"First they came for the serbs, but we were not serbs, so we said nothing.
Then they came for the talebans, but we were not talebans, so we said nothing.
Then they came for the iraqi, but we were not iraqi, so we said nothing.
Then they came for the syrians, but we were not syrians, so we said nothing.
Then they came for us, and there was no one left to say anything for us."
Green Party calls for murder investigation
WASHINGTON, DC -- Members of the Green Party of the United States, outraged at the murder of
American peace activist Rachel Corrie and disruption by the Israeli military of a memorial service
for her, demanded an investigation and decisive measures by the U.S. government to stop the Sharon
government's violent treatment of Palestinian civilians, destruction of Palestinian homes and
infrastructure, and illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories. Greens reaffirmed their
support for American, European, and Israeli peace activists who continue to
risk their lives in nonviolent resistance to the occupation and defense of Palestinian civilians.
The Green Party has also called for an international protection force in the territories to insure
the safety of Palestinian and Israeli civilians and adherence by Israel to the Geneva Conventions
Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. "A simple threat to cancel all
American aid to Israel would probably stop Sharon's incessant and illegal attacks on occupied
Palestine and brutal treatment of the Palestinian people," said Justine McCabe, co-chair of the
Green Party of Connecticut who has done relief work in Palestine. "Let the death of Rachel Corrie,
who called herself a 'witness for peace,' be the occasion for the Bush Administration to cease all
military aid to Israel, until Israel complies with U.S. laws governing arms transfers, U.N.
resolutions, and international laws and agreements." Corrie, a 23-year-old activist with the
International Solidarity Movement, was crushed by a bulldozer on March 16 while trying to block the
demolition of Palestinian homes in Gaza by Israeli forces. The driver of the bulldozer drove
forward over Corrie after she had climbed down from speaking with him, which suggests that the
driver probably knew she wasn't Palestinian. On March 18, a memorial service at the site of her
death was disrupted by Israeli forces using teargas, stun guns, and tanks.
Up to 103 US soldiers killed near Nasiriya
CAIRO, March 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Some 103 American soldiers were killed Sunday in a battle between
US-British forces and Iraqi troops near Nasiriya in southern Iraq, Al-Arabia Satellite Channel said.
The Dubai-based TV channel quoted Iranian sources as saying that the United States would be making
a big mistake if they continue their campaign in such a manner. The sources anticipated the
Americans would attempt to launch an attack from another direction. Deputy commander of US Gulf
forces John Abizaid said at a Doha press conference that the coalition forces Sunday met with
"toughest" resistance in the four-day campaign as 12 soldiers were listed missing in a battle with
Iraq in Nasiriya, 375 km southeast of Baghdad. He said some of the missing may have been those who
appeared on the Arabic-language television network Al-Jazeera. Abizaid said US Marines defeated an
Iraqi attack Sunday "but sustained a number of killed and wounded in the sharpest engagement of the
war thus far." The Iraqi military said earlier on Sunday that 25 US and British soldiers were
killed and dozens captured in fighting near Nasiriya.
UN Security Council to hold meeting on Iraq
UNITED NATIONS, March 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The United Nations Security Council will hold an urgent
public meeting on Iraq on Wednesday at the request of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Arab League,
council president Mamady Traore said Tuesday. The meeting will start at 3:00 p.m. EST (20:00 GMT)
Wednesday and is expected to extend into Thursday due to a long list of speakers, Traore, ambassador
of Guinea to the UN, told reporters after council consultations on Western Sahara. Traore confirmed
that the two organizations wrote to him proposing the urgent session to allow UN member states to
air their views on the situation in Iraq. The Non-Aligned Movement had called two council public
meetingson Iraq this year, both of which brought together speakers from over 50 countries without a
seat on the Security Council. Traore said experts of the council's Sanctions Committee are still
working on a draft resolution concerning humanitarian assistance to the war-plagued Iraqi
population. The council has agreed to discuss the draft at the ambassadorial level at 10:00 a.m.
EST (15:00 GMT) Wednesday, he said, adding that he hoped consensus could be reached then.
He noted that UN experts have met Saturday and Monday on the proposals by UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan to adjust the oil-for-food program so as to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the
Iraqi people. Annan recommended the council adopt a resolution giving him interim authority to
administer the humanitarian oil-for-food program, which has been run jointly by the Iraqi government
and the United Nations. He also asked for council authority to reach arrangements on humanitarian
relief with the post-war authority in Iraq. The proposals drew strong criticisms from the Iraqi
side, which accused Annan of helping the United States and Britain snatch its oil resources and
declared its total rejection of such proposals.
Turmoil in Nigeria's oil town
(BBC) Troops and armoured vehicles are patrolling the streets of the Nigerian oil town of Warri in
an attempt to end two weeks of ethnic violence. An oil worker told the French news agency, AFP that
all vehicles were being searched as they entered or left the town. Ijaw youth leader Behbehnimibor
Job told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that soldiers had burned down four ethnic Ijaw
villages, in unprovoked attacks. There has been no independent confirmation of this. The fighting
has led to a 40% cut in Nigerian oil production as oil companies have suspended operations at some
facilities. Nigeria is the world's sixth biggest oil exporter. An Ijaw leader told AFP that the
wharf normally used by fishermen had been cordoned off by the army. "There is no market, no business
life at all. But we are getting used to this, we are suffering in silence," said Oboko Bello,
president of the hardline Federation of Ijaw Delta Communities. The flare-up in tensions centres on
demands by Ijaws for greater political representation and more compensation from oil companies
operating in the area. Previously, the army has accused Ijaw militants of attacking the villages of
the neighbouring Itsekiri people. Chevron Texaco has now shut down its main export terminal. Shell
has evacuated four facilities and Total Fina Elf have pulled out of an oil storage farm. The army
say 13 people - including five civilians - have died in the violence. However, a human rights
activist Danka Pueba told AFP she had reports that many more local people had been killed.
