Friday, October 25, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, the protests continue, Nouri's new fondness for Turkey is questioned, Nouri wants the US to provide drones, Ayad Allawi's healthy, Jalal's not, the State Dept doesn't understand the law or ethics regarding stolen cultural heritage, and more.
Protests took place in Iraq today -- they've been taking place non-stop since
December 21st. Yesterday,
Rachel Shabi (Guardian) noted the protests:
All of this worsened in December last year,
when forces arrested the bodyguards of the Sunni former finance minister, Rafi al-Issawi,
under terrorism laws, prompting mass protests that were brutally
dispersed. The violence included an army raid on protesters in Hawija,
northern Iraq, in April, killing 50 and injuring many more.
If you'd like to read Shabi's column in Arabic,
Al Mada's translated it
here.
Dr. Mohammad Akef Jamal (Gulf News) noted Iraq's civil rights movement this week as well and he noted, "The people’s anger expressed through their demonstrations has to be
translated into a decisive resolution in the upcoming elections for new
faces that no one doubts their devotion towards Iraq and its well-being."
Iraqi Spring MC notes protests took place in
Baquba,
Samarra,
Falluja,
Mosul,
Rawa, and
Ramadi.
National Iraqi News Agency reports thousands turned out in Falluja and Ramadi for the Anbar sit-ins and quote Shiekh Mohammed Fayyad declaring, "The citizens participated in the prayers that held in the courtyard northern Ramadi and eastern Fallujah cities , stressing that the goal of this trickle is to send one again a message to the governing in Baghdad that our demonstrations are peaceful and backed by citizens deep conviction."
Al Mada reports organizers distributed forms in Ramadi and Falluja for families of the detained to fill out in the hopes that they can locate their loved one and determine the status. Many are held without charges. Many have been thrown in detention centers, jails and prisons for no reason -- they are accused of no crimes but are related to a suspect the police could not find so family members were knowing rounded up even though they were not suspects. In Samaeea Sheikh Ziad Madhi noted that the protests are not about political parties but our about justice -- first and foremost, a call to release the innocent detainees. In Baquba Shebab al-Badri echoed the emphasis on detainees and stated they would continue to demand the release of the detainees and continue to call for an end to the raids (mass arrests) that continue to target Sunni communities.
Kitabat reports on Sheikh Ziad Mahdi in Samarra who noted the detainees remain imprisoned and remain a priority of protesters. The Sheikh noted the demands for the release of the innocent detainees continue because they have not been released so the sit-ins continue. He noted that Nouri al-Maliki is responsible for the continued deterioration of security in Iraq. Iraqi Spring MC notes there were
calls for the United Nations and others to witness what it really taking place in Iraq,
calls for an end to Iranian interference in Iraq,
Falluja speakers called for an end to injustice and the flowing of blood in the streets, and
Nouri al-Maliki was denounced for using militias to stay in power.
Kitabat also reports on Sheikh Humam Kubaisi in Ramadi and how he noted ten months have passed and still the demands are not met.
The protests have been marked by violence.
Not on the part of protesters, the violent ones have been the so-called security forces.
For example,
January 7th, Nouri's forces assaulted four protesters in Mosul,
January 24th, Nouri's forces sent two protesters (and one reporter) to the hospital, and
March 8th, Nouri's force fired on protesters in Mosul killing three.
All of that and more appeared to be a trial run for what was coming, the
April 23rd
massacre of a peaceful sit-in in Hawija which resulted from Nouri's federal forces storming in.
Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk) announced 50
activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault.
AFP reported the death toll rose to 53 dead.
UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).
Iraq was a brief issue in
today's State Dept press briefing by spokesperson Jen Psaki:. As usual,
Al Quds' Said Arikat brought Iraq up.
QUESTION: Can we go to Iraq?
MS. PSAKI: Are we – okay. Go ahead. Iraq.
QUESTION: One of the issues eclipsed by this discussion.
Anyway, could you confirm or deny that Iraq has agreed to renegotiate
strategic arrangements that they had with you in view of the uptick of
the violence that is taking place right now, such as perhaps supplying
them with drones, or in fact the U.S. using drones to go after terrorist
camps?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I’m not aware of that and I have not heard of that, to be honest.
