Turks Protest US Killing of Fallujah POWs

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul expressed deep sorrow over the shooting of the unarmed, wounded Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers in devastated Fallujah.

He has urged Wednesday, November17 , to launch a thorough investigation into the incident and bring the perpetrators of such “a horrible inhumane act, which runs counter to all international laws, to justice”.

NBC correspondent Kevin Sites told the Associated Press Wednesday US Marines killed four unarmed and wounded Iraqi prisoners of war in a Fallujah mosque.

The grisly scene provoked revulsion from leading international human rights watchdogs, which called for an immediate investigation into the US killing of civilians across occupied Iraq.

Gul further warned that the bloody developments in war-torn Iraq negatively affect the proposed conference on Iraq, due in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh late November.

No Winner

Turkish Minister of State for Foreign Trade Kursad Tuzmen, on his part, regretted the bloody developments in Iraq, stressing that no party is winning from such developments in the Arab country.

Turkey is greatly affected by the ongoing developments in chaos-marred Iraq, Tuzmen added.

“Turkey is the major country affected by developments in neighboring Iraq. Prior to the US-led invasion, trade volume with Iraq hit around $4 billion, while it now amounts to $2. 5billion.”

“Blood Sucker”

Members of the Turkish education syndicates had taken to the streets Wednesday, heading to the US embassy in Ankara to protest the “US brutal practices against the Iraqi people”.

The protestors laid wreathes of flowers shrouded with black tapes before the embassy walls.

Banners condemning the US practices were also waved by the demonstrators, describing US President George. W. Bush as “blood sucker”, according to IslamOnline.net Correspondent.

The demonstrators further called for halting the US military operations in Iraq and ending occupation of the oil-rich country.

Some 10 , 000US marines and army forces, alongside some2 , 000Iraqi national guard soldiers unleashed a long expected onslaught on the resistance hub November8 , capping long nights of massive US raids.

The successive raids have caused massive damage in the city, with dead bodies still littering the streets.

At least13 , 000Greeks marched in downtown Athens Wednesday to protest the US military offensive on Fallujah and the invasion of the oil-rich country.

Chanting “American killers,” protesters carried empty white coffins daubed with red Arabic writing to voice their opposition to the massive American sweep into Fallujah, where many of its300 , 000population had to flee.

Planned Crime

Former Turkish intelligence director, meanwhile, described the killing of unarmed, wounded prisoners in a Fallujah mosque as a planned crime.

He noted that such crimes are part of a well-prepared US plan to divide Iraq and horrify the Iraqi resistance to stop attacks against the occupation forces in the war-ravaged country.

Former Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan pushed it even further by saying “developments in Fallujah and Iraq are main elements of a US plan to establish the Great State of Israel”.

He accused the Turkish government of allowing the US to use a number of Turkish naval and air bases to carry out its schemes in Iraq.

On his part, a Turkish psychologist called for a swift move by the Muslim countries to press for brining US soldiers who commit daily crimes against the Iraqi civilians to justice.

He drew a parallel with the practices of US forces against the Vietnamese people during the Vietnam War.

The Fallujah onslaught has been widely condemned by most peoples worldwide, human rights groups and even governments.

http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2004-11/19/article04.shtml