NGO Workers Captured In Iraq

An Appeal for the Release the Italian and Iraqi Aid
Workers Abducted in Baghdad:
THEY ARE NOT INSTRUMENTS OFTHE OCCUPYING FORCES
September 8th, 2004

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 Ra'ad
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.