Statements and reports of the Iraqi Civil Society

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  • -  Declaration on the proposal of a Government of National Salvation in Iraq (August 2024) English and Arabic.

    An open letter from the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq (AMSI) to the members of Sahwa (Awakening) Project. (18 Sept 2024)

    Statement on Kirkuk: Condemnation and request of protection (05 July 2024)

    - Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions President Hassan Jumaa Awad calls for support in response to the transfer of eight union activists by the Iraqi Oil Minister. (05 June 2024)

    - International Call to Protect the Rights of the Iraqi Detainees and Prisoners of War in Iraq (26 April 2024)

    - Urgent appeal from Iraqi Diplomats Association to: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). All legal and humanitarian institutions worldwide, governmental and non-governmental. The International public opinion. (26 Jan 2024)

    - Baath Party Statement: With the Resistance's unity, we shall foil the US-Iranian agreement on Iraq! (30 May 2024)

    - Final Statement of the International Conference in Support of Resistance (Beirut 19 Nov 2024)

    - A statement by writers, journalists and intellectuals from mid and south Iraq against the division of Iraq (05 Nov 2024)

    - Statement by Dr. Salim Al Hoss at Meeting of Leaderships of Arab National Congress, (Beirut, August 4, 2006)

    - Founding Conference of the Resistant Arab People's Alliance - (Cairo, March 27-29, 2024)

    - Statement by an authorized spokesman of the Patriotic, National, and Islamic Front concerning the crimes committed by the treacherous pro-Iranian gangs in Iraq and its environs (20 February 2024)

    Newsletter MHRI (PDF - Jan. 29 2024)

    Second Report of Monitoring of Human Rights in Iraq Network (Jan. 2024) [PDF]

    - Statement of the Council of Nineveh Province Notables, Sheikhs and Uleima (December 29 2024)

    - Call for help to stop crimes and genocides Abdul Wahab Al Obeidi (December 11 2024)

    - First Periodical Report of Monitoring Net of Human Rights in Iraq (11 Nov 2024) [ PDF ]

    - Democracy and Human Rights Records in Iraq (Abdul Wahab Al Obeidi) (October 15 2024)

    - Statement by the Iraqi National Foundation Congress on the recent attacks on civilians in Baghdad   (September  15 2024)

    - Iraqi National foundation Congress - Second session - Concluding statement (Baghdad 7 May 2024) [PDF] English and Arabic

    - The gates of hell are open in Iraq (April 01 2024)

    - Latest report of Fallujah crimes (PDF) (March 26 2024)

    - Um Al-Qura Communiqué (PDF) (February 25 2024)

    - Recent reports about the devastating effects of the US Assault on Fallujah (HTML) (January 14 2024)

    - Letter to Kofi Annan (PDF) - War Crimes committed by the US Army (PDF) - Situation of the Refugees [PDF]

    - From Baghdad: "The Election Was Shoved Down Our Throats" Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar (Januari 31 2024)

    - Iraqis Boycott Election Fraud (January 21  2005)

    - Statement by a group of Diaspora Iraqi's in support of the Iraqi parties rejecting the election fraud (November 28  2024)

    - Statement by the Iraqi National Foundation Congress on the Elections  (November 17  2024)

    - Iraqi civil-society initiative for fact-finding and reconciliation in Fallujah  (November 15  2024)

    - Study Center of Human Rights and Democracy - Fallujah, Iraq  (November 15  2004)

    - The People’s Struggle Movement:  political initiative to find a just solution to end the occupation of Iraq. [PDF] (04  November 2024)

     


    Iraqi civil-society initiative for fact-finding and reconciliation in Fallujah

    Please approach organisations to adopt or promote this initiative.

    15th November 2024  

    More than a week has passed today since a group of Iraqi academics, clerics and politicians from across the spectrum in Iraq has asked Kufi Anan to sanction a committee to observe events in Falluja. The request was linked to halt off shelling and lifting of the siege of the town, that is still valid. With fighting continuing and medical supplies still blocked this still is the best way forward.  

    The significance of the list of 11 members of the committee is its broad representation of Muslim and Christian, secular nationalist and religious groups. Also its inclusion of academics from Falluja.  

