University of Michigan
Student government condemns sanctions on Iraq
By Jane Cutter
Ann Arbor, Mich.
On Jan. 26, the Michigan Student Assembly at the University
of Michigan here passed a strongly-worded resolution condemning
U.S.-led sanctions against Iraq. MSA Business Rep. Will
Youmans--a member of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee and an anti-sanctions organization named
Prevent--introduced the resolution.
Before the vote on the resolution, MSA President Trent
Thompson announced that he planned to rule the motion out of
order because it wasn't "relevant" to student interests. But
after an energetic e-mail letter-writing campaign he allowed
the motion to be voted up or down on its own merits.
Supporters of the measure also pointed out that for Iraqi
and Iraqi-American students with families in Iraq, the motion
was very relevant.
At the meeting of the MSA, a contingent of anti-sanctions
activists spoke in support of the resolution. Phil Booth, a
participant in the May 1998 Iraq Sanctions Challenge, presented
eyewitness testimony about the damage to Iraqi civilians from
the sanctions.
The vote was 11 for, 10 against and eight abstentions. MSA
President Thompson opted not to offer his vote.
The resolution notes that "the embargo's effects have
violated the humanitarian principles" that all decent human
beings, and the university, claim to uphold.
The resolution places the responsibility for the sanctions
squarely on Washington. It states that "the sanctions caused
directly the death of over 1.4 million Iraqi citizens and are
killing children at the rate of 5,000 a month."
The resolution also states that "the sanctions clearly
violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights established
Dec. 10, 1948 by the UN General Assembly."
It provides that the MSA commit to an educational project
informing students about the effects of the sanctions and calls
on it to actively work with campus groups concerned with the
issue and plan events to increase awareness on campus. This
will include an MSA-sponsored lecture by former U.S. Attorney
General Ramsey Clark and other vocal critics of the
sanctions.
The MSA's financial resources, derived from student fees,
can now be used toward building a movement to end the sanctions
now.
Already some right-wing elements have attacked the measure.
Its supporters are preparing to defend it.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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