Despite having had their website blocked by saboteurs the Human Shield Movement to Iran has vowed to continue organising for a departure to Tehran in the coming months.

The Human Shield Movement have warned President Bush that any attempt at an illegal ‘Iraq-style’ war against Iran would be met by a massive mobilisation of western Human Shields, the like of which has never been seen. Already over 800 people have now pledged themselves as potential human shields.

Agreements have been made to arrange 'quickie visas' for human shields and several civilian infrastructure sites have been selected as places for the shields to be stationed. They will not be guarding any nuclear or military sites, but ones which would cause civilian hardship if attacked. So far they have selected a water treatment centre, two power stations and a sewage treatment plant.

The Human Shield Movement gained global prominence in the 2003 when hundreds of so-called Western civilians of all ages and backgrounds descended on Iraq in an attempt to prevent the invasion. The movement has been out of hibernation since President Bush’s State of the Union in Februrary 2005 and have been collecting pledges of people willing to go to Iran should an invasion look imminent. Although travelling to Iran or Syria is seen as a ‘last resort’ the Movement is determined to be more organised this time around.

A spokesperson for the movement, Schlomo Stankowic said today;

“We are not surprised that our website has been brought down by saboteurs. The same thing occured to our website in 2003 when right-wing computer hackers decided that opposing an invasion of Iraq was unpatriotic. We had hoped that the lesson of Iraq is that true patriotism is not a blind acceptance of official policy, but a love of one's country deep enough to call her to a higher plain.

Military action against Iran would be based on the principle of ‘anticipatory self defence’ or ‘preventive war’. By allowing the concept that wars can be fought on the basis of what states might do rather than what they have done or are about to do, we shatter the precepts of international law and destabilise the world. It is up to all of us to do everything in our power to save this planet from this dangerously misguided foreign policy. Unfortunately in 2003, we had little more than a month to mobilise human shields. This time it will be different. This time we will be prepared.”


For more information contact  humanshieldsiran@hotmail.co.uk

If you would like to pledge yourself as a human shield contact  humanshieldsiran@hotmail.co.uk