Thousands March in Madrid Against Iraq Conference

[Spazito]

MADRID (Reuters) - Several thousand demonstrators marched through the center of Madrid on Thursday in a peaceful protest against an international donors conference to fund Iraqi reconstruction being held in the Spanish capital.



"They say they are here for humanitarian reasons...but what they want is to make the maximum profit from a country destroyed by a war that could have been avoided," said David Llorente, a student from Madrid who was marching with his parents.


Demonstrators of all ages waved colorful banners reading "We Wont Pay For Your Pillage" and "Bush's Vultures."

<snip>

It is an embarrassment for Spain that this conference is being organized here," said Teresa, a doctor. "They (the donors) are not going to give Iraq anything. They are going to charge them. They want to make money out of Iraq."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&e=13&u=/nm/iraq_donors_protest_dc

[burrowowl]

1. Viva Espana

now they should kick their right-wing PM OUT!

[sungkathak]

2. Oct.25

The Anti-War Movement
HELP US SHUT DOWN WASHINGTON ON OCTOBER 25!! YOU WILL NEVER REGRET HAVING "BEEN THERE"!!

http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=9915

[Jack Rabbit]

3. The Iraqi people are in for some rough going

As some 70 countries and organizations gathered for the two-day meeting, U.S. and World Bank officials predicted on Thursday that Iraq would receive an aid bonanza as money started to flow in ahead of Friday's deadline for formal pledges.
However, doubts lingered over how much wealthy Arab states would contribute to reconstruction and whether the process would be productive unless it addressed Iraq's massive debt of over $100 million.
So far $2-3 billion has been pledged in addition to the $20 billion Washington plans to contribute over 18 months. The World Bank will also make around $4 billion available and the International Monetary Fund will provide financial support.

Where have the World Bank and the IMF gone that has not turned to ruin?

We should declare now that whatever debt is run up in the name of Iraq under colonial rule is odious debt.

[JeebusH]

5. ...it addressed Iraq's massive debt of over $100 million.....

shouldn't that be $100 Billion???

[dArKeR]

4. Removed

[sungkathak]

6. Anti-war protest tommorow

The Anti-War Movement
HELP US SHUT DOWN WASHINGTON ON OCTOBER 25!! YOU WILL NEVER REGRET HAVING "BEEN THERE"!!

http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=9915

OCTOBER 25th: March for an end to the occupation of Iraq!

September 5th, 2003


United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) and Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER) are joining forces to call on all those who oppose the war, invasion and occupation of Iraq, to unite on Saturday, October 25 in Washington, D.C., for a truly massive outpouring reflecting the growing popular opposition to the Bush Administration’s foreign and domestic program.

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/viewtopic.php?topic=30388&forum=3&start=0

[Jack Rabbit]

7. New threrad in Editorials/Other Articles

Please click here.

From the BBC Online
Dated Friday October 24 18:02 GMT (11:02 am PDT)

Donors' summit fails to convince
By Katya Adler
BBC correspondent in Madrid

The conference had been billed as a disaster and opened to extremely low expectations.
Right up until the last minute, few countries had confirmed their delegations and many had expressed very strong reservations about pledging money to Iraq in its current state.
The pace of political change is slow, there is ongoing violent unrest and a lack of transparency about which country or multi-lateral organisation would handle and distribute donated funds remains.
In the end though, despite the gloomy expectations, governments and international agencies have pledged billions of dollars in aid and loans to help get Iraq back on its feet.
But the final total has still come in considerably below the amount originally hoped-for.

Chalk up another diplomatic disaster for the Bushies.

The Iraqi people will suffer, but who can blame the doners from being stingy? What assurances are there that the money pledged will be used for the benefit of the Iraqi if it is to be administered by the most crooked government in US history?