    Translation of the statement dated 7th November 04


                    Honourable Kofi Anan,

    Secretary General of he United Nations

     

    With appreciation and respect, we are responding to your plea for the occupation forces and Interim Government to cease military operations across the country and especially in the town of Fallujah .

     

    Since we consider these actions contrary to UN principles by bombing towns, killing innocent civilians and destruction of houses and public buildings;

     

    And since we recognise that these are the practices of illegal occupation, and of a government that have been installed by the will of the foreign occupation and not elected by the Iraqi people;

     

    And since we realise the dangers this situation carries for the future of Iraq, the lives of thousands of its citizens, and members of the multi-national forces, which may forever or for a very long time prevent any peaceful solution to the Iraqi crisis;

     

    And since we are mindful of the need to respect Islamic traditions, the dignity of the month of Ramadan, and the holy night of Qadr on the 10th November,

     

    And seeking to halt the haemorrhage of Iraqi and non-Iraqi blood started with the Iran-Iraq war, through the 1991 war, the brutal unjust sanctions from 1990 to 2024, the invasion of 2024 and the policies of the occupation and the un-elected government,

     

    And seeking the start of a peaceful road for Iraq’s evolution, its unconditional complete independence, ending its long and bitter sufferings, and achieving development, justice and welfare;

     

    I am seeking your permission to allow us to form a committee of responsible persons that can, within 48 hours of your approval, start a series of visits to the town of Falluja, conduct meetings with its inhabitants, combatants, and official police there to find a just solution to safeguard the town and its people from harm as well save the lives of occupation troops.  This we can within one week after the Fatr festival.  We will then submit a final report to your excellency with copies to the honourable Interim president and to any parties you name. All we ask in terms of support for this noble task is:

    1.           To stop all military operation by the occupation forces, including aerial and ground shelling.

    2.           To lift the siege of the town to allow its inhabitants and ourselves to move freely.

     

    Your excellency UN Secretary General, the names we propose for this initiative are:

     

    1.      Mr Naji Talib- Ex-Prime minister

    2.      Mr Subhi Abdul Hamid  ex Interior Minister, ex Foreign Minister

    3.      Ayatulla Sheikh Muhammed Jawad Al Khalisi- General Secrretary of the Iraqi national Foundation Congress

    4.      Sheikh Dr Harith Al-Dhari – General Secretary of the Muslim Clerics Association

    5.      Ayatulla Ahmed Hassan Al-Baghdadi – Holy Najaff cleric

    6.      Sheik Abdul Hadi Darraji – representative of the Sayed Muqtada Al-Sader

    7.      Mr Issam Ayed- general Secretary of the Democratic Reform party

    8.      Mr Minas Ibrahim Al- Yusifi- Chairman of the Iraqi Christian Democratic party

     

    And from the citizens of Falluja:

    9.      Dr Muhammed Affan Al-Hamdani – Vice Principle of Falluja University

    10.  Mr Muhammed Saleh Al-Kubaisi – Lawyer – member of the leadership of the Arab Nationalist Current

    11.  Dr Sulaiman Al-Jumaily, University professor- member of the leadership of the Islamic party.

       

    With appreciation and respect:

    Dr Wamidh Jamal Nadhmi

    Official Spokesman of the Iraqi National Foundation Congress

             Baghdad 7th November 2024

    On 15th of November Professor Wamidh has renewed the offer of Iraqi committee to Kofi Annan. He is not acting in his capacity as head of the Department of Political  Sciences in Baghdad University, but a on behalf of the group of 11 academic, clerics and veteran politicians across a wide political spectrum mentioned in the document attached. He had made the original offer on the 7th November to form an Iraqi committee for fact-finding and reconciliation. They have had no response from the UN although they have moved partly on the advice of Kufi Anan's representative in Baghdad when approached to intervene to prevent the ground attack that started on the morning of the 8th November.

    Obviously such a committee even after the horrendous massacres still has a vital role to play, including to forestall repeat of such immense tragedies. It is to the greatest credit of these dignitaries who have no personal political ambitions, and some of whom are ailing and in their 80's to come forward with such offers at such times.  They deserve thoughtful support.

