Good morning Judge. My name is Theresa Marie Camerota. I am here this
morning to be accountable to obstruction of entranceway to this Federal
building on March 20, 2003, the day the US government began bombing
Iraq. On the grounds of personal conscience and integrity, I believe I
am not guilty of unreasonably obstructing the entranceway.
As US citizens, who still value a democracy system, we realize we may
be preaching to the choir here as we stand before you one by one to
speak our peace. However, we appreciate this opportunity to share our
perspective with you and your staff today because we believe our long
road to peace happens one heart to one heart, one conscience to one
conscience.
My reason for being here today is quite personal. Some folks here may
find it amusing that we come into your court room to talk about our
childhoods and our families, but that is where most of us are rooted in
our beliefs and values. When I was growing up I had three brothers, who
I took care of, who died within a four year period. My brother Tommy
was ten and I was twelve when he died from leukemia. Afterwards our
home and the immediate neighborhood were tested for radiation
contaminates but nothing was found.
Four years ago in March 1999 I went with five other delegates from
Philadelphia to visit children's hospitals in Baghdad and Basrah. We
saw many, many children, most were under the age of five years, who
were sick and dieing from leukemia and other blood-related diseases as
a result of the depleted uranium poisoning from U.S. bombs of the first
war on Iraq in 1991. We looked in their eyes and spoke to their mothers
who asked us over and over again, "Why is your government killing our
children?"
Judge, I brought along a fact sheet about depleted uranium. May I read
some of the data to the court and leave copies of the report for you
and your staff? Among the sources listed are The Center for Defense
Information and Federation of American Scientists.
Depleted uranium (DU) emits primarily alpha radiation and its half-life
is believed to be 4.5 billion years. To date, the US has produced more
than 500,000 tons and it continues to accumulate. The US military first
used DU munitions in combat during the 1991 Gulf War on the tips of
"penetrators" from cannons mounted on tanks. During the assault on
Iraq, at least 10,000 rounds of DU ammunitions were fired from tanks
and at least 940,000 rounds were fired from aircraft, littering the
environment with 320 tons of DU.
Overall cancer rates in Iraq have risen at least 300-400% since the
1991 Gulf War. Some studies suggest much higher increase: a UN
sub-commission report in August of 2002 states, "Cancer appears to have
increased seven to ten times and malignancies and leukemia among
children under the age of 15 have more than tripled since 1990." Young
children, who are especially vulnerable, bear the brunt of the
suffering. Today, over 56% of all cancer in Iraq occurs among children
under the age of 5, as compared to 13% in 1990. Birth deformities
appear to have increased "between four to six times." Intentional
bombing of Iraqi chemical weapons sites and the burning of the oil
fields also contributed to this situation.
We are aware that this administration holds itself above international
law. They seek to govern by rule of power and not rule of law. May I
read to the court how the use of DU applies to International Law?
According to the August, 2002 sub-commission report, laws which are
breached by the use of DU shells include: the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the Charter of the United Nations; the Genocide
Convention: the Convention Against Torture; the four Geneva Conventions
of 1949; the Conventional Weapons Convention of 1980; and the Hague
Conventions of 1899 and 1907, which expressly forbid employing "poison
or poisoned weapons and arms, projectiles or materials calculated to
cause unnecessary suffering." All of these laws are designed to spare
civilians from unwarranted suffering in armed conflicts.
May I leave this report for you and your staff to read? Also included
are the effects of DU on American soldiers who participated in the
first Gulf War. The results from this year’s war on Iraq are not yet
available.
To date, we clearly see that the Bush Administration did not invade
this country for weapons of mass destruction. We, who reasonably
obstructed your doorways to stop this war, believe that the use of
depleted uranium is a weapon of mass destruction, killing primarily
Iraqi children.
We believe this war is based on lies. This is not a war for
disarmament, or for regime change. In fact there is evidence that
leading members of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime were deliberately
restored to power in the first months after "liberation."
We believe this war is based on power with huge awards of money for
eighteen prominent US corporations to which the Bush administration has
given large and highly profitable contracts to operate in Iraq,
Lockheed Martin, Halliburton and Bechtel being at the top.
In closing, a quote from our singer-songwriter friend, Steve Earle.
"The most important thing to remember is, no matter what anybody tells
you, it is never, ever unpatriotic or un-American to question anything
in a democracy."
Judge, here is a first payment towards the court fine. Here are $25
worth of pennies. There are 2,500 in this box. Not that it is
representative of a child’s life, because every child is priceless.
However, before this war there were 2,500 children dying per month
under the imposed US economic sanctions. 500,000 Iraqi children dead
because they were deprived of proper nutrition, clean water and medical
supplies.