THE two-day Cairo campaign against the war in Iraq and Palestine was interrupted by an unexpected event: Saddam's capture by the occupation forces.

"We are not here because of Saddam!" John Reese (as is) of Stop the War coalition told a hall full of campaigners, media people and politicians at the Press Syndicate.

"We have the most important stories because we're gathering activists from all over the globe," Reese said. "We support the resistance in Iraq and Palestine no matter who leads it," he added.

Reese's announcement was greeted with applause, in spite of earlier disputes that had broken out between supporters of Saddam and those who regarded him as a bloody dictator.

While the pro-Saddam saw him as a hero and a symbol of Arab resistance, others reaffirmed that Saddam represented neither the Iraqi people nor the Arabs.

The very mention of Saddam Hussein sparked controversy and verbal disputes, but Hamdine Sabahi, a prominent activist, took the floor to remind his audience that the purpose of the conference was not to discuss ideological differences. "People have come to this event from all over the world, so it would be a shame to waste time when we all agree that we are here to take a stand against war," Sabahi said.

However, only a few campaigners from Britain, Canada and Spain lent an 'international' touch to the Cairo conference, but they came to pledge their support for resistance movements in Iraq and Palestine, and to express their opposition to global capitalism and US hegemony, in keeping with the themes of the campaign and the statement on the official web site for the conference, www.cairocampaign.com, which reads as follows: "Amid mounting aggression against Palestinians and the continuing US and British occupation of Iraq, an international dialogue between activists from all over the world is the reason such a campaign is important."

At the conference, which opened on 13 December, eminent speakers delivered speeches condemning the war on Iraq and global capitalism.

Scottish Labour MP George Galloway described the conference as a "bridge linking movements against war, imperialism and exploitation in the West and the East."

Tony Benn, former MP and exCabinet minister in the British government, said that the increasing military presence around the world is a threat. Benn called for the creation of a global peace movement.

"We should try to build a world congress for liberation, a congress that would be diverse all over the world," Benn said.

Chairperson of the Birmingham division of the Stop the War Coalition in Britain and selfstyled Muslim activist, Salma Yacoub said that while the neoliberal agenda is gaining ground, basic human rights are being violated worldwide.

"Lines that separate human beings are not the difference between the East and the West or between Muslims and nonMuslims," Yacoub said. "Rather, the lines are between oppressors and the oppressed," she said, adding: "It's necessary to side with the oppressed whether or not they are from our community."

Despite the assortment that included British politicians and Muslim activists, speakers at the conference shared the belief in the fight against a common enemy: global capitalism and war wherever that is.

As Reese laconically remarked: "Your enemy is our enemy and that's why we're here."