{news} GP RELEASE Greens support Iraqis in protest of oil law benchmark

[Justine McCabe]

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, July 19, 2007

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty at greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene at gp.org


Greens support Iraqis protesting the oil law benchmark

. 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
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
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


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