- OCCUPIED BAGHDAD -- On this
wet, blustery day, Ken O'Keefe, an ex-US Marine and Gulf War Veteran and
Truth Justice Peace (TFP) Human Shield Iraq Founder chose the infamous
Paradise Square for his non-violent act of defiance and solidarity.
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- Standing amidst a cluster of media in the shadow of where
the staged toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein by the Americans took
place, Mr. O'Keefe somberly, yet angrily stated he was to burn his US Passport.
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 Mr. O'Keefe read the following statement;
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- "First of all, I want tp smile and express my deepest
love for my entire human family and our infinitely beautiful and irreplaceable
home; Planet Earth. What I do I do for truth not lies; for justice not
tyranny, for peace not war, for love not hate."
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- Raising his voice while scanning the onlookers, he continues,
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- "And now I shall let my personal venom flow and
commit the following act of defiance in condemnation of the illegal invasion
and ongoing occupation and mass murder of the Iraqi people by my birth
nation of the United States. The burning of my passport is an exercise
in the inherent human right of self-determination in accordance with international
law after having my U.S. passport returned to me twice by the U.S. Department
of State. My personal act affirms once and for all the lawful and undeniable
completion of my renunciation of U.S. citizenship that began on March 1,2001.
I AM NOT A UNITED STATES CITIZEN! I am a lawfully registered World citizen
in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) with
ultimate allegiance to my entire human family and to planet Earth."
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- "My act of defiance additionally affirms my solidarity
with all colonised and oppressed peoples and specifically the Iraqi people;
Iraqi people who collectively reject Americaís occupation and the
blatantly unrepresentative puppet government America intends to force on
them. Iraqi people who like America's Founding Fathers exercise their inherent
and lawful right to resist occupation and tyranny; only in this case it
is a united America and Britain that are the Imperial tyrants. Iraqi people
who also peacefully demand their lawful right to true self determination
which requires the end of U.S. presence and influence in Iraqis internal
affairs."
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- "Let the entire world and especially America citizens
acknowledge the following two hard facts:
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- 1. There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq aside
from those brought by the United States; which shamefully includes cluster
bombs that litter this country now; this is a patent crime against humanity
in itself.
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- 2. There is no threat now in Saddam Hussein for the American
people.
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- "Therefore, America must pull out of Iraq without
delay. To not do so proves America to be the single greatest threat to
the safety and security of our world and indeed the world's number one
terrorist."
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- He takes a deep breath and reads,
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- "I state loud and clear, I am not anti-American,
I am a true American and I call on all genuine American patriots to reject
the orders of the Vietnam War deserter and Constitutional traitor George
W. Bush and to remove this traitor from his undemocratic de facto post;
impeach him at the least for his criminal negligence on September 11, 2001."
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- Mr. O'Keefe pauses and points to a nearby tank with soldiers
perched atop it and says,
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- "As a former United States Marine and Gulf War veteran
I call on my American brothers and sisters to put down their weapons and
refuse service in Iraq. And lastly, I state my love of the American people
whether friend or foe and I call on them to support their troops for real;
BRING AMERICAíS SONS AND DAUGHTERS HOME NOW!"
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- Mr. O'Keefe then raised his fist and stated,
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- "Power to the People!"
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- Mr. O'Keefe doused his US Passport with fuel, held it
up slowly for the media, then lit it.
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- After his US Passport was engulfed in flames, Mr. O'Keefe
pulled out another passport displaying that he is World Citizen #321831,
and encouraged people to join this movement. (www.worldservice.org)
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- Mr. O'Keefe stated again that his act of burning his
US Passport was an act towards universal kinship, and that he is working
to end the illegal US Occupation of Iraq.
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- For more information on the movements Mr. O'Keefe spoke
of, visit:
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- http://www.uksociety.orgUniversal Kinship Society
- http://www.humanshields.orgTruth Justice Peace Action
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