Iraq Invasion Anniversary - What's On In NZ

From: Peace Movement Aotearoa Date - 15 March 2007

Kia ora,

From 12 to 24 March 2007, there are protests, vigils and rallies all around the world to mark the fourth anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Below are the details of what is happening in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch; and below that a section with some links to information on the current situation in Iraq. This message will be available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/ianniv07.htm later today.

If you would like your event added to the web page, please send the details to email pma@xtra.co.nz with 'Iraq invasion anniversary event' in the subject line.

* Auckland

~ Saturday, 17 March: March against Iraq war – No attack on Iran – All US troops out now! 12 noon, Aotea Square, Queen Street, City. Organised by Global Peace and Justice Auckland, for more information contact email jbminto@xtra.co.nz or mike@unite.org.nz

~ Tuesday, 20 March: March to Superfund office to protest investments in US war machine, 12 noon, Auckland University Quad. Organised by Global Peace and Justice Auckland, for more information contact email jbminto@xtra.co.nz or mike@unite.org.nz

* Wellington

~ Thursday, 15 March: End NZ support for the 'war on terrorism', peace vigil from 5pm to 6pm at the Cenotaph, corner Lambton Quay and Bowen Street; the peace vigils are held on the first and third Thursday of each month. For more information contact Peace Movement Aotearoa, tel (04) 382 8129 or email pma@xtra.co.nz

~ Tuesday, 20 March: Stop the War! Rally and march to mark the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, 12 noon outside Parliament. Organised by Peace Action Wellington, for more information contact email peacewellington@hotmail.com

* Christchurch

~ Saturday, 17 March: Peace and justice in the Middle East, commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Come with a group and bring their banner or write your individual message on a placard, sign a letter to the Labour Government which will call for the Super Fund to be disinvested from war profiteering corporations like Haliburton, enjoy some singing and a few short speeches; 12 noon in Cathedral Square. Organized by Peace Action Network Otautahi, for more information contact Heather tel (03) 981 2825. A poster for this event is available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/panmar07.pdf

* Information on the situation in Ira

q~ "As many as 654,965 more Iraqis may have died since hostilities began in Iraq in March 2003 than would have been expected under pre-war conditions... the deaths from all causes — violent and non-violent — are over and above the estimated 143,000 deaths per year that occurred from all causes prior to the March 2003 invasion ... Majority of the additional deaths (91.8 percent) caused by violence ... The proportion of deaths attributed to coalition forces diminished in 2006 to 26 percent. Between March 2003 and July 2006, households attributed 31 percent of deaths to the coalition ... According to the researchers, the overall rate of mortality in Iraq since March 2003 is 13.3 deaths per 1,000 persons per year compared to 5.5 deaths per 1,000 persons per year prior to March 2003. This amounts to about 2.5 percent of Iraqi’s population having died as a consequence of the war. To put the 654,000 deaths in context with other conflicts, the authors note that during the Vietnam War an estimated 3 million civilians died overall; the Congo conflict was responsible for 3.8 million deaths; and recent estimates are that 200,000 have died in Darfur over the past 31 months." 'Updated Iraq Survey Affirms Earlier Mortality Estimates', 11 October 2006, at http://www.jhsph.edu/publichealthnews/press_releases/2006/burnham_iraq_200 6.html

~ "Citing grim daily indicators – 100 people killed, hundreds wounded and thousands displaced – an official with the United Nations refugee agency predicted that Iraq’s humanitarian crisis will last for years, with ramifications extending beyond the country’s borders ... Violence continues unabated in the country, and UNHCR estimates that there are 1.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) out of a total population of 26 million, with this number potentially swelling to 2.3 to 2.7 million by the end of the year." 'Iraq faces dire and long-term humanitarian crisis, UN official warns', 5 February 2007, at http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21454&Cr=iraq&Cr1=&Kw1=Iraq&K w2=&Kw3 =

~ 'Iraq: A humanitarian operation that will go on for years', 2 February 2007, excerpts from an interview with the senior operations manager for UNHCR's Iraq support unit at http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/45c385254.html

~ "The Iraqi Government reports that since February 2006 alone, more than 400,000 people have been displaced within the country. That brings the total number of internally displaced persons in the country to over 1.6 million. The mass displacement of Iraqis that was feared in 2003 is now occurring - but without the international concern that it deserves." UNHCR Global Appeal 2007: Focus on Iraq, at http://www.unhcr.org/home/PUBL/455443a80.pdf

~ "From a thriving middle income economy in the 1970's and 1980's, one third of today's Iraqi population lives in poverty with more than 5 per cent living in extreme poverty, a new United Nations-backed study says." 'One third of all Iraqis live in poverty, UN-backed study finds', 18 February 2007, at http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21607&Cr=Iraq&Cr1=&Kw1=Iraq&K w2=&Kw3 = Executive summary of the study at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/IRFFI/Resources/ExSumLivingStandardIraq 3.pdf

~ US military casualties in Iraq, as at 14 March 2007 - 3197 dead, 23,000 to 100,000 wounded. For more figures see 'Casualties in Iraq: The Human Cost of Occupation' at http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/

~ "More than a quarter of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have filed injury claims with the government, according to an internal Department of Veterans Affairs report. Of the nearly 690,000 veterans who served in those combat zones, more than 180,000 had filed claims by the end of last year, the report showed." 'One-quarter of Iraq, Afghanistan veterans filing injury claims', 13 March 2007 at http://staugustine.com/stories/031307/nation_4464662.shtml

~ 'Bush's new strategy - the march of folly', Robert Fisk, 11 January 2007: "So into the graveyard of Iraq, George Bush, commander-in-chief, is to send another 21,000 of his soldiers. The march of folly is to continue..." Full article at http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article2144057.ece

~ Resources and regular updates on the situation in Iraq are at http://electroniciraq.net/

ENDS

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