraq - Spain)
Joachim  Guilliard (Journalist, Anti-war movement - Germany)
Sigyn Meder (Anti-war  movement - Sweden)
Manuel Raposo (Anti-war movement - Portugal)
John  Catalinotto (International Action Center - USA)
Charles Jenks (Chair of  Advisory Board and Web Manager, Traprock
Peace Center, USA)
Dr. Dahlia  Wasfi M.D. (Anti-war activist, speaker, Global Exchange,
Iraq / USA)
Larry  Everest (Author / Journalist - USA)
Patrick Deboosere, demographer, VUB,  Belgium
Hana Al Bayaty, filmmaker / journalist - Iraq / Egypt /  France
Dirk Adriaensens, coordinator SOS Iraq
Prof. Jean Bricmont,  scientist, specialist in theoretical physics,
U.C. Louvain-La-Neuve,  Belgium
Prof. Pierre Klein, Professor International Law, U.L. Bruxelles,  Belgium
Inge Van De Merlen, BRussells Tribunal, Belgium
Bernard Genet  (Comaguer,
Anti-war Committee Marseille - France)
Dr. Bert De Belder  (Coordinator Intal & Medical Aid For The Third
World - Belgium)
Pol De  Vos (Stop USA - Belgium)
Ludo De Brabander (Vrede - Belgium)
Ernst-Peter  R�¸hrnschopf, mathematician, Erlangen, Germany,
Siegrun  Dewald-R�¸hrnschopf, Erlangen, Germany.

David Ludden
Professor of  History
University of  Pennsylvania
http://www.history.upenn.edu/faculty/ludden.htm