Fed: Greens Senator off to Iraq tomorrow on fact finding mission

AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-2004
Fed: Greens Senator off to Iraq tomorrow on fact finding mission

SYDNEY, April 8 AAP - Greens Senator Kerry Nettle will use a fact-finding mission to
Iraq to hear firsthand accounts from Iraqi people about experiences of military occupation
and hopes for self-determination.

Senator Nettle leaves tomorrow to spend six days in Baghdad with members of the European
Parliament, human rights activists and foreign policy analysts.

"We are interviewing Iraqis, hearing their story on the ground about the impact of
the US military occupation and also what their vision of a transition to democracy is,"

Senator Nettle told reporters.

"We'll be asking them about how that differs from the US process, hearing about the
level of US control in the transition to sovereignty and hearing about what the Iraqi
views are for the alternate processes that should occur."

The group will make a recommendation about whether the Iraqi transitional government,
due to take power on June 30, will be a genuine expression of Iraqi sovereignty.

Senator Nettle said the recent escalation in violence in parts of Iraq was targeted
at occupying forces and vindicated calls to withdraw Australian troops.

"The Greens say we should bring the troops home and provide assistance to Iraq on the
basis of humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, rather than being part of the US led
occupying force."

AAP smb/nf/cmc/br

KEYWORD: IRAQ NETTLE

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