QUESTION: Okay.
MS. PSAKI: We do have an ongoing dialogue with the Government
of Iraq to help improve its capacity, and to address and degrade ISIL’s
ability. That’s true. Those conversations are of course ongoing. We
consider them an essential partner in the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq
and that’s why we’re focused on it. But in terms of renegotiation of
anything, I’m not aware of that as being planned.
QUESTION: The reason I am asking that is this is, of course – Prime Minister Maliki is coming to town next week.
MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: And Iraqis are saying or claiming that you have
assured them to speed up the process, delivery of F-16 fighter jets and
also to – they are looking at – they are sort of – they’re looking
positively at the idea of the U.S. perhaps using drones in their fight
against terrorism. That’s why I’m asking.
So has there been anything in that realm, and that, in fact, Secretary of State Kerry is involved in this process?
MS. PSAKI: Again, I know we’re working with the White House
and preparing for this trip, but I’m not aware of the specifics on the
plans at this point along those lines. But we work with Iraq closely;
this is another opportunity to do that, as they visit.
Good for Said Arikat for bringing up Iraq. Sad that over and over, in a room full of reporters -- most of them working for US outlets -- Said Arikat is the only one able to ask about Iraq.
He brought up too major issues. Let's start with drones. This morning,
Peg Mackey (Reuters) reports Nouri plans to insist upon the US government supplying him with drones.
The US is going to arm Nouri with drones? Is there a more stupid idea on running around DC right now? As already noted, he's attacked peaceful protesters. The fifty-plus that died in Hawija were only able to be killed because the US had supplied him with military helicopters.
Hawija is in Kirkuk Province. Nouri wanted to attack the protester but needed to get more forces in during the five-day siege of Hawija. The problem for him was that Kirkuk forces would not let Nouri's SWAT forces enter. Kikruk Governor Najm al-Din Karim discussed this with
Shalaw Mohammed (Niqash):
NIQASH: The incidents in Hawija, where protestors were killed by the Iraqi military, also seems to have seen more Iraqi army forces enter Kirkuk.
Al-Din Karim: Actually those forces did not come through Kirkuk - they entered Hawija by helicopter. They tried to come through Kirkuk but we prevented them from doing so. I know the Prime Minister disapproved of this – he told me so last time we met.
53 dead, 8 of them children. And this is just with helicopters. What's he going to do the Iraqi people if he has drones?
On his August visit to the US, Iraq's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zebari made clear the government wanted drones.
Indira A.R. Lakshmanan (Bloomberg News) reported, "The top Iraqi diplomat’s comments are the first time he has
publicly raised the possibility of working with the U.S. on
anti-terrorist drone strikes, a clandestine program whose use
against terror groups in Pakistan has fueled widespread protest
and damaged the U.S. alliance there." At the start of this month,
John Hudson (Foreign Policy) reported that Iraq will not get the US drones that the Iraqi government has been calling for:
In 2013
alone, Iraq is averaging 68 car bombings a month. The United Nations reports that 5,740 civilians were killed since January, which is almost two times more deaths than recorded in all of 2010.
Despite the staggering numbers, the U.S. isn't about to open up a new
drone war in Iraq. "The use of lethal drones has not been discussed nor
is it even under consideration for Iraq," an administration official
tells The Cable.
That should still be the case. Thamer Hussein, in his wheelchair, went to the Hawija square with his son Mohammed Thamer to participate in the sit-in.
BRussells Tribunal provided his testimony about what ended up happening as Nouri's forces desceneded:
My son, who stood next to my wheelchair, refused to leave me alone. He
told me that he was afraid and that we needed to get out of the area. We
tried to leave. My son pushed my wheelchair and all around us, people
were falling to the ground.
Shortly after that, two men dressed in military uniforms approached us.
