5 Nobel laureates oppose Iraq OIL THEFT law coerced by Bush

yurbud

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Wed Jul-11-07 06:07 PM
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5 Nobel laureates oppose Iraq OIL THEFT law coerced by Bush

I got this in an email from Antonia Juhasz, who wrote THE BUSH AGENDA, and has been one of the few journalist writing on the http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/2007/03/juhasz-whose-oil-is-it-anyway.html">Iraq Hydrocarbon Law that does more than retype Karl Rove's press releases.

See the end of the article for a petition to sign in support.

Forcing the http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/2007/03/juhasz-whose-oil-is-it-anyway.html">Hydrocarbon Law that was dictated by the oil companies to give them up to 80% of Iraq's oil wealth while our troops are occupying the country is a prima facie war crime. Bush will commit the act, and we will pay the price of being hated for decades to come.

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE RECIPIENTS AND CONCERNED PEOPLE OF THE WORLD SIGN ON STATEMENT IN OPPOSITION TO THE IRAQ OIL LAW

In support of the people of Iraq, we the undersigned Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, state our opposition to the Iraq Oil Law.

We also oppose the decision of the United States government to require that the Iraq government pass the Oil Law as a condition of continued reconstruction aid in legislation passed on May 24, 2007.

A law with the potential to so radically transform the basic economic security of the people of Iraq should not be forced on Iraq while it is under occupation and in such a weak negotiating position vis-à-vis both the U.S. government and foreign oil corporations.

The Iraq Oil Law could benefit foreign oil companies at the expense of the Iraqi people, deny the Iraqi people economic security, create greater instability, and move the country further away from peace.

The U.S. government should leave the matter of how Iraq will address the future of its oil system to the Iraqi people to be dealt with at a time when they are free from occupation and more able to engage in truly democratic decision-making.

It is immoral and illegal to use war and invasion as mechanisms for robbing a people of their vital natural resources.

Signed by

Betty Williams - Ireland
Nobel Peace Prize Recipient 1976

Mairead Corrigan Maguire - Ireland
Nobel Peace Prize Recipient 1976

Prof. Jody Williams - USA
Nobel Peace Prize Recipient 1997

Dr. Shirin Ebadi - Iran
Nobel Peace Prize Recipient 2003

Prof. Wangari Maathai - Kenya
Nobel Peace Prize Recipient 2004

Also signed by:

Yanar Mohammed – Iraq
Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq

Antonia Juhasz - USA
Oil Change International

***

As a result of our efforts, on June 19, 2007, five Nobel Peace Prize recipients: Betty Williams, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, and Wangari Maathai, released a statement announcing their opposition not only to the Oil Law, but also to U.S. government pressure on the Iraqis to pass the law.
www.nobelwomensinitiative.org/news.php?WEBYEP_DI=113

The statement has already been translated into Arabic: www.iraqpatrol.com/php/index.php?showtopic=19680
(as has my New York Times Op Ed on the Oil Law www.iraqpatrol.com/php/index.php?showtopic=19681).

Congressman Jim McDermott of Washington State sent a copy of the statement to every member of the United States Congress.

Jody Williams and I have conducted interviews on radio stations across the United States, Democracy Now! highlighted the statement in a special program on the law, and United Press International did a story on the release of the Statement
www.upi.com/Energy/Briefing/2007/06/20/nobel_laureates_condemn_iraq_oil_law_us/6357/.

In Iraq, Yanar Mohammed has organized a growing network of activists working together to oppose the Oil Law.

The debate in the U.S. Congress has finally shifted from “whether” to “how” to end the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But the devil may yet be in the details. We must be vigilant and demand not only that the occupation end, but that as the details of withdrawal are worked out, that the requirement that Iraqis change their oil system is taken off of the table.

To help advance that goal, I have a letter and a petition that I hope you will sign and pass along to others to do the same.

The letter is the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Statement that has been made in to a Sign-on letter and invites your signatures. To sign, please send you name, country of residence, and organizational affiliation (if any) to Kelek Stevenson with Oil Change International at kkelekk@gmail.com. The full text is below.

The petition was written by Yanar and includes the signatures of several prominent Iraqi and American activists. You can sign the online online petition here
www.petitiononline.com/iraqoil/petition.html

I hope you will sign both.

For more information on The Iraq Oil Law and activists steps you can take, please visit the Oil Law section of my website which is updated almost daily at www.bushagenda.net/article.php?id=365, Oil Change International’s website www.PriceOfOil.org, and www.handsoffiraqioil.org.