This desperate call for help was forwarded to Socialist Viewpoint by Roger Annis and John Riddell, the editors of a Canadian online publication. It was accompanied by the following note, which we heartily endorse.

—The Editors

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The following statement from citizens of Falluja was written as the U.S. military continued its bombardment of the city, preparatory to what they say will be an all-out assault on the Iraqi city. It was originally printed in the October 30 Socialist Worker (www.socialistworker.co.uk).

This powerful appeal underlines the need for renewed actions for immediate withdrawal of all occupation troops and for the right of Iraqis to self-determination.

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An appeal from Fallujah to Kofi Annan and the UN

It is more than evident that U.S. forces are committing daily acts of genocide in Iraq. As we write, these crimes are being perpetrated against the city of Fallujah. U.S. war planes are launching their most powerful bombs against the civilian population, killing and wounding hundreds of innocent people. Their tanks are pounding the city with heavy artillery.

As you know, there is no military presence in the city. There have been no actions by the resistance in Fallujah in the last few weeks because negotiations are in progress between representatives of the city and the Allawi government.

The new bombardment by the U.S. has begun while the people are fasting during the celebration of Ramadan. Now many of them are trapped in the ruins of their homes and cut off from any outside assistance.

On the night of 13 October, a single U.S. bombardment destroyed 50 houses and their inhabitants. Is this a crime of genocide or a lesson about U.S. democracy? The U.S. is committing acts of terror against the people of Fallujah for only one reason: to force them to accept the occupation.

Your excellency and the whole world know that the U.S. and their allies have destroyed our country on the pretext of the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Now, after their own mass destruction and the killing of thousands of civilians, they have admitted that they have not found any.

But they have said nothing about the crimes they have committed. The whole world is silent, and even the killing of Iraqi civilians is not condemned. Will the U.S. be paying compensation, as it made Iraq do after the 1991 Gulf War?

We know that we live in a world of double standards. In Fallujah the U.S. has created a new and shadowy target Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Al-Zarqawi is a new excuse to justify the U.S.’s criminal actions. A year has passed since this new excuse was dreamed up, and every time they attack homes, mosques, and restaurants, killing women and children, they say, “We have launched a successful operation against al-Zarqawi.”

They will never say they have killed him, because he does not exist.

The people of Fallujah assure you that this person is not in the city, nor probably anywhere else in Iraq. Many times the people of Fallujah have asked that if anyone sees al-Zarqawi they should kill him. We know now that he is nothing but a phantom created by the U.S.

Our representatives have repeatedly denounced kidnapping and killing of civilians. We have nothing to do with any group that acts in an inhumane manner.

We call on you and the leaders of the world to exert the greatest pressure on the Bush administration to end its crimes against Fallujah and pull its army back from the city. When they left a while ago, the city had peace and tranquility. There was no disorder in the city. The civil administration here functioned well, despite the lack of resources.

Our “offence” is simply that we did not welcome the forces of occupation. This is our right according to UN Charter, according to international law and according to the norms of humanity.

It is very urgent that you, along with other world leaders, intervene immediately to prevent another massacre.

We have tried to contact UN representatives in Iraq to ask them to do this but, as you know, they are sealed off in the maximum security Green Zone in Baghdad, and we are not allowed access to them.

We want the UN to take a stand on the situation

in Fallujah.

Best wishes, in the name of the people of Fallujah, the shura council of Fallujah, the trade union association, the teachers’ union, and the council of tribal leaders.

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Kassim Abdullsattar al-Jumaily, is president of the Center for the Study of Human Rights and Democracy, Fallujah, Iraq