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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Hi Friends,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I have just read and signed the petition: "Call for U.S.
Military to Abide by International Law and Stop the Bloodshed in
Iraq!"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Please join the Iraq Hope Network, a Japan-based citizens
coalition, which is calling for an immediate end to the suffering of people in
Iraq that is resulting from the violent and illegal tactics presently being
employed by the U.S. military. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><A
href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/507914513">http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/507914513</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Thanks!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">
<DIV>)</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><SPAN class=gmail_quote><BR></SPAN><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>The
initiator of this petition is Nahoko Takato, the Japanese
women<BR>and peace activist who was captured in Fallujah and then accused
of<BR>irresponsibility by Japan's pro-Bush government and a compliant press.
<BR><BR> If you agree with the message, I hope you will:<BR><BR>(1)
Sign it<BR>(2) Ask other individuals and organizations to do the
same.<BR><BR>They are only at about 500 signatures and have a ways to
go.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><A
href="http://japan.indymedia.org/newswire/display/2809/index.php">http://japan.indymedia.org/newswire/display/2809/index.php</A><BR><A
href="http://tokyoprogressive.org/">http://tokyoprogressive.org/</A><BR><BR><BR>The
petition is here: <BR><BR><A
href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/507914513?ltl=1151976078">http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/507914513?ltl=1151976078</A><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>Call
for U.S. Military to Abide by International Law and Stop the<BR>Bloodshed in
Iraq!<BR><BR>We, the signers of this petition, call on the U.S. government
to<BR>immediately stop the violent, heavy-handed tactics that are
presently<BR>being employed in Iraq, most recently in the city of Ramadi
(the<BR>capital of Anbar province, lying to the west of Baghdad, with
a<BR>population of 400,000 people). <BR><BR>The United States of America has
ratified the Geneva Convention, whose<BR>common article 3 prohibits the
infliction of aggression, murder,<BR>injury, or abuse against civilian
populations, and which is practiced<BR>internationally as a legal
norm.<BR><BR>The U.S. military, however:<BR><BR>- cut off basic lifelines such
as electricity, food, water, and<BR>gasoline to the city of Ramadi beginning in
April, which has resulted<BR>in extreme distress for its citizens. This is in
violation of Article <BR>54, Number 1 of the First Protocol Addition to the
Geneva Conventions,<BR>which prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method
of warfare.<BR><BR>- has taken control of the city of Ramadi in a campaign of
fear and<BR>violence whereby houses are being attacked (in some cases
by<BR>missiles), rooftops commandeered, residents killed and wounded,
and<BR>pedestrians shot at. This failure to distinguish between military
and<BR>civilian targets is in violation of Article 51, Numbers 2 and 4 of the
<BR>First Protocol Addition to the Geneva Conventions, which prohibits<BR>acts
or threats of violence that are aimed at spreading terror amongst<BR>the
civilian population.<BR><BR>- refuses to let injured individuals pass freely
through its <BR>inspection checkpoints, resulting in many civilians dying
from<BR>untreated wounds. This is in violation of Article 10, Number 2 of
the<BR>First Protocol Addition to the Geneva Conventions, which states
that<BR>all wounded, sick and shipwrecked persons shall be treated humanely
<BR>and shall receive the medical care and attention required by
their<BR>condition to the fullest extent practicable and with the
least<BR>possible delay.<BR><BR>- is targeting hospitals for attack, preventing
injured citizens from <BR>receiving medical care. This is in violation of
Article 12, Number 1<BR>of the First Protocol Addition to the Geneva
Conventions, which states<BR>that medical units shall be respected and protected
at all times and<BR>shall not be the object of attack.<BR><BR>- has arrested and
continues to detain seven Iraqi journalists,<BR>including those from the Reuter
news service, with no credible reason.<BR>This is in violation of Article 79,
Number 1 of the First Protocol <BR>Addition to the Geneva Conventions, which
states that journalists<BR>engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas
of armed conflict<BR>shall be considered as civilians within the meaning of
Article 50,<BR>paragraph 1. As such, journalists maintain the civilian right of
to be <BR>protected from violence and the threat thereof.<BR><BR>Citizens who
remained in Ramadi???either because they had no economic<BR>means to leave, or
because they stayed behind to take care of<BR>relatives or protect their
homes???remain essentially trapped inside <BR>the city. The situation in Ramadi
also comes on the heels of the<BR>attack that killed countless civilians in
Fallujah, as well as<BR>repeated attacks over the past three years on the cities
of Al Qaim,<BR>Haditha, Tal Afal, Samarra, Najaf, and Baghdad. Despite soaring
<BR>temperatures, cities throughout Iraq also remain without electricity<BR>with
the exception of brief, sporadic intervals.<BR><BR>The bloodshed in the country
has resulted in more than 100,000 Iraq<BR>citizens being killed, in addition to
over 2,500 U.S. soldiers. The<BR>U.S. strategy is succeeding only in increasing
the number of enemies<BR>amongst the Iraqi population, since the resistance
against the U.S.<BR>and Iraqi government becomes stronger as increasing numbers
of <BR>citizens are killed and maimed.<BR><BR>The Geneva Convention IV, to which
the United States is again a<BR>signatory, also includes the following
regulations:<BR><BR>Article 16: The wounded and sick, as well as the infirm, and
expectant <BR>mothers, shall be the object of particular protection and
respect.<BR><BR>Article 18: Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the
wounded<BR>and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances
be<BR>the object of attack but shall at all times be respected and
protected<BR>by the Parties to the conflict.<BR><BR>Article
32: Physical suffering or extermination against
civilians<BR>including murder, torture, corporal punishments, mutilation and
<BR>medical or scientific experiments are prohibited, whether applied
by<BR>civilian or military agents.<BR><BR>Regardless of the fact that the U.S.
is not a signatory to the First<BR>Protocol Addition to the Geneva Conventions,
this does not alter the <BR>fact that its present actions in Iraq are in
violation of the<BR>international laws upon which the treaty is based.<BR><BR>We
the signers of this petition, call for the immediate withdrawal of<BR>U.S.
military occupation troops from the city of Ramadi, and for the <BR>treatment of
its people in line with the standards laid out in the<BR>Geneva
Convention.<BR><BR>We call for an end to the bloodshed in Iraq, and for the
immediate<BR>restoration of the human rights of its citizens.<BR><BR>June 25,
2006<BR><BR>This petition is sponsored by the Iraq Hope Network, a
Japan-based<BR>network of NGOs,aid workers, journalists, lawyers,
university<BR>professors and volunteers who together sponsor projects in Iraq
<BR>focused on humanitarian aid, reconstruction and human
rights.<BR><BR><BR><BR>----- End forwarded message -----<BR><BR></BODY></HTML>