Saturday, April 16, 2011

Camp Ashraf, rations and 'honor' killer

The UN News Center reports, "The United Nations mission in Iraq today voiced its deep concern at the recent events that led to the deaths of 34 people at a camp housing Iranian exiles, noting that it has repeatedly urged the Government to refrain from the use of force. The Iraqi military operation on 8 April at Camp Ashraf, located north of Baghdad, also left dozens of people injured. UNAMI (the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq) issued the following statement:

UNAMI reiterates that efforts are needed to stop violence and aim at peacefully resolving all issues.
UNAMI calls for restraint and respect for humanitarian and human rights and urges the Iraqi authorities to provide humanitarian assistance in this regard and access to medical services.
UNAMI's mandate includes the promotion of human rights in Iraq, and the Mission’s Human Rights Office regularly assesses the situation in and around the camp. The UN continues to advocate that Camp Ashraf residents be protected from forcible deportation, expulsion or repatriation contrary to the non-refoulement principle.
Over the past few years the UNAMI and the High Commissioner on Human Rights have been closely monitoring the situation in Camp Ashraf, exploring possible assistance in reaching a resolution that is consistent with Iraq's sovereignty rights, and international law. UNAMI is committed to continue monitoring the situation in the Camp.

Why is it when anything goes wrong in Iraq, if you dust for fingerprints, you find Nouri's?
Turning to Iraq's rationing card system. This is a federal program, not a regional one. It is supposed to come with federal oversight. Waleed Ibrahim (Reuters) reports nearly sixty million dollars (US) in cooking oil will be used to feed livestock due to the fact that it has passed the use-by date for humans. It was stored outside for three years. (It actually may not be safe for animals.) How did that happen? Iraq' current prime minister is Nouri al-Maliki and good for him that he wasn't the prime minister in 2008 because this would be on his -- Oh, wait. He's been prime minister since the spring of 2006. This is on his head. Dar Addustour reports a Parliament commission (Commission on the Truth) held a press conference with their chair Ahmed al-Alwani speaking and they declared the failure derived from people assuming that the oil was transferred to stores and distributed to citizens when it wasn't. Al Rafidayn reminds that the country has seen waves of protests in the last months over a number of issues including the deterioration in services with the rationing program specifically mentioned. Ahmed al-Alwani tells the paper that the Ministry of Commerce has been served with a large fine.

In some of today's violence, Reuters reports a Baghdad roadside bombing injured two people, another Baghdad roadside bombing also injured two people, an assault on a Baghdad checkpoint resulted in one police officer being wounded, a Kirkuk sticky bombing claimed 1 life, a Khaldiya sticky bombing left a police Lt Col wihtout 'Part of his legs," 1 police officer was wounded while patrolling Baghdad and 1 corpse was discovered in Kurkuk.


Turning to the United States where Faleh Hassan Al-Maleki has received a sentence. Lisa Halverstadt (Arizona Republic) reports the 50-year-old Iraqi American was sentenced to 34 and one-half years by Judge Roland Steinie following Al-Maliki's murder of his daughter.

Killed his daughter? Dropping back to the November 3, 2009 snapshot:


In the US, Noor Faleh Almaleki has died. The 20-year-old Iraqi woman was intentionally run over October 20th (see the October 21st snapshot) while she and Amal Edan Khalaf were running errands (the latter is the mother of Noor's boyfriend and she was left injured in the assault). Police suspected Noor's father, Faleh Hassan Almaleki, of the assault and stated the probable motive was that he felt Noor had become "too westernized." As noted in the October 30th snapshot, Faleh Hassan Almaleki was finally arrested after going on the lamb -- first to Mexico, then flying to London where British authorities refused him entry and he was sent back to the US and arrested in Atlanta. Karan Olson and CNN note that the judge has set the man's bail at $5 million. Philippe Naughton (Times of London) adds, "Noor died yesterday, having failed to recover consciousness after the attack. The other woman, Amal Khalaf, was also seriously injured but is expected to survive. "




Lisa Halverstadt reports:


Later, when Steinle spoke, he said the sentencing was one of the most difficult in his six years as a judge.
Noor Al-Maleki's murder was without honor, Steinle said. She was like any other 20-year-old woman whose desire for independence caused tension with her parents. Her father reacted with hatred rather than understanding, Steinle said.
He recounted lessons from Buddhism, Islam and Christianity, which preach forgiveness and compassion.
"For someone to say this crime was committed to restore someone's honor, they really do not understand what religion is all about," Steinle said.


The following community sites -- plus Jane Fonda and Antiwar.com -- updated last night:



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