One of them spoke to us in Persian; therefore we didn’t understand what
he said. His partner then translated. It was nothing but insults and
curses. He then asked me “Handicapped, what do you want?” I did not
reply. Finally I said to him, “Kill me, but please spare my son”. My son
interrupted me and said, “No, kill me but spare my father”. Again I
told him “Please, spare my son. His mother is waiting for him and I am
just a tired, disabled man. Kill me, but please leave my son”. The man
replied “No, I will kill your son first and then you. This will serve
you as a lesson.” He then took my son and killed him right in front of
my eyes. He fired bullets into his chest and then fired more rounds. I
can’t recall anything after that. I lost consciousness and only woke up
in the hospital, where I underwent surgery as my intestines were hanging
out of my body as a result of the shot.
After all of what has happened to me and my little son – my only son,
the son who I was waiting for to grow up so he could help me – after all
that, I was surprised to hear Ali Ghaidan (Lieutenant General,
Commander of all Iraqi Army Ground Forces) saying on television, “We
killed terrorists” and displaying a list of names, among them my name:
Thamer Hussein Mousa.
I ask you by the name of God, I appeal to everyone who has a shred of
humanity. Is it reasonable to label me a terrorist while I am in this
situation, with this arm, and with this paralyzed leg and a blind eye?
I ask you by the name of God, is it reasonable to label me a terrorist?
I appeal to all civil society and human rights organizations, the
League of Arab States and the Conference of Islamic States to consider
my situation; all alone with my five baby daughters, with no one to
support us but God. I was waiting for my son to grow up and he was
killed in this horrifying way.
I hold Obama responsible for this act because he is the one who gave
them these weapons. The weapons and aircrafts they used and fired upon
us were American weapons. I also hold the United States of America
responsible for this criminal act, above all, Obama.
Nouri does not need drones. More importantly, the Iraqi people do not need a Nouri armed with drones.
The second issue Said Arikat raised was the visit itself.
Hurriyet Daily News observed earlier this week, " Al-Maliki will be visiting Washington next week to meet President
Barack Obama. It could be a good starting point for the U.S. to own up
its responsibility in the Iraqi saga, and persuade al-Maliki, who needs
U.S. support and equipment to end the violence in Iraq, to become more
conciliatory towards different groups. If he can compromise, then a
stable Iraq would be a good starting point towards a peaceful Middle
East. An unraveling Iraq, on the other hand, would easily ignite even
more ugly manifestations of sectarian, ethnic and political conflicts in
the region, which even the U.S. would not be able keep under control."
Al Raifdayn reports that Nouri declared in his Wednesday address that what was needed was an international conference in Baghdad. Yes, provided people brought ideas, it probably would be helpful since Nouri has no ideas himself. Nouri also declared this week that he (suddenly) wants improved relations with Turkey.
As Sheikh (Dar Addustour) wonders what's changed with Turkey and Iraq? They're still, for example, providing asylum to Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi -- despite Nouri's railing against that. Sheikh wonders if this talk of improved relations is just campaign talk as Nouri seeks a third term as prime minister. FYI, Dar Addustour has retooled their site. I think we noted that already. But we've long noted As Sheikh and if you'd like to put a face to his writing,
click on the link to his column which prominently features a photo of the columnist.
Turning to today's violence,
National Iraqi News Agency reports
1 police officer was shot dead in Ramadi, am
armed attack in Heet left two school guards wounded, a
roadside bombing "south of Baquba" claimed the lives of 1 man and 1 woman, a
Rutba suicide bomber took his own life and that of 1 Iraqi soldier and 1 police officer (while leaving two more police members injured),
Imam Bara Juma al-Dulaimi was shot dead outside his Ramadi home, a
Tikrit suicide tanker bombing claimed the life of the bomber as well as the lives of 2 police officers (four more were injured), a
Baiji roadside bombing claimed the lives of 4 Iraqi soldiers, a Dijail car bombing claimed the lives of 2 civilians with a third left injured, and
six Almohandiseen bombings left five people injured.
AFP notes 7 dead and eight injured in the Alohandiseen bombing.
Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) adds a Youssifiyah market bombing claimed 5 lives and left fifteen people injured.
