Habib uses Palm Sunday to offer thanks: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 21 Mar 2005: 2.
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Abstract
FORMER Guantanamo Bay inmate Mamdouh Habib was cheered yesterday at a Palm Sunday protest to mark the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.
Mr Habib did not forget fellow Australian David Hicks, awaiting trial by military tribunal in the US naval base in Cuba.
Prim Minister John Howard said the rallies were recognition that not everyone agreed with his government’s position, but he remained steadfast in his view that his decision to join the war in Iraq was the right one. He described the sight of Iraqis holding up ink- stained fingers after they had voted on January 30 as inspiring.
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FORMER Guantanamo Bay inmate Mamdouh Habib was cheered yesterday at a Palm Sunday protest to mark the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.
Mr Habib flashed V for victory on stage in Sydney and thank those who fought for his release in January.
“Thank you everyone in Australia for supporting me to come back home,” he said to loud cheers.
“I am here today to thank everybody. I really appreciated what was done for me. My country, my home, my family, I appreciate everyone that stands up for me.”
Mr Habib did not forget fellow Australian David Hicks, awaiting trial by military tribunal in the US naval base in Cuba.
“And I stand up for David Hicks to come back home,” he said.
“I can’t say more than that. I can say that I love Australia, the people in Australia. You are my family. I am very proud of the Australianpeople who stood up for me and helped bring me back home.”
The crowd of about 600 at Sydney’s Hyde Park yesterday was one of a number of anti-war protests across the nation.
Prim Minister John Howard said the rallies were recognition that not everyone agreed with his government’s position, but he remained steadfast in his view that his decision to join the war in Iraq was the right one. He described the sight of Iraqis holding up ink- stained fingers after they had voted on January 30 as inspiring.
“The people of Iraq will be given the right to live their lives in freedom,” he said.
“That would not have happened if the Coalition had not taken the action it did.”
In South Australia, protesters marched on Foreign Minister Alexander Downer’s office demanding the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
“The Australian people won’t forget that the war that this government has taken us into is an illegal war, that the people of Iraq continue to pay the price of this war,” Mike Khizam, convenor of No War, said.
“Australia should have an independent foreign policy and should not just be an unquestioning accomplice of American foreign policy adventures.”