World Tribunal On Iraq Press Update
*Istanbul, 24 June, 2005 – *The World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) commenced at 9am this morning with an opening speech by
Arundathi Roy, Chair of the Jury of Conscience, and Professor Richard Falk, Co-coordinator of the Panel of Advocates.
The following is an excerpt from the speech by Arundathi Roy: “The Jury of Conscience at this tribunal is not here to
deliver a simple verdict of guilty or not guilty against the United States and its allies. We are here to examine a vast
spectrum of evidence about the motivations and consequences of the U.S. invasion and occupation, evidence that has been
deliberately marginalized or suppressed.
Every aspect of the war will be examined - its legality, the role of international institutions and major corporations
in the occupation, the role of the media, the impact of weapons such as depleted uranium munitions, napalm, and cluster
bombs, the use of and legitimation of torture, the ecological impacts of the war, the responsibility of Arab
governments, the impact of Iraq’s occupation on Palestine, and the history of U.S. and British military interventions in
Iraq.
This tribunal is an attempt to correct the record. To document the history of the war not from the point of view of the
victors but of the temporarily - and I repeat the word temporarily - vanquished.” The full speech may be downloaded from
the official web site of the WTI, http://www.worldtribunal.org
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The full text of each presentation is being uploaded to the web site as each speaker concludes.
*The web site is also offering LIVE audio and video streaming of each day’s hearings.*
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A United States television network, Deep Dish TV, will provide a global broadcast of the World Tribunal on Iraq. Deep
Dish is offering all media outlets a free one hour program for television or audio downlink each day of the conference
that will conclude on June 26th, followed by a press conference on June 27th at 11 am at the Hotel Armada.
Award-winning author and activist *Arundathi Roy* will be one of the main speakers at the final press conference.