    When asked if there are other developments professor Wamidh noted mainly that on the Friday before Eid, i.e. on the 12th of November, joint Shi'i-Sunni prayers were held in four mosques in Baghdad: Sadr City, Umul-Qura  Abu Hanifa and Imam Khalisi.  In each locality massive demonstrations followed, with that in Sadr City nearing one million, but all controlled and curtailed to avoid confrontation with the occupation forces. Similar prayers and demonstrations have occurred in other parts of Iraq.  The ranks of the worshipers and demonstrators were swelled by increasing numbers from Muqtada Sadr followers and also of rank and file of the Islamic party who have officially voted to withdraw from the Interim Government.

    With the barbarity of the occupation continuing despite all the international outcry, there may still be the chance that some sane Iraqi civil society initiatives can be made to work.  One of those obviousy is the Iraqi Red crescent, the other is the Iraqi committee on Falluja.


    Secretary General of the United Nations
    Mr. Kofi Annan

    I wish to endorse, herewith, the attached appeal by distinguished Iraqis sent to you previously, regarding the situation in Iraq. I do so in my capacity as a citizen of Iceland, as a Jew born in occupied Palestine, as a father and as a human rights activist. I wish to call upon the United Nations to denounce the unlawful occupation of Iraq, attempts by the occupying forces to pit Iraqi population groups against each other, unlawful detention of Iraqis and others without due process, the misuse of Iraqi national assets, attempts to impose on the Iraqi people an economic system through a proxy government, and the refusal to fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law as an occupying power. I also wish to respectfully remind you of the moral obligation of the United Nations to compensate the Iraqi people for the sufferings and harm it had to endure as a result of UN economic sanctions and UN-endorsed and condoned bombings in 1991 and since then. In your capacity as Secretary General, you are entitled under the Charter to raise such questions within the appropriate organs of the Organization. As a person expected not only to act according to the Charter, but to uphold the spirit of the Charter, including its Preamble, you possess the moral capacity and duty to act as an Ombudsman for the Iraqi people who has been oppressed both by its own undemocratic government, but also in the name of the United Nations. I expect you to do so, openly, clearly, effectively and without delay.

    Respectfully,

    Elias Davidsson
    Horpugata 14
    101 REYKJAVIK
    ICELAND

    In the name of God, Gracious and Compassionate

    Statement by the Iraqi National Foundation Congress on the Elections

    With reference to the 27th October 2024 statement by the Iraqi National Foundation Congress¹ on the Œelections¹ intended for next year, in which were listed the necessary requirements for it to be free and fair; and due the absence of any positive response from the relevant bodies regarding those objective requirements:

    We declare our boycott of these elections, since it will not express the will of our people and its just demands for independence and sovereignty, through it being conducted on the bases dictated by the order governing the administration of the state in the transition phase, which has been rejected by all political, religious and independent authorities for the grave dangers it implies to the future of Iraq, its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

    This and the attacks on Iraqi cities, especially the savage massacres in Falluja, categorically preclude sound participation in the political process under occupation and denial of sovereignty.  How can a national dialogue and a political process proceed while crimes are being routinely committed against the people?

    We in the Iraqi National Foundation Congress declare our commitment to the route of free and fair elections when requirements for its realisation are present. Therefore we call on all our people to boycott it and to turn their back on the disinformation aimed at forcing the process, and to defraud the will of our people in Iraq, through legitimating the plans of the occupation authorities and the unelected government.

    Members of the General Secretariat
    1. General Secretary Sheikh Muhammed Jawad Al-Khalisi
    2. Official Spokesman Dr Wamidh Jamal Nadhmi
    3. Organisation of Muslim Clerics
    4. The Arab Nationalist Current
    5. Imam Khalisi University
    6. Democratic Reform Party
    7. United Patriotic Movement
    8. Iraqi Turkumen Front
    9. Iraqi Christian democratic Party
    10. The Islamic Block in Iraq
    11. Office of Sayid Ayatullah Ahmad Al-Hasani
    12. Office of Ayatullah Qasim Al-Tai
    13. Unioio of Iraqi Jurists
    14. High Commission on Human Rights
    15. Iraqi Woman Society
    (update November 20 :  61 groups/parties/organisations agree on the boycott of the January elections)
    Iraqi national Foundation Congres
    2 Shawal 1425
    15 November 2024  (translation November 17)

