London, UK, June 1 – Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, the Islamic political party, strongly condemns the massacre of 24 Iraqis – including women and children – by US Marines in the town of Haditha on November 19 2005. This follows revelations that American soldiers killed Iraqi?s in the village of Abu Sifa (near the town of Balad) on March 15 and their shooting dead two days ago of Nabiha Nisaif Jassim – a pregnant woman in labour – shot as she was rushed to hospital in Samarra. Afterwards, her brother Khalid Nisaif Jassim said "God take revenge on the Americans. They have no regard for our lives." These events and the continued prisoner abuse in Guantanamo are not surprising given that in occupying Iraq, western governments completely discarded all international norms and principles that they had previously been preaching to the entire world.
It is ironic that only in February, the then UK Defence Secretary, John Reid, said that coalition forces in Iraq were facing an enemy not hindered "by any legitimacy, any morality, any international convention". His comments came just days before the revelation of a video showing British soldiers abusing Iraqi's! Coalition forces are not subject to Iraqi law.
Dr Imran Waheed, a media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, said, "Many will rightly think that the massacre in Haditha only represents the tip of the iceberg of the abuse of Iraqis. In the wake of the Haditha murders, coalition troops are to get ?ethics lessons?. When will Bush and Blair get ethics lessons for unleashing these undisciplined forces on the streets of Iraq? The continued occupation of Iraq and abuse of ordinary Iraqis at the hands of western armies is much more indicative of western foreign policy towards Muslims. The description of Islam as an 'evil ideology', the attacks on Shariah and the Caliphate by prominent western politicians and the support of tyrant rulers in the Muslim world also puts these latest revelations in context."
"Given these events, it is no surprise that the UK government, despite advice to the contrary, created a vague offence of 'glorification' that intends to silence Muslim opposition to the brutal and illegal occupation of Iraq".
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