Please consider endorsing the appeal for the release of Iraqi and Italian aid workers below. Members of the Montreal-based Iraq Solidarity Project who have spent time in Baghdad have had the pleasure of meeting and working with the staff of A Bridge to Baghdad, including Ra'ad and the two Simonas, as they are affectionately known.

An Appeal for the Release the Italian and Iraqi Aid Workers Abducted in Baghdad: THEY ARE NOT INSTRUMENTS OF THE OCCUPYING FORCES

We are individuals and organizations from around the world who opposed and
continue to oppose the occupation of Iraq and we plead for the release of
two Italian and two Iraqi humanitarian workers who were abducted in Iraq
last September 7, 2004.

Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both Italians, and Ra¹ad Ali Abdul Azziz
and Mahnoaz Bassam, both Iraqis, are members of Un Ponter Per Baghdad
(Bridges to Baghdad) an independent Italian humanitarian organization that
has been working in Iraq since 1992. During the embargo, other humanitarian
organizations refused to operate in Iraq, Bridges defied that in the belief
that the suffering of civilians should not be used as a political bargaining
chip.

In this occupation, the United States and its coalition cynically blurred
the distinction between the humanitarian and the political, using aid and
relief as an apparatus for pacifying the Iraqis. As a result, Iraqis have
become increasingly and understandably suspicious of international
humanitarian organizations. Despite the perils caused by this confusion,
Bridges consciously decided to continue its operations in Iraq, convinced
that Iraqis will see through their intentions.

Bridges is not an instrument of the Italian government, nor of the US-led
coalition, to make the occupation more bearable, and therefore, more
acceptable to the Iraqis. From the very beginning, Bridges has been open
And consistent with its positions: it opposed the embargo, it opposed the
invasion, and it opposes the occupation. In Italy, Bridges has been a
leading critic of the government¹s decision to join the US-led coalition.
It plays a leading role in the nation-wide movement that mobilized over a
million Italians to march against the war in February 15, 2003, as well as
in various demonstrations after. Bridges has also been very active in the
global anti-war movement, maintaining links with various anti-war
organizations around the world and playing a key role in establishing the
Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad, a center for monitoring the occupation
founded by anti-war organizations and coalitions from different countries.

Simona Turretta has spent a third of her life for Iraq; Simona Pari joined
her in 2003. As chief of Bridges¹ in-country operations, Simona Turreta has
been supervising projects to rehabilitate Iraq¹s decrepit water
infrastructure and to repair school buildings. Among other things, Simona
Pari was organizing educational programs for Iraq¹s traumatized children.
Ra¹ad is an Iraqi engineer who took charge of Bridges¹ school projects in
Baghdad and Basra. Mahnoaz was involved in the social programs. Aside from
these projects, Bridges has also helped build the capacity of local Iraqi
organizations to document and report cases of human rights abuses committed
by occupation forces. In April this year, Bridges organized a humanitarian
convoy that delivered food, water, blood, and medicine to civilians under
siege in Fallujah. Last month, as US and Iraqi ³interim government forces²
mounted their offensive in Najaf, Bridges was also there, providing aid and
assistance to Iraqis caught in the crossfire.

Simona, Simona, Ra¹ad and Mahnoaz are not enemies of the Iraqi people. They
stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in calling for an immediate end to the
occupation. We appeal to those holding them to release them immediately.

We also call on the Italian government to immediately withdraw its
membership in the US-led coalition. We call on the United States and the
remaining members of the coalition to end the occupation.

SIGNED:

As of 8 September, 3 PM GMT

[Organizations]

Iraq International Occupation Watch Center


Alianza Social Continental (Latin Americano)

Campaign Genoa 2001 (Greece)

Continental Campaign Against FTAA (Latin Americano)

Code Pink (United States)

Global Exchange (United States)

Globalize Resistance (United Kingdom)

Focus on the Global South (Philippines, Thailand, and India)

International Civilian Campaign for the Protection of
Palestinians (France)

Iraq Solidarity Project (Canada)

Palestinian Workers Union

Stop the War Coalition - Greece

Stop the War Coalition - UK

(To sign this appeal, please send an e-mail with your name, organization,
country, contact details, to free...@focusweb.org. Please indicate
if you wish to sign as an organization or as an individual. Contact: Herbert
Docena +9613164370)