JUNE 30TH TRANSFER OF SOVEREIGNTY TO IRAQ - A SHAM

Sovereignty means political independence, freedom from external control. With the so-called transfer of sovereignty in Iraq on June 30, the Iraqis will have no more autonomy than they have now, when the coalition forces are in charge. To draw attention to this charade, Americans Against the War will join with other Paris-based peace and justice groups at la Fontaine des Innocents (les Halles) on Wednesday, June 30 between 18h and 21h to call for:
· An end to the occupation
· Iraq for the Iraqis
· Bring the troops home
· Unconditional reparations to rebuild the country

Despite the fact that Bush and Co are trying to dupe the American public before the November elections, and despite U.N. Resolution 1546 which reaffirms the independence and sovereignty of Iraq, the Iraqis will not gain their sovereignty on June 30 because:
· The 138,000 U.S. troops and 23,000 from other nations will remain for an indeterminate time, under the control of the Americans, with immunity from Iraqi law, free to conduct their operations without the approval of the interim government
· Contracts with foreign contractors (Halliburton, Bechtel, and others) signed during the occupation for the alleged reconstruction of the country are irrevocable and cannot be reviewed, leaving millions of dollars in potential and essential revenue beyond Iraqi control
· Oil revenues, the principal source of income for the country, the world's second greatest oil producer, will continue to be deposited into a development fund set up by the United Nations under the period of sanctions, and of those funds, most have been earmarked (billions to the Saudis and Kuwaitis for reparations, millions for countries demanding debt repayment)
· Management of reconstruction and other civilian tasks will be handled by the new U.S. embassy of some 3,000 Americans ensconced in the heavily fortified Green Zone
· The new Iraqi government has been handpicked by the U.S., with many members having connections to the CIA, most having lived outside Iraq as members of U.S.-funded exile groups, two cabinet ministers being U.S. citizens, and is seen by many to be a puppet government, wholly dependent on the US armed forces for its power
· Hundreds of U.S. "advisors" will be attached to Iraqi government ministries

This sham of sovereignty is being perpetrated by the Bush regime:
· To give American voters, just four months before the elections, the illusion that the war in Iraq has been successfully resolved
· To keep multimillion dollar contracts for oil and reconstruction-the major reason for going to war-in the hands of the neoconservatives and the multinationals who helped put Bush and Co in power
· To enable the military industrial complex to continue generating profits

A majority of both Iraqis and Americans recognize that this alleged handover of power is a charade and want the U.S. to leave Iraq to the Iraqis:
· 92% of Iraqis consider the U.S. an occupying power
· 80% of Iraqis have no confidence in the U.S. civilian authority or coalition forces
· 67% say the violence has increased because of the lack of confidence
· 55% say they would feel safer if the coalition forces left
· 61% of Iraqis oppose Iyad Allawi, the new prime minister
· 41% say the Americans should leave immediately, more than half say they should leave within the next few months
· 48% of Americans say Iraqis should have the final say over the presence of U.S. troops
· 52% of Americans say the war was not worth fighting
· 42% say the U.S. should withdraw now
· Large majority of Americans says the new Iraqi government and not the U.S. should control Iraq's oil industry and handle distribution of aid from other nations

Just as the June 30th "handover" won't give Iraqis sovereignty, it won't give them peace either, as recent violence and ongoing fighting suggest:
· Falluja, just one of many cities, continues to be bombed and attacked by the U.S. forces, with some 900 civilians having lost their lives there, more than were killed in the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, with much of the town reduced to rubble.
· Since January attacks on U.S. led forces and foreign civilians have increased threefold.
· Assassinations of Iraqi political leaders and foreign civilians have escalated, as has sabotage of oil and electricity lines.

The insurgency continues because of the presence and viciousness of the occupying forces. The notion that fighting among the different groups within Iraq will devolve into a bloodbath when the self-proclaimed peacemakers depart has been discredited by a survey of Iraqis taken by the CPA. It shows that 64% of Iraqis believe that the acts of the insurgents have in fact united the country.

Americans Against the War condemns the Bush regime and those Congress members who have continued to support this illegal, immoral war that has brought untold suffering to the general populace. It has left the majority of Iraqi citizens proclaiming that things were better under Saddam Hussein, whose ouster the U.S. used as another pretext for occupying Iraq.

Information taken from a Washington Post/ABC poll, a Coalition Provisional Authority survey, articles in the Washington Post, Independent, Boston Globe