Mu Xuequan (Xinhua) adds, "Also in the province [Anbar], one policeman was killed and
another was seriously injured when unidentified gunmen attacked a police
checkpoint in the central of the city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar
province, the source added" and a Ministry of Justice employee was shot dead outside his Baghdad home. Ammar al-Ani (Alsumaria) reports a
Baghdad bombing claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier and left three more injured, a
north Baghdad bombing claimed the lives of 4 Iraqi soldiers and left five more injured, and a
south Baghdad bombing claimed 2 lives and left three more injured. Through yesterday,
Iraq Body Count counts 841 violent deaths so far this month.
Yesterday's snapshot included:
Press TV adds that an "armed assailants shot dead Bashar
Abdulqader Najm, a cameraman working for al-Mosuliya television station,
in the northern city of Mosul, police officials reported. He is the
third journalist to be killed in the city this month."
Earlier this month,
Sami Waheed Karim (Niqash) reported on the targeting of journalists in Mosul:
Extremists are targeting journalists in the
troubled state of Ninawa. After killing the governor’s spokesperson and
two TV reporters they distributed fliers saying that any journalist who
turned up for work risked death. Locals say a special team of assassins
is at work and that security forces know who they are but won’t stop
them.
It seemed a simple assignment for the reporter and camera
man from Iraqi satellite station, Al Sharqiya: they would go down to the
crowded markets in central Mosul and film the shoppers in action before
the upcoming Eid Al-Adha holiday. But while Mohammed Ghanem and
Mohammed Karim were in the Sarjakhana neighbourhood, they were gunned
down by a group of men armed with pistols with silencers. Their
attackers appeared suddenly, let off a hail of bullets and then
disappeared into the crowded streets.
A witness, a woman in her 50s, complained about how local
police had reacted to the scene. She said she saw one of the victims
moving his hand and saying something but police only stood and watched,
she recalled, “as the young man’s blood ran out of him”.
“The state of Ninawa – with Mosul – as its centre is
witnessing a collapse in security,” says a local police officer who only
wanted to be known as A. Mohammed. There are an estimated 50,000
military and security staff deployed throughout the province and there
are checkpoints in all Mosul’s major streets.
“But we’re not able to protect ourselves,” the officer explained. “how are we supposed to protect the public?”
About 3,500 of those security staff quit their jobs over
the past few days, MP Faris al-Sanjari, a member of the Sunni
Muslim-dominated Iraqiya bloc, the major opposition in Iraq’s federal
parliament, told NIQASH. “They left their jobs after they received
threats from militants and because they’ve seen dozes of their
colleagues killed and the homes of other colleagues bombed.”
Journalists like Karim and Ghanem have also been targeted,
al-Sanjari said. And not just while they’ve been working but also in
their own homes: al-Sanjari was referring to the murder of a presenter
for local TV station, Sama Al Mosul, who was gunned down at home in
front of his wife and child.
Most recently locals say they’ve seen fliers in their
neighbourhoods which threaten journalists and media workers with death
if they continue their jobs. Anyone reporting to work risked death, the
fliers said.
Ayad Allawi is the leader of the political slate Iraqiya (they won the 2010 elections). He Tweeted the following yesterday.
We ignored the two stories in Iraqi media about his supposedly being very ill. They didn't appear to be based on facts and seemed more rooted in his enemies desires. We'll note the above and note that he is raising the issue of his health and doing so while another Iraqi leader hides his health.
Yes, we're talking about Jalal Talabani. Last December, Iraqi
President Jalal
Talabani suffered a stroke. The incident took place late on December
17th (see the
December 18th snapshot) and resulted in Jalal being admitted to Baghdad's Medical Center Hospital.
Thursday, December 20th,
he was moved to Germany. He remains in Germany currently.
NINA reports that Nouri met with Jalal's advisor Abfdul Lateef Jamal Rasheed today and that the man insisted to Nouri "that President Talabani's health is improving." Yeah, they've been saying that for months now. It's time for Jalal to be excused from office. He's failed the Iraqi people in many ways for many years. But right now, he fails them by being in Germany for almost 11 months. That's not how you operate as president of Iraq.
Jalal can't speak and isn't cognitive or coherent. That's what people are saying.
