Pro-Iraq delegation arrives in Morocco

A British delegation, led by Labor MP George Galloway arrived Monday in the Moroccan northern city of Tangiers, part of a caravan meant to back Iraq. The caravan, bound to Baghdad, will visit five countries before reaching Iraq.

The Labor MP is accompanied by 18 volunteers from the United Kingdom who joined the initiative, geared towards lifting the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq since its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

George Galloway said upon arrival in Tangiers "there is no Arab country that extended Iraq stronger support than Morocco."

Morocco's support to Iraq is unmatched in the Arab states, a stand that forces the respect of all peace and justice-loving peoples, especially the Iraqi people, which is perfectly aware of the position of the Moroccan people, he said.

The Moroccan leg of the Caravan features meetings organized by the Moroccan National Committee of Support to the Iraqi People.

Galloway recalled that more than 1 million Iraqis died during and since the Gulf War. What is worse, he said, is that this dramatic situation still prevails due to the embargo imposed on Iraq and the repeated American and British raids.

The Caravan, dubbed "The Call of Mariam: We love the Iraqi People," seeks to mobilize the international public opinion for the lifting of the embargo and the halting of the British and American raids, he said. These raids are a crime and part of a genocide, whose sole victim is the Iraqi people.

Mariam, whose name is used as a motto of the Caravan, is a child who suffers from Leukemia, apparently caused by the raids against Iraq.

The Caravan also seeks to report the voice of a large part of the British people who are against the policy adopted against Iraq, the Labor MP said.

After Morocco, the Caravan will head for Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Jordan, Before reaching Iraq. The Caravan will cross 10,000 KM.