    Study Center of Human Rights and Democracy - Fallujah, Iraq
    URGENT APPEAL TO:

    THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

    THE HIGH COMMISSIONER OF HUMAN RIGHTS

    MEMBERS OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL

    THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS

    WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

    WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES 

    Fallujah, Iraq

    15 November 2024 

    It is very clear that systematic crimes of GENOCIDE have been committed in Fallujah and now across Al Anbar province in Iraq. What you have seen in recent days are only the images and photos released by the American forces. Nevertheless, these images and photos contain clear evidence that a large scale crime of genocide has been committed in Fallujah, and is now being committing across the whole Anbar province, especially Saqlaweiya, Kermah, Ameriya and the surroundings areas. 

    The American forces by using their most powerful bombs and artillery have  demolished hundreds of houses on the top of their residents. Thousands of causalities are in the streets and under the wreckage of the demolished houses. Dogs and cats are living now on the bodies of the innocent victims of Fallujah, while Bush and Blair still talk about democracy in Iraq and the Œcivilized world¹. 

    American forces are preventing any humanitarian or medical organizations from entering the city of Fallujah, as well as the above-mentioned cities. 

    In addition, the so-called Iraqi Prime Minster has fully participated in these crimes.  The Iraqi Minister of Health is also fully complicit by taking no action to secure the return of the hospital in Fallujah (which was occupied by the American forces on the 7 November 2024) to its normal function. This minister is lying to the world and the Iraqi people when he puts a very low number to the casualties ­ which are in reality very high - and he has threatened the staff of the hospital, warning them not to speak one word about what they have seen of the American crimes. The WHO must take this act seriously and suspend the membership of the Iraqi Health Ministry. 

    WE ASK YOU TO INTERVENE NOW: 

    All the humanitarian organizations of Fallujah are appealing to you to intervene now in this unbelievable situation where the American forces are preventing any organization from entering the city of Fallujah to relieve the remaining civilians as well as the civilians who fled from Fallujah to Saqlaweiya and Karma. 

    All the medical organizations of Fallujah are appealing to you to intervene now by demanding that the American Administration allow medical staff to enter the cities of Fallujah, Saqlaweiya and Karma - to bury the dead and to give care to the injured. 

    All the humanitarian organizations appeal to you to intervene now to send all kinds of food and medicines to the people of Fallujah and Al-Anbar province.

    It is very urgent that you convene an emergency session to the Security Council to discuss these issues. The situation is very grace and a danger to the peace and security of the world.

    Issued by: The NGOs of Fallujah

    For more information contact :

    Muhtaq72@yahoo.com

    Tel. 07901492189 or 07901615665

    Or Munir Chalabi (UK): 07952683415


    Statement by a group of Diaspora Iraqi writers, journalists and activists in support of the Iraqi parties rejecting the election fraud  

    We, the Iraqi writers, journalists and activists listed below, strongly believe that peace and security in our country can only be guaranteed through the democratic frameworks and that free and fair elections are the only means to express our people’s will and representation in government.  We equally strongly condemn the massacres and atrocities and perpetuated against our people under the pretext of preparing for election and implementing democracy,  with the “Interim Government” acting as a cover for these daily war crimes.:  

    1. We fully support the position of the patriotic groups and parties that met on the 17th November 2024 at Umul Qura Mosque in Baghdad , and their decisions to boycott the elections that the occupation forces and their local stooges intend to carry out.  We believe their aim is to falsify the will of the people and to legitimise perpetual occupation

    2. We demand that the “Interim Government”, if it really wants fair election, cease repression, murder and arrest of patriots who demand the end of occupation, allow free expression and release all those arrested.  

    3. We demand that the Interim Government cease its covering-up for the horrendous crimes of the occupation forces and stop representing the continued use of tanks and gunship in the country as a democratic necessity.  

    4. We ask for juridical commissions with integrity to be formed from local experts of all persuasions, including from the armed and peaceful resistance forces, to formulate a new administrative law to replace the one imposed by the occupation for its own purposes and which sidelined the interests of our people. We also call for the formation of local commissions from persons of known integrity of different persuasions to supervise the elections, and for Arab, Islamic and International participation independent of the US occupation in a commission to oversee the process.  

