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June 23, 2005
From the World Tribunal on Iraq in Istanbul
This week I'm going to be blogging from the World Tribunal on Iraq taking place in Istanbul. It will start tomorrow morning; more information can be found here.
But for now, here's the view from inside the small offices on the top floor of an old building where dozens of volunteers have been working almost literally around the clock organizing an event of this scale --welcoming speakers, delegations, witnesses and experts from around the world and especially from Iraq.
The little rainbow flag says "We the People Say No to the Bush Agenda." In the background is the Topkapi palace, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque; the Tribunal is being held right at the heart of historic old city, in buildings left from the Ottomon times.
Tonight there was a wonderful welcoming concert. The speaker from the organizing committee started her remarks by reminding us that we were meeting inside the old city walls of two former empires, the Ottoman and the Byzantine. Look at these walls and remember, she said, Empires fall, big and small.
Posted by zeynep at June 23, 2005 03:57 PM