Från TFF
- Lund, Sweden, February 5, 2003
Christian Harleman and Jan
Oberg recently returned from their second
two-week fact-finding
mission to Iraq.
They are available for
interviews and viewpoints on any current issue
related to the crisis,
including Sec of State Colin Powell's speech
to the UN Security Council
today.
Jan Oberg
oberg@transnational.org,
+46 (0)46 14 59 09.
Christian Harleman
ch.harleman@crido.pp.se,
+46 (0)8 755 99 54.
This time they interviewed
six categories of people:
1) High-level Iraqis
Among the high-level
Iraqis they met with were deputy prime-minister
Tariq Aziz, scholars at
the Beit Al-Hikme Research Institute, leaders
of the Baath Party, the
Deputy speaker of the National Assembly,
General Ameer Al- Saadi (counterpart
of Mr. Hans Blix), officials and
ambassadors at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the deputy minister
of health, the Archbishop
of Basrah and the Women's Federation in
Basrah.
2) Iraqis in the street
and Iraqi civil society
Citizens in cafés,
bazaars, shops. Art galleries. The Iraq Museum.
Mosques, hospitals, etc.
3) Embassies
Diplomats at the embassies
of Norway, France and Russia.
4) The United Nations
The United Nations
Iraq-Kuweit Observation Mission, UNIKOM, at the
border with Kuweit and
high-level reps of UNHCR (United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees),
UNOCHI (UN Office of the Humanitarian
Coordinator for Iraq), WFP
(United Nations World Food Program), UNDP
(UN Development Program).
5) Humanitarian
organisations
The International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,
ICRC (International
Committee of the Red Cross), and CARE.
6) Peace movements
Voices in the Wilderness
and the Iraq Peace team, Magarita Papandreou
and peace delegation, TFF
Associate Scilla Ellworthy of the Oxford
Research Group, and former
UN humanitarian co-ordinator Denis Haliday.
"We have now
conducted some 150 interviews with many and different
people in this welcoming
and kind country. We have listened in order
to learn," says Jan
Oberg.
"We believe that we
begin to understand a little of Iraq's immense
complexities and of the
way the Iraqis see the world. We have seen
first-hand the suffering
of the people. Iraq is 25 million human
beings like you and I and
not only Saddam Hussein."
"There is a huge
diference between the perceptions we now have and
the image presented in the
mainstream media back home. And we will be
happy to share them with
anyone interested."
TFF Associate Scilla
Ellworthy
http://www.transnational.org/tff/people/s_elworthy.html
- has also just returned
from Baghdad. See her report and proposals here
http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/1programmes-conflict-baghdad.htm
and here
http://www.transnational.org/forum/meet/2003/Elworthy_IraqLetter.html
Another TFF Associate
working for a peaceful solution to the conflict
is Hans von Sponeck
http://www.transnational.org/tff/people/hc_vonsponeck.html
More about his mission
soon.
TFF
Transnational Foundation
for Peace and Future Research
Vegagatan 25
S - 224 57 Lund
Sweden
Phone +46 46 14 59 09
Fax + 46 46 14 45 12
mailto:tff@transnational.org
Public not-for-profit
charity 845001-4637