The Murdoch Times, whose work last month was
apparently solely
responsible for instigating the Government's interdepartmental
review on the plight of Iraqis who have collaborated with British forces, reports
that the leader of Basra's security forces has warned interpreters “to leave
Basra because these militia will never let them rest. They will kill everybody
they know [who worked for the British].” The Times notes that “militiamen
attacked and destroyed the home of one interpreter and narrowly failed to kidnap
another. There were unconfirmed reports yesterday that a third had been
killed”.
The report concentrates almost entirely on the danger to Iraqi
interpreters, but also says that “The Times has learnt that the Government
privately accepts that it has a moral obligation to help them, but ministers are
still debating how many of the thousands of other Iraqis ? and their dependents
? who have assisted the British should be allowed in”.
If you have not
already done so, please write to your
MP and invite them to the meeting
on 9 October. Ask them to request the presence of the Home Office, the Ministry
of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and tell them that the
mainstream news media will be covering the event. It could make all the
difference.
