It's Friday and the protests continue in Iraq. Above is a screen snap of Iraqi Spring MC's video of Falluja today. Alsumaria reports tens of thousands turned out in Falluja and they may have that wrong -- looking at the photo with the article, it's hard to believe that's not even more people than "tens of thousands." It is a huge crowd. And they honored the victims of Tuesday's violence (over 50 dead from Baghdad bombings alone, many more left wounded) by planting olive seelings on the sides of the highway and reading verses from the Koran. All Iraq News is reporting that protesters in Anbar Province (Falluja and Ramadi are in Anbar) have been fired upon. In another report (still not identifying the locale other than Anbar), they quote Shaikh Hamid al-Hayes declaring, "Many demonstrators were injured" and we'll end his quote there. All Iraq News is not the source for the reports, it's the Iraqiya Satellite Channel which is not connected to Ayad Allawi's Iraqiya slate but is connected to Nouri, it's his megaphone, it's state TV. They may be reporting of the inflitrators in Ramadi. Social media's noted them earlier this morning. Alsumaria has a report here. Ramadi protesters found infiltrators attempting to start violence (like the ones who set fire to cars last week) and (as they did last week) captured them and turned them over to authorities. There have been no reports, however, of any shots fired in this episode. So either the TV station is inflating the event or else another incident has taken place in Anbar. Alsumaria has just posted a report where Ramadi spokesperson Sayad Lafi states that there has been no shots fired at the protest and that the number handed over to authorities (of infiltrators) was four.
The crowd turning out in Adamiyah Baghdad today.
National Iraqi News Agency speaks with Anbar activist Ahmed al-Alwani who explains "two delegations arrived this morning [in Baghdad] in support of their fellow who continue demonstrations and sit-ins since about three months in Anbar province, demanding the central government to meet their legitimate demands through resitituion of their usurped human rights."
Protesters also turned out in Mosul and in Ramadi and Samarra. Samarra protesters saw one of their own targeted. Iraqi Spring MC reports that Prime Minister and thug Nouri al-Maliki's forces have raided the home of Sheikh Mohammed Taha Hamdoun. In addition, Nouri's forces have arrested activist Mohammed Sabawi in Mosul.
Kitabat reports today on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call for Nouri to show restraint when dealing with the protesters and for an investigation to be launched into the killing of protesters. Human Rights Watch's Erin Evers observed earlier this week:
In recent months, the government has announced broad reforms in response to weekly mass demonstrations in majority Sunni provinces. These demonstrations began in December, after the arrest of Sunni Finance Minister Rafi al-Essawi’s bodyguards. Early on protesters demanded the release of prisoners — especially female prisoners, who have been held illegally for long periods of time — and reform of Article 4 of the Anti-Terror Law.
Over the last several weeks in Baghdad, I’ve spoken with more than 30 women who are in detention or were recently released, along with lawyers and families of detainees, researching allegations of torture in Iraqi detention facilities.
People told me over and over about random arrests, torture during interrogation and prolonged detention in unofficial facilities. They said corruption was rife among Interior Ministry officials, that there was collusion between officials and judges, and that trials lacked the most basic due process protections.
Detainees repeatedly told me the government uses the broad provisions of Article 4 to detain people without arrest warrants in detention centers overseen by security forces that answer to the Interior and Defense Ministries, or directly to the Prime Minister’s Office.
I asked officials I met about promises to release detainees and about the broader problems with the criminal justice system. By the government’s own admission, some detainees have been held illegally for months — even years.
There is little evidence, though, that the government is carrying out the pledged reforms, or that the reforms target illegal arrests, coerced interrogations and arbitrary detentions.
National Iraqi News Agency quotes Ramadi activist Mohammad Fayyad stating, "Thousands of protesters and citizens went to sit-in square in Albfarraj area north of the city of Ramadi, juxtaposed to the International Highway and to sit-in Square east of the city of Fallujah for Friday prayers."
Meanwhile Alsumaria reports that Saleh al-Mutlaq's supporters are denying rumors -- which have been flying all week -- that he was doing Nouri's bidding and imploring cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr to have his ministers rejoin the meetings. However, Kitabat reports today that al-Mutlaq was doing that -- on Nouri's behalf -- and he failed. Saleh al-Mutlaq is Deputy Prime Minister. He is also a member of Iraqiya. His attempt to woo protesters in the early days of the protest (Ramadi, December 30th) -- or more to the point, his attempt to show up at a protest and turn it into his own political rally -- did not go over well with the Sunnis in attendance. The reason being that al-Mutlaq is not respected by Sunni-wide population.
He has destroyed his own image repeatedly in the last years by being Nouri's flunky. Whether the latest reports are true or not, everyone will believe them because al-Mutlaq is forever sucking up to Nouri.
In December 2011, Nouri targeted al-Mutlaq and Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi. Very quickly, Nouri dropped his efforts to have Saleh al-Mutlaq stripped of his office; however, he continued to pursue Tareq. This is the beginning of al-Mutlaq being seen nationally as a weasel and a betrayer of Iraqiya (a political slate) and of Sunnis. This is why he was not welcome at the protest -- a fact that western media couldn't grasp then and probably still can't grasp today.
Alsumaria reports a roadside bombing outside Mosul has left two Iraqi soldiers injured. AP reports that Sahwa leader Hussein Muslah and two of his sons were shot dead outside Dujail this morning.
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