So why is he still president?
As we were saying earlier this week, 'independent' MP Mahmoud Othman does not speak for the Kurdish political blocs. That's why we didn't take seriously his claim that, as soon as Eid al-Adha was over, the Kurds would drop their objections to the proposed elections bill which Parliament would then pass an election law. Eid's over. Where's the passage of the law?
Today
NINA reports that MP Aref "Tayfur said the Kurdistan Alliance believes that the new election law bring great prejudice and unfairness response for Kurds in comparison with other provinces, in terms of the number of votes and seats."
All Iraq News reports that Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi plans to visit the KRG to meet with KRG President Massoud Barzani to discuss the proposed election law."
Mustafa Habib (Niqash) offers an analysis which includes:
Iraq’s elected representatives have been talking about the
same topic for weeks now: the laws that will govern next year’s
parliamentary elections. These are scheduled to be held in April 2014.
The debate about the law regarding next year’s election is
a complicated one that will decide on exactly what kind of system of
representation the country uses. There are various different models used
in different democracies around the world and currently Iraq is trying
to decide which one it wants. This year, the results of the provincial
elections were newly governed by a mathematical formula called the Sainte-Laguë formula.
This system stops larger parties from gobbling up the votes smaller
parties have won, if the smaller parties haven’t won enough votes to
pass a certain threshold.
Obviously it is important to decide which system
is going to be used in Iraq’s 2014 elections and apparently a deadline –
Oct. 30 - has been set for the debate to end and the new system to be
legally adopted. Currently though, the debate continues in Baghdad and some have even suggested
that if the political parties legislation isn’t renovated in time, that
the current prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki may use the delay as an
excuse to postpone the elections.
However while MPs are debating this law,
several other very important laws continue to languish in a legislative
no man’s land. And now, if elections do go ahead on time, they may
never be voted on, debated or passed – because Parliament has only six
months to finish its current business.
“Parliament has been busy discussing the 2014 electoral
law for weeks,” says Bahaa al-Araji, a leading member of the Sadrist
bloc. “And now time is running out [for these other laws]. We only have a
few months before this session of parliament ends and that might not be
enough to get through these laws, which have been suspended for months
already.”
Turning to the US and the issue of cultural ownership. A trove was discovered in Iraq and imported to the US to be restored. The US
National Archives explains:
On May 6, 2003, just days after the Coalition forces took over
Baghdad, 16 American soldiers from Mobile Exploitation Team Alpha, a
group assigned to search for nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons,
entered Saddam Hussein’s flooded intelligence building. In the basement,
under four feet of water, they found thousands of books and documents
relating to the Jewish community of Iraq – materials that had belonged
to synagogues and Jewish organizations in Baghdad.
The water-logged materials quickly became moldy in Baghdad’s intense
heat and humidity. Seeking guidance, the Coalition Provisional Authority
placed an urgent call to the nation’s foremost conservation experts at
the National Archives. Just a week later, National Archives Director of
Preservation Programs Doris Hamburg and Conservation Chief Mary Lynn
Ritzenthaler arrived in Baghdad via military transport to assess the
damage and make recommendations for preservation of the materials. Both
experts share this extraordinary story and take you “behind the scenes”
in this brief video
[http://tinyurl.com/IraqiJA]. This video is in the public domain and
not subject to any copyright restrictions. The National Archives
encourages its use and free distribution.
Given limited treatment options in Baghdad, and with the agreement of
Iraqi representatives, the materials were shipped to the United States
for preservation and exhibition. Since then, these materials have been
vacuum freeze-dried, preserved and photographed under the direction of
the National Archives. The collection includes more than 2,700 Jewish
books and tens of thousands of documents in Hebrew, Arabic, Judeo-Arabic
and English, dating from 1540 to the 1970s. A special website to launch
this fall will make these historic materials freely available to all
online as they are digitized and catalogued. This work was made
possible through the assistance of the Department of State, National
Endowment for the Humanities, and Center for Jewish History.
The Jews of Iraq have a rich past, extending back to Babylonia. These
materials provide a tangible link to this community that flourished
there, but in the second half of the twentieth century dispersed
throughout the world. Today, fewer than five Jews remain.
