S.Africans Thumb Down US-led War Against Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 21, 2003

S.Africans Thumb Down US-led War Against Iraq

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When US missiles hit targets on Iraqi capital Baghdad on Thursday morning, Sam Mathadeen, a forty-year-old female manager, was angry, not only for the unfair and unnecessary war against Iraq, but also for the nose-diving trade volume in her shop.

Sitting on her jewelry shop in Sandton City, the central business district of Johannesburg and the convention venue of the World Summit on Sustainable Development six months ago, Sam said "I am against this illegal, unfair and unnecessary war."

"France and other countries in the UN has said 'let's disarm Iraq, step by step', things are happening, so why is in such a hurry asking Saddam to leave his country in 48 hours?"

"Bush was horribly horribly wrong, what he want was Iraq's oilfields, he want to control the oil price of the world," she said.

With her grandfather coming from India, Sam was condemning the arrogance of US, saying as a superpower, US was trying to bully the world. She also worried about her business in the future.

"Ninety percent of our customers were tourists, and things are very good when this year starts. But since this month, you see, the whole shopping center became quiet, few tourist are coming andprice of goods in my shop, like gold and diamond, are rocketing," Sam said.

There are few tourists in Sandton City on Thursday morning, andmost shop assistants were sitting idly and some are watching the report on CNN.

On the next shop, Mobile phone salesman Danie held that the warwas not good to the world.

Watching the war report on British Broadcasting Corporation, hesaid "I have some relatives in America, and I sympathize with thatcountry for the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, but this war would claims lots of lives of innocent Iraqis."

"This war maybe last for a few years, and is not a small thing to the world."

Outside the shopping center, in Sandton Square, Christopher Christie and his brother Andrew were strolling around, they both are university students, and they opposed the US-led war against Iraq as well.

"They (US) can use political means to disarm Iraq, and the war only kills innocent Iraqis. The US has set a bad example for the world," Christie said.

"The Americans can achieve nothing except the war, the hatred of Arabs," the elder brother Christopher said.

Asked about how do they feel about the 31 South Africans, who go to Baghdad voluntarily as human shields, Andrew said "it is no use, US would not stop the war for thirty-one people, but they arebrave."

As he spoke, a group of black waiters were also discussing the war outside their restaurants in the square. Ozias, one of them said "we must do something, we should stand by France and unite tosay 'No' to US."

Since the beginning of the Iraqi crisis, the South African government, as well as the South African people, has repeatedly appealed for the peaceful solution for the crisis.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela, President Thabo Mbeki and Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma all called for apeaceful solution to the crisis and that Iraq should continue to actively comply with the UN Security Resolution 1441.

As to the ordinary South Africans, even in Thursday morning, a group of Anti-War Coalition members still gathered outside the Unites States consulate in Johannesburg, calling for an end to theUS-led war against Iraq.

Some of the placards read "No blood for oil" and "No to US imperialism."

Just as the retired farmer Stanley said "who will be the winnerof this war? Nobody, only Iraqi women and children lost their lives."

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