On November 22nd Marco Pannella interrupted, after 52 days, his hunger strike. He is going to explain the next steps of his initiative and to restart the strike in a few days. It is a new nonviolent contribution to the Satyagraha the Nonviolent Radical Party has been conducting over the last few years, aiming at establishing and promoting the truth about why President Bush and Premier Blair started the war in Iraq instead of accepting a peaceful solution that was available: the exile for Saddam Hussein, and a democratic government for Iraq. The hunger strike started on the "International Day of Nonviolence": a celebration established by the UN that Marco Pannella intends to fully honour rather than just let it be a mere 'good wish' moment.

In addition to bring to the fore the "horrible, 'unbelievable' historical truth" about the Iraqi war, "hided and refused, firstly - today - in and from our "western", "civilized", "human rights-based”, "free country", this nonviolent initiative has the objective of raising awareness to advocate an urgent reform of the Italian justice and penitentiary system, which keeps  inmates in such inhuman conditions to that are considered torture by international standards and human rights courts.

On October 26, an Iraqi high court sentenced to death former minister of Foreign Affairs Tarek Aziz, on that day, Marco Pannella started a thirst strike to obtain the halt of the execution asking the Italian Government to act promptly to that effect. In a matter of hours, both Chambers of the Italian Parliament adopted a motion mandating the Government to directly intervene in Baghdad and to promote a European initiative to urge the Iraqis to establish of moratorium of executions. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies officially heard Mr. Pannella both on the Tarek Aziz fate and the reconstruction of the boycotted exile for Saddam. During the Congress of Radical italiani, Marco Pannella launched an appeal to Italy’s Foreign Minister to accompany him to Baghdad to meet prime minister Al-Maliki to advocate a new general moratorium on death penalty in the country.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini and Marco Pannella, are set to meet with Al-Maliki in the near future. The Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty, asks parliamentarians, human rights defenders, citizens worldwide to join this campaign.

At the following links you can find more information and documents on the issue.

http://bushblairagainstsurepeacewagedwariniraqpreventingexiletosaddam.org/

http://www.radicalparty.org/en/content/motion-death-penalty-against-tareq-aziz

http://www.radicalparty.org/en/content/pannella-i-ask-minister-frattini-come-me-bagdad-and-meet-al-maliki-avoid-death-penalty-tarek

http://www.radicalparty.org/en/content/pannella-tonight-2th-october-2010-i-ll-start-satyagraha-hunger-strike-i-m-frightened-will-be

http://www.radicalparty.org/en/content/sabotage-only-concrete-initiative-alternative-iraqi-war

http://www.radicalparty.org/en/content/revealed-saddam-ready-walk-away-1bn