As noted
Wednesday,
Senator Chuck Schumer is calling for the archives not to be shipped
back to Iraq but handed over to their rightful owners, the Jewish
community.
Dan Friedman (New York Daily News) reported:
Schumer Wednesday urged the State Department “to do everything in their
power to ensure that these treasured artifacts remain available and
accessible to Jews worldwide.”
In a letter Wednesday to Secretary of State John Kerry, Schumer urged
the department to work with Jewish groups in the United States and
abroad to find another home for the documents.
"Since the exile of Jews from Iraq, virtually no Jewish life remains in
the country,” Schumer wrote. “This treasured collection belongs to the
Jewish community and should be made available to them."
Schumer is not alone. US House Rep Ilena Ros-Lehtinen's office issued the following statement:
“It’s imperative that we preserve the history of
the Jewish community of Iraq so that future generations will always
remember their ancestors’ experiences and historical contributions”
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a
senior member of the Florida congressional delegation, co-authored a
letter, along with U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, urging Secretary of State
John Kerry to return historic communal and religious items currently on
display at the National Archives to the Iraqi Jewish community and their
descendants, and not the government of Iraq. These artifacts,
discovered in a decrepit state by U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq in
2003, were rescued and brought to the United States for repair and
preservation. Next spring, these items are scheduled to be sent back to
Iraq but Ros-Lehtinen and Israel are asking that they be returned to
their rightful inheritors.
Statement by Ros-Lehtinen: “I’m pleased to join
my colleague Steve in urging Secretary Kerry and the State Department to
return these ancient Jewish artifacts to their rightful owners. The
Iraqi government has absolutely no right or legitimate claim to these
artifacts. These communal, religious and personal items were left behind
in a temple in Baghdad to be safeguarded as the vast majority of Jews
were forced to flee Iraq due to rampant persecution, harassment and
anti-Semitic hatred, only to see them stolen by Saddam Hussein and his
thugs. Once thought to be lost and gone forever, we now have a
remarkable opportunity to restore a piece of an ancient Jewish
community’s collective memory. It’s imperative that we preserve the
history of the Jewish community of Iraq so that future generations will
always remember their ancestors’ experiences and historical
contributions. It would be criminal for the U.S. government to be
complicit in denying the Jewish community what is rightfully theirs.”
Statement by Israel: “I am grateful that these
artifacts, which represent the rich and vibrant Jewish community that
once existed in Iraq, have been restored. However, I do not believe that
we should send these treasures back to the Iraqi Government. That’s why
I’m working with my colleague Rep. Ros-Lehtinen to urge the U.S.
Government to facilitate a process by which we can return the artifacts
to their rightful owners or their owners’ descendants.”
#######
JNS.org notes,
"The State Department plans to return the archive to the Iraqi
government, in line with a written agreement between the two parties."
A written agreement regarding the return of property is not binding
when it's discovered that the property in question was stolen. The
Iraqi government had no legal rights to the property and committed fraud
by signing the agreement. Fraud can be prosecuted. The agreement has
no legal standing. But the State Dept is insisting it will be followed.
The Jewish Week reports today:
In response to Schumer’s letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, a
State Department spokesman, Pooja Jhunjhunwala, told The Jewish Week in
an e-mail that the Department would abide by its August 2003 agreement
with Iraq.
“We are committed to returning the material to Iraq following the
completion of the preservation project and the exhibition of the
material in the United States,” he wrote. “Much of the project has now
been completed by the National Archives and Record Administration
(NARA), and NARA has announced that the material is being readied for
exhibition in Washington at the National Archives.”
We'll close in the US with this from
Ms.:
WEEKLY ROUND UP | October 25, 2013Catch up on what you missed, and check in throughout the last week to get our bloggers' latest takes on news and culture.
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iraq
reuters
peg mackey
national iraq news agency
the associated press
sameer n. yacoub
dar addustour
as sheikh
alsumaria
all iraq news
al madakitabatal rafidayn
xinhuamu xuequan
niqashmustafa habib
Ayad Allawi
