The Hindu : Go beyond resisting Iraq war, says Arundhati Roy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 17, 2004

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Go beyond resisting Iraq war, says Arundhati Roy

By Kalpana Sharma

MUMBAI, JAN. 16. War and its impact on the lives of thousands of people in the world were the dominant theme at the anti-globalisation meet, the World Social Forum, that opened in Mumbai this evening. Against the backdrop of a massive stage depicting a map of the world, an impressive line-up of speakers from around the world repeatedly spoke about the war on Iraq in particular and the many conflicts around the world that remain unresolved.

"War is a political weapon", said Abdul Amir Al-Rekaby from the Iraqi National Democratic Currents. "The war against Iraq is not an accident, it is not an exception. If the U.S. wins in Iraq, it will affect the whole world," he said.

Echoing his sentiments, the writer Arundhati Roy, asked the estimated 70,000 people from over 100 countries and all parts of India who filled the large maidan to go beyond words. "It is not enough any longer to talk about resistance," she said. "All of us and those at Mumbai Resistance (MR) 2004 (the parallel forum) must turn our gaze on Iraq because it is the culmination of neo-liberalism and imperialism."

She said: "We must not just support resistance in Iraq but we must become the resistance." To do this, she suggested that the WSF and MR 2004 jointly select two American companies, prepare a list of their offices around the world, and "shut them down". She said that doing this was "a question of bringing our collective wisdom to one particular project."

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