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Medea Benjamin Disrupts Iraqi PM Speech

messenger | 31.07.2006 12:24 | Anti-militarism

Medea broke into a chant saying:

"Iraqis want the troops to leave,
bring them home now!
Listen to the Iraqis!"

as she was handcuffed, carried out, and arrested
during Prime Minister Maliki's speech to Congress last week.
It was shown on the popular, politically poignant "Daily Show".

"After witnessing Benjamin’s disruption, Maxine Waters, member
of Congress and chair of the Out of Iraq Caucus, stated, “We are
going to witness more and more public outrage as the violence in
Iraq escalates in this ongoing occupation.”"

"A recent World Public Poll shows that 87% of Iraqis want a timetable
for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq."

She has been on a hunger strike with Code Pink and several
other organizations such as Goldstar Mothers since the 4th
of July in front of the White House each day.

"After being rebuffed in our numerous attempts to meet with
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, including setting up "Camp
Al-Maliki" across from the Iraqi Embassy and publishing an
open letter to him in one of the largest Iraqi newspapers, we
received an amazing invitation: Five members of the Iraqi
Parliament who are working on a Reconciliation Plan to end
the violence in their country contacted us. Moved by the
commitment of the long-term fasters and dismayed by their
prime minister’s refusal to meet with us, these parliamentarians
asked us to join them in Amman, Jordan next week to discuss
their Reconciliation Plan, on condition that we break our long-term
fast with them!"

"This marks a big turning point in the fast, yet we know that we
have a long way to go towards bringing the 140,000 US servicemen
and women home from Iraq. We strongly encourage our local fasters
to continue to do weekly or ongoing fasts, and to make your fasts
public by holding actions outside Congressional offices and calling
the media."

Also, "Thursday, July 27, two hunger strikers, Gael Murphy and Eve
Tetaz, interrupted the long overdue Senate Foreign Relations
Committee hearing on John Bolton’s nomination as US Ambassador
to the U.N. They wore t-shirts saying “No Bolton” and urged Senators
to reject Bolton as the worst possible choice for the job and for world peace."

These brave and selfless women have been very active of late, and
the corporate news giants CBS and CNN even had video of the speech
disruption.

Click the link below for more:

 http://www.codepinkalert.org//article.php?id=1127

messenger