IAWM Press Release June 29th 20.30

international | anti-war / imperialism | press release Friday June 29, 2007 21:48 by MichaelY - iawm

IAWM Condemns Latest Lebanese Atrocity

The Irish Anti War Movement (IAWM) condemns in the strongest possible terms the unprovoked shooting of civilians by the Lebanese Army earlier today (Friday June 29th) during a peaceful demonstration on the road from the Beddawi camp to the Nahr Al Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Revolution and Islam

The indiscriminate firing with automatic weapons by the Lebanese soldiers on the demonstrators resulted in the death of at least 3 people and over 40 wounded, among them five women and 7 children. As these lines are being written, 7 of the wounded are said to be in a critical condition.
Caoimhe Butterly, an Irish activist, who, as a member of a coalition of human rights activists, members of NGOs and members of popular committees, was witnessing the demonstration and told us on the phone: “I went as part of a group of Lebanese and Palestinian women activists in an attempt to convince the young men, who had left the camp and began marching, to return to the camp. As we caught up with the demo, there were warning shots being fired, at which point the group of women decided to move to the front of the demo to urge the men back and to de-escalate the situation. The women sat down at the front of the demo to block the men from moving further and calm the situation down. A few minutes later, the Lebanese army, without provocation from the demonstrators themselves, opened automatic fire for a period of 2-3 sustained minutes and when we were removing the wounded opened fire again, hitting those that were trying to help.”

Michael Youlton, co-Chair of the Irish Anti war Movement, said it was not hard to understand that the only possible motive behind this barbaric act was to inflame sectarian strife and aggravate an already tense political situation in the Lebanon by terrorising the Palestinian population, setting the stage for further violence. This, he continued, is part of a clear strategy and the inevitable outcome of the 'special relationship' the Bush Administration and Israel are building with the Lebanese Government and sections of the Army. The events described above also tell their own story re: the lack of training of the Lebanese army and the absence of any clear and responsible command structure.

In this context, the IAWM is demanding from the 'new' Irish Government, and particularly the new Green Ministers, to disassociate themselves from this process and condemn unequivocally this act of barbarism.