1 April 2005 3pm Update

Over 80 anti-war activists pulled an April fools day hoax outside the offices of British company, Windrush Communications Ltd today. The protestors dressed as pirates for an April Fools Day Pro-Privatisation Party. The aim of which was to highlight the role of Windrush in promoting the illegal plunder of Iraq’s assets.

Playing rousing samba to a gathering crowd of passers by, the protesters accused the company of operating in breach of international law by facilitating the privatisation of Iraq, and demanded their illegal work be halted immediately.

The protesters claim the company was working outside the jurisdiction of The Hague Regulations and the Geneva Convention by following Paul Bremer’s Order 39 which was enacted at the beginning of the occupation of Iraq in 2003. These orders changed Iraq’s constitution to allow foreign companies to own Iraq’s public assets and land and have resulted in a process of mass privatisation. As an occupying force, Bremer had no legal jurisdiction to enact these orders which amount to pillage of a country’s resources – a war crime.

This is corporate piracy 21st century style. While the pirates of yore contented themselves with pieces of eight, the corporations involved in the privatisation of Iraq under the guise of reconstruction of Iraq are digging into a treasure chest worth billions.

A spokesperson for the protesters said “As the Bush Commission yesterday slammed the US intelligence on Iraq’s WMD, we are here to remind people of the real reasons why we went to war- a corporate takeover set in the midst of an empire’s dream where Iraq is carved up and sold off to the likes of Haliburton, Shell and Bechtel.

The protest today is part of an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of the illegal privatisation of Iraq. Last year journalist Naomi Klien flew into the UK to give evidence at a trial against 2 protesters regarding the legality of Windrush’s actions, she stated “a people, starved and sickened by sanctions, then pulverised by war, is going to emerge from this trauma to find that their country had been sold out from under them”.

4 more anti-war activists await trial in September for actions highlighting the illegal nature of Windrush Communications work. They will be calling the attorney general to give evidence to support their case.


NOTES FOR EDITORS.

1. Windrush Communications are organisers of Iraq Procurement Conferences where multinationals come together to discuss selling off Iraq’s public assets, radically changing the state of Iraq’s economy and affecting the future prospects of generations of Iraqis to come. By organising these conferences, Windrush Communications are facilitating the privatisation of Iraq to foreign corporations and plundering the country’s resources.

2. Corporate Pirates is a network of anti-war individuals who have come together to protest against the corporate takeover of Iraq.

3. Images and Interviews available from 07931337890,  stopthepillage@yahoo.co.uk