Catholic clerics and Bishop fast for lifting of Iraq sanctions

Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of the US Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit said, "The first thing we need to do is end the sanctions, and if negotiations about removing arms have to go on, they can go on....certainly we are not opposed to any military sanctions to keep companies from selling any arms."

The fasting bishop, along with other Catholic priests separately, and some in connection with the grass-roots organization Voices in the Wilderness have begun a hunger strike to end sanctions on Iraq because of the damage these sanctions are causing harm to Iraqi children. During his fast, Gumbleton is not taking any food except liquids such as Gatorade to maintain his energy.

In a interview with ArabicNews.com, Gumbleton said he has twice visited Iraq, most recently on September 1-12, 1997. Gumbleton said the Iraqi children looked like "kids that were in concentration camps."

He said it was "absolutely overwhelming" to see the condition of the children, "They are so malnourished, suffering so terribly. They are infected with diseases," and cannot get treatment because of the lack of medication.

Gumbleton estimated that about 700,000 Iraqi children have died as a result of the sanctions, citing that in 1995, the UN put that number at 565,000. Over 1 million have died overall as a result of the sanctions, he said.

Gumbleton said he did not meet with any Iraqi officials and that his connections are purely with other Christian clergy, such as the Caldean Patriarch, the Archbishop of Basra and other bishops in Iraq.

Voices in the Wilderness has sent 10 delegations to Iraq and the organization is active in the US. The group also sent an aid package to Iraq at Christmas.

Gumbleton said he plans to go back to Iraq.