Saturday, May 19, 2012

The futile protest

Trend AZ reports that protesters turned out in Basra to protest Turkey, chant slogans and more.  These are the same peple who protested before.  It didn't do any good then and it won't god any good now.  Their problem is chiefly that Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi is in Turkey.  Their first protest did nothing.  Do they really think that it will ever produce anything?  That a little march in Iraq is going to mean a damn thing to Turkey?

They'll get attention from Iran.  That's really all that'll happen. And they did get attention from Iran's Press TV which noted, "Demonstrators gathered near the Turkish consulate in Basra on Saturday, and criticized Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his stance toward the issue of the fugitive Iraqi vice president. During a press conference in Italy on May 8, Erdogan said Ankara had always supported Hashemi and would continue to do so in the future."

AFP said 200 turned out and they quote Hassan Hamdi alizzi declaring, "We condemn the acts and interference by the Turkish government in Iraqi issues.  "They are trying to create sectarian conflict between the Iraqi people, and they are keeping the criminal Tareq al-Hashemi."


What's the purpose of their protest?

Tareq al-Hashemi is most likely a short-term issue (meaning the most likely outcome scenarios include: charges are dropped against al-Hashemi, al-Hashemi seeks asylum in another country -- official asylum or that the Iraqi government just loses interest in the whole thing -- that last one is not at all unlikely even if there is a conviction, Nouri has a way of 'forgetting' things like arrest warrants and much more).

What do the protesters really want?

If they want Turkey to turn over al-Hashemi, that's not going to happen with 200 people or 2000 people.  It's not happening.  Play ignorant if you want but a protest doesn't accomplish that.  You can't protest in another country over an issue like this and expect results.  People do it all the time and it never makes a difference.  All it does is waste everyone's time.

If their point is to make Turkey look bad, they've shot themselves in the foot too.

They're Iraqis taking a stand to demand someone be forcibly handed over to face a trial with death charages.  You're not going to get world sympathy.  The world will not cry: Yeah! Fire up the electric chair!

It's not happening.  It looks brutal.  (Just as it does when the US executes someone.)  So you look like -- regardless of what you are -- a bunch of brutes chanting for someone's death.  That doesn't build sympathy or make you look good on the world stage.  It feeds into a false image, however, one that says: Iraqis are just like their government!

Again, that's a false image, but it is out there and this past week we learned Nouri never closed the secret prison, the torture never ended.  And so when a bunch of people gather to scream for someone's deportation to potentially face execution, they don't look reasoned, they don't look sympathetic and they really harm the image of the country by allowing people to (falsely) equate Iraiqs with their government.

Maybe they lost a few pounds marching?  If so, great.  But that's the only positive that's going to come of it.  Protesters -- all of us around the world -- really need to grasp that a march isn't alwas the answer and that our hopes and dreams aren't necessarily understood so our actions might be misunderstood as well.



The following community sites -- plus Adam Kokesh, PBS, World Can't Wait and Jody Watley -- updated last night and today:


Mikey Likes It!
Fringe
1 hour ago
SICKOFITRADLZ
Townhouses, country kitchens, mansions and pads
2 hours ago 
 
 
 
 
 
And Trina's site is still not being updated on Blogger/Blogspot.  Her posts this week are:
 
 
 
 
 

Lastly, Cindy Sheehan's Sunday radio program (which podcasts after the broadcast) features a very good guest and very strong topic:
 
 
 
 

Michael Ratner on the Soapbox


Sunday, May 20th
2PM Pacific Time

Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox is proud to present Cindy's interview with Michael Ratner, the President Emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights.  The subject is the abysmal civil and human rights' record of the Obama regime as it continues the post-911 assault on domestic "freedom and liberty."


 
The show can be heard at 2pm Pacific Time at:


or at the archives:


forever.
 
 
 
 
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.






 
 
 
 
 
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