Green Party supports Iraqis protesting the oil law benchmark
Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
Greens support Iraqis protesting the oil law benchmark
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The oil law, instead of bringing peace, will allow US and UK energy companies to plunder Iraqi
oil, say Greens
WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders declared their support for the tens of thousands of
Iraqis, including labor unions, who are protesting the Iraqi oil law 'benchmark' that the
Bush Administration and supporters are seeking to impose as a condition for reconstruction aid.
On July 16, Iraqis took to the streets of Basra in a demonstration organized by the Iraqi
Federation of Oil Unions against the proposed law, which would place 2/3 of Iraqi oil under
foreign control, granting 30-year contracts to US and UK energy corporations for 'development' of
Iraq's oil resources.
"The oil law is nothing more than a scheme to allow the US and Britain to pillage Iraq's source
of wealth," said TE Smith, black Vietnam War veteran and member of the DC Statehood Green
Party. "The oil law benchmark confirms exactly what antiwar protesters have said all along --
that President Bush's invasion and occupation of Iraq were largely motivated by
'blood for oil.' Iraqis are right to fear that the oil law will mark a return to the days of colonial plunder by
western nations."
The Bush Administration, with bipartisan support
in Congress and the approval of most Democratic presidential candidates,
is pressing the Iraqi Parliament to pass the oil law. The law would overturn Iraqi legislation passed in 1961 and
1973 to ensure that the Iraqi people enjoyed control over and profits from their own oil
resources.
"Democratic and Republican politicians alike want the Iraqi oil law passed, because they care more
about profits for ExxonMobil, Shell, and ChevronTexaco than they do about peace,
democracy, and the well-being of the Iraqi people," said Nancy Allen, member of the Maine
Green Party and the party's Peace Action Committee (GPAX). "Democrats are talking
about passage of the oil law as a necessary step towards withdrawal of US troops. The Green Party
demands that US troops be ordered home immediately with no such conditions, that the US
recognize that Iraqi oil belongs to the Iraqi people, and that we as Americans seek safe and
clean alternatives to fossil fuel energy."
The Green Party of the United States has opposed the war on Iraq ever since President Bush
announced invasion plans in late 2002, and has called for the impeachment of Mr. Bush and Vice
President Cheney for numerous abuses of power, including deceiving the American people about the
reasons for waging war on Iraq.
Greens have also sharply criticized Democratic Party leaders and presidential candidates for
supporting the Bush Administration on the invasion and occupation, for offering belated and
vague plans for a delayed pullout of US armed forces from Iraq, and for voting in support of
continued funding for the Iraq War.
"The occupation of Iraq is very likely to continue whether we elect Democrats or
Republicans to the White House and Congress in 2008," said Kat Swift, spokesperson for the
National Women's Caucus of the Green Party. "If the Iraqi Parliament succumbs to US pressure and
passes the oil law, it'll require a 30-year commitment of US military personnel to
protect western corporate interests in Iraq. We're urging all Americans who desire peace, stability,
and justice for the people of Iraq to contact their Representatives and Senators and demand
that the benchmark be dropped."
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
. Green Party News Center
http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
. Green Party Speakers Bureau
http://www.gp.org/speakers
. 2007 national Green Party meeting in Reading,
Pa.: video footage, blog and media coverage
http://www.gp.org/meeting2007/
Green Party Peace Action Committee (GPAX)
http://www.gp.org/committees/peace/
Oil Change International: Iraqi Oil Law
http://priceofoil.org/thepriceofoil/war-terror/iraqi-oil-law/
"Who Will Control Iraq's Oil?"
By Antonia Juhasz and Raed Jarrar, Foreign Policy
in Focus, February 22, 2007
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4020
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/02/27/who_will_control_iraqs_oil.php
'Open Letter to Michael Moore' from the Green
Party on 'Sicko,' health care reform
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2007_07_09.shtml
http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/0710-03.htm