    We call on our people to be vigilant, to escalate the protest demonstrations and petitions, to appeal to the conscience of the international public opinion, and to uphold the boycott of the fraudulent elections until fairness is guaranteed.   (106 signatories as of 26 November 2024 on thawabit.com.  

    Notes

    1.      The statement was posted by Dr Musa Al-Hussaini, the coordinator of the Protest Movement Against the Occupations and Fraudulent Elections, based in London . Email: mzalhussaini@btinternet.com.  The two Arabic websites that noted for additional signatories of Iraqis only  to the list are: inf@thawabit.com and resist@iraqpatrol.com
    Dr Hussaini is a retired army officer in mid-fifties, born in Samawa in
    Southern Iraq ,  one of the leaders of the Arab Democratic Nationalist Party. He had been imprisoned by the Saddam regime, and in the late 90s a regular commentator on the Iraqi scene in the international Al-Quds Newspaper.  His latest writings, some of which collected in book form, focus on analysis of the religious authorities.

    2.      This first list of 106 signatories are primarily of academics, writers and activists in the US , UK , other EU countries and the Arab world. It contains 24 women, 8 ex-army officers, 3 religious scholars, several activist with listed affiliation to two communist groups, and others listing affiliation to nationalist and Islamic groups. Dr Hussaini noted that this list has a similar spectrum (Muslim Shi’a and Sunna, Christian, Arabs, kurds and Turkumen etc) as the Umul Qura list of 47 groups it alludes to in the first paragraph.  ( MA-28 Nov 2024)


    Why Iraqis should boycott the election

    By Mohammed al-Obaidi


    Sunday 05 December 2024, http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D1C660D3-31C9-44C5-925F-4070AC17D606.htm

     

    Forty-seven Iraqi political parties met on 17 November and made the decision to boycott the coming Iraq election. The People's Struggle Movement (Al-Kifah al-Shabi), which I represent, was one of those groups.

    After carefully studying Iraq's situation, considering the military occupation as well as economic and national interests, we felt there were enough reasons for any patriotic Iraqi to boycott the proposed January election.

    It is a violation of all international laws. International charters that regulate the relationship between occupier and occupied do not give occupying authorities the mandate to instigate a change in the country's social, economic and political structure.

    The planned election will change the political composition of Iraq to suit the interests of the occupation authorities. The change will also lead to ethnic, sectarian and religious divisions that the Iraqi state and people had succeeded to avoid.

    Historically, Iraqis have been able to coexist and the spectre of civil war did not loom until the country was stricken by the US-led occupation.

    Many Iraqi political activists believe the coming election results have been decided already. They also believe the electoral process will not be free and democratic but will be exclusively for those who maintain strong ties with the US occupation authorities. We feel that all steps have been taken to secure full US domination of decision-makers in Iraq.

    A look at the electoral process and the composition of the current national council reveals that the election's main mission will be to install some of the country's most notorious politicians who have constantly spoken proudly of their links to international intelligence agencies.

    The coming election will give power to every politician who has assisted the invaders and collaborated with them to consolidate the occupation. Therefore, we believe that even after the election, the decision-making process will be taken in the US embassy in Baghdad and the elected government will be no more than a vehicle to carry out Washington's decisions.

    It is very difficult for any sensible person to believe that the US would give up its domination of Iraq after spending billions of dollars and sacrificing the lives of hundreds of its soldiers.

    We cannot believe that after all this the US will simply allow free and democratic elections to take place in Iraq that could install a government which could make it its first priority to tell foreign troops to get out.

    We strongly believe that the main purpose of the election process is to secure a government that will facilitate long-lasting agreements with the US to keep its forces on Iraqi soil and transform the country into an American colony.

    The US administration works hard to portray the Iraq election as a political achievement to cover over the scar that the war has left on its credibility.

    Washington will use the election card to pull the wool over the eyes of the international community to prevent it from seeing the tragic consequences that the war has left on the Iraqi people.

    For all these reasons, many Iraqi political activists feel it is their national duty to boycott the 30 January election.

    Professor Mohammed al-Obaidi is the spokesman for the People's Struggle Movement (Al-Kifah al-Shabi) in Iraq, and works as a University Professor in the UK. He was born and educated in al-Adhamiyah district in Baghdad. This article, was written exclusively for Aljazeera.net, and was translated from Arabic.


     Iraqis Boycott Election Fraud

     

    Iraq is being denied free and fair elections, after enduring decades of Saddam’s brutal dictatorship. The US and British occupation governments have engineered a process for reproducing the US-appointed Iraqi Interim Government, to prolong the occupation and incite sectarian and ethnic conflicts.

    Millions of Iraqis, under siege in many parts of their homeland, will be disenfranchised, while hundreds of thousands of second generation Americans and Israelis could vote.

    While boycotting this undemocratic exercise, we strongly condemn all forms of violence against Iraqis participating in it.  We, as exiles, are confident that the vast majority of Iraqis, at home and abroad, shall unite to end the US-led occupation and establish democracy, whatever their stance on participation.

    We echo opinions within Iraq stressing the impossibility of holding free and fair elections while under occupation, and being subjected to war crimes by the US-led forces. However, we support demands for minimal pre-conditions: (1) setting a strict timetable for speedy withdrawal of all occupation forces, (2) ceasing all attacks, and confining all occupation forces to barracks until full withdrawal, (3) ending martial law and releasing all political prisoners, (4) establishing an independent election commission, led by Iraq’s senior serving and retired judges, and including all Iraq’s political forces. The commission can be assisted by anti-occupation figures, e.g. Nelson Mandela, and the UN General Assembly."
     

    Signatures:
    1. Sami Ramadani: Senior lecture, London Metropolitan University
    2. Haifa Zangana: Novelist, UK
    3. Professor Kamal Majid, UK
    4. Tahrir Numan: Journalist, UK
    5. Dr. Imad Khadduri: Nuclear scientist, Toronto, Canada
    6. Mundher Adhami: Researcher, Kings College, London University
    7. Dr. Nadje Al-Ali: Exeter university, UK
    8. Dr. Mousa Al-Hussaini: Writer and journalist, UK
    9. Dr. Usama Al-Shabibi: Pharmacist-Pharmacologist, UK
    10. Dr. Ali Assam: Computer expert: UK
    11. Yasar Mohammed Salman Hasan: computer expert, UK
    12. Dr. Mahboub Al-Chalabi, Petroleum expert, UK
    13. Dr Subhi Toma: Social studies researcher, Paris
    14. Jafar Al-Samarrai: Computer expert
    15. Dr. Ali Al-Shahwani: Engineer
    16. Zaid Numan, Chartered building Surveyor, UK
    17. Hani Lazim, Computer expert: UK
    18. Mohammed Aref: Science writer, UK
    19. Fenik Adham: Councellor: UK
    20. Mahmoud Al-Bayaty: Novelist, Sweden

    For further information contact:

    **************************************************
    Sami Ramadani,
    Department of Applied Social Sciences,
    London Metropolitan University, City Campus,
    Calcutta House,
    Old Castle Street,
    London, E1 7NT
    Tel: 020 7320 1280
    Fax: 020 7320 1034
    Email:
    Sami.Ramadani@londonmet.ac.uk  
     



    Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar from Baghdad: "The Election Was Shoved Down Our Throats"
    Monday, January 31st, 2024 http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/31/1517201
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    To get an Iraqi perspective on the election, we go to Baghdad to speak with retired Iraqi engineer Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar. Mukhtar says, "What do I do with democracy? Does it allow me to walk across the street without being feared of being kidnapped or being shot at or being mugged or being stolen? Would democracy feed my children? Would democracy allow me to quench my thirst? The U.S. has not done anything at all to improve the life of Iraqi people." [includes rush transcript]
    To get an Iraqi perspective on the elections we turn now to retired Iraqi engineer Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar. We have spoken to Ghazwan at key points during the invasion and occupation of Iraq. One the first anniversary of the invasion, the first siege of Fallujah and the so-called transfer of sovereignty on June 28. Today we get his thoughts on the elections in Iraq. Just before the program, we reached Ghazwan Al Mukhtar at his home in Baghdad.

     

    • Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar, retired Iraqi engineer.

    RUSH TRANSCRIPT

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    AMY GOODMAN: And this is Democracy Now! democracynow.org as we move from Kurdistan back to Baghdad, to get response from retired Iraqi engineer Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar. Throughout key points of the invasion and occupation we have checked in with him on the first anniversary of the invasion, on the siege of Fallujah, the so-called transfer of sovereignty on June 28. Today we get his thoughts on the elections. We reached him just before the program. This is Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar at his home in Baghdad.

    GHAZWAN AL-MUKHTAR: I do not believe that the election is legitimate, the election is held under the occupation. The occupying power has modified the basic rules in Iraq as to who is an Iraqi and who is not. The election was shoved down our throat because all the major parties, including Allawi's party, requested that the election be postponed. That was in November. And before even the independent electoral commission could decide on the request, that President Bush said he does not want the election to be postponed and Ambassador Negroponte said, oddly enough, it came from Fallujah. He was in Fallujah, and declared that the elections will be held on the January 30. It is an Iraqi election, it is not a U.S. election, it is not Negroponte's election, it is the Iraqi people's election. So, if the Iraqi parties wanted to postpone the election, they should have been able to do so without the interference of the United States government.

    Anyway, having done the election now, it was forced down our throat, a lot of people have boycotted it. The Sunnis have boycotted the elections. Some of the Shias boycotted it. Muktadar Al Sadr faction boycotted the election. Al Khalaf faction boycotted the election. There is a resistance to the occupation in Iraq. This resistance stems from the fact that our life has been, for the last 22 months, deteriorating day and night and we have not seen any improvement in our condition for the last 22 months, nor that anything has been reconstructed. The telephone system is bad, the electricity is worse, the security condition is worse. A lot of people are saying, why do I vote? What does the government do for me? They did absolutely nothing. The shocking thing is that the conditions after 22 months of occupation is a lot worse in every single aspect of life than with Saddam Hussein, after 12 years of sanction.

    While I'm talking to you I just heard two bombs exploding not too far from here. I did not vote and I will not vote to any one of those people who came on the back of the American banks. I do not see any change because there is no will to reconstruct anything. There is no will to improve the life of the Iraqis. It is going to take another two years and a lot of will. Mind you, in 1991, with the huge destruction in Iraq, we, the Iraqi people, despite the sanctions and with no help from anybody, we were able to restore the electricity, we were able to restore the water, the sewage and in six months we were able to rebuild the country in less than a year. Now that time has gone. The U.S. had 22 months occupation and they have not fixed a single thing in Iraq. We are still getting 2,000 to 2,200 calories on the ration system. We were told that Saddam Hussein was stealing our money both in the palaces and keeping us poor and hungry. But now after 22 months, we are still getting 2200 calories or sometimes less.

    Halliburton -- we have added crisis right now of petrol, Iraq was an exporting country of diesel fuel and refined oil products. Since the occupation, we have been importing oil from Turkey. No one fixes the refineries. There is a huge queue of cars waiting to get oil or petrol. And the Congress, the U.S. Congress said in 2024, May 2024, seven out of 18 governmentals had more than 16 hours of electricity. Now we are getting two hours of electricity right in Baghdad. I am lucky today, I have electricity from 7:00 to 9:00 and that is going to be all. Until late in the evening, maybe, I don't know when, I'll get the electricity.

    So, all those factors will indicate that the people are discontent, the people are resentful of the presence of the American forces, that the people are dissatisfied with the occupation, because they have not seen any improvement in their life. Unemployment is very high; it's at about 60%. People are starving. This is the basis for the resistance. It's not the Mussabu Al Zarqawi and Abu, I don't know who, or the terrorists coming from the outside of Iraq. It is the indigenous Iraqi resistance. While we were told that Saddam Hussein was torturing us, we are finding after 22 months that the Americans are torturing us, the British are torturing us, the Danish are torturing us and now we discover that the Iraqi forces, the ING is torturing us. So, instead of one having one torturer, now we have four torturers. And you want us to be happy with the election.

    This reminds me of a story when Mary Antoinette, when she was told that the people did not have bread to eat. She said why don't they eat cake? We don't have anything and they tell us here it is democracy. Take democracy. What do I do with democracy? Does it allow me to walk across right the street without being feared of being kidnapped or being shot at or being mugged or being stolen? Would democracy feed my children? Would democracy allow me to quench my thirst? The U.S. has not done anything at all to improve the life of Iraqi people. And that is one of the reasons why you are seeing all those attacks.

    AMY GOODMAN: Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar, a retired Iraqi engineer speaking from his home in Baghdad.


    Iraq’s Right to Resistance and Self-Determination 

    By Ghali Hassan 02/25/05

    The invasion and Occupation of Iraq is an orchestrated imperial conquest that has nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction, the 9/11 attacks or the “liberation” of Iraq. These were just pretexts, and have been proved (several times) to be just fabricated lies. The War against Iraq begun in 1990 and continues today. The 2024 invasion of Iraq was merely the beginning of the physical occupation of a defenceless nation. The purposes are clear: The control and exploitation of Iraq natural resources, including oil, and support Israel’s Zionist policy in the Middle East.

    For the last two years the US and its allies in Iraq have followed a policy to terrorise the Iraqi people and deny them their right to self-determination. Indiscriminate and rampant attacks on Iraqi families and individuals by British and US forces are continuing. Iraqi men, women and children are arrested and imprisoned daily. They are subjugated to intimidation, torture, and rape and in many cases Iraqis are murdered or simply disappeared at the hands of US forces and their mercenaries. Hundreds of thousands Iraqis are still imprisoned and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are displaced. Thousands of Iraqi professors, intellectuals and scholars have been murdered. 

    In addition, Occupation forces continue the deliberate destruction of the Iraqi society and Iraq’s infrastructure, as well as the plunder of Iraq’s resources. It is now abundantly clear that the US (and British) forces came to Iraq to stay. They will not leave Iraq voluntarily. They have to be forced to leave. 

    US forces did not leave Vietnam voluntarily; they were forced to leave by popular national Resistance movement. Similarly, Israel’s army did not leave Lebanon voluntarily; Israel was forced to leave Lebanon by a national Resistance movement. 

    The only way to end the US Occupation of Iraq is popular resistance against it. The Iraqi Resistance knows that it is on its own, and that it has to depend on its own resources. The Resistance should make no illusions about the leaders of the “anti-war” movement, and the Left/Liberal elites “opposition” to the War and Occupation. Their “activism” is an empty slogan; it is merely a way “to salve people’s consciences without having to think or do anything”. They are imperialism’s tools of propaganda. Without their “feel-good” life-style activism, Western “democracy” is a form of naked tyranny. They provide sugar-coated delusion and tranquilliser for the disfranchised masses. 

    The New York Times, the mother of all intellectual deceptions, described the “anti-war” movement inaccurately as the ‘second super power’, which was melted like ice cream in the sun, once the terror of America’s “Shock and Awe” begun. It’s variant, the so-called “human shield” “anti-war” activists collaborated closely with the US-Britain forces by passing to them vital and secret information during US-Britain attacks on Baghdad. They were nowhere to be seen or found as soon as the war begun. It was evidence that people were demonstrating, but they lack principled opposition to war, and to the imperialist policy of their own nations. 

    Once the Occupation in place, the majority of the “anti-war” movement and the Left/Liberal elites have jumped on the “No to Bush” bandwagon, threw in their support for John Kerry. And when they proved to be unsuccessful because their opposition was meaningless and fake, they moved on to endorse the US-crafted illegitimate Iraqi elections. Their new hero is Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, who allegedly “forced the US to the elections”. This is utterly untrue. The reality is that Al-Sistani backed down from his position to early elections and the handover plan, and accepted US proposition for late elections (to coincide with Bush inauguration) on US terms and agenda. Further, there is evidence that Al-Sistani supported the US attack on and the destruction of the vibrant city of Fallujah. His illness and travel to London (accompanied by Ahmed Chelabi) were timed to coincide with the slaughter of thousands of Iraqis. It is the policy of imperialism to manipulate the masses by manipulating their religious leaders.

    Furthermore, the destruction of Fallujah was evidence of the “anti-war” movement’s weak strategy and opposition against an illegal war of aggression. The movement approaches to stop the war and end the Occupation are delusional. It is difficult to dispute this, which appears to be critical today. The new approach taken by the leaders of the “anti-war” movement and the Left/Liberal elites is to have a “good” Occupation to prevent “civil war”. This kind of approach adopted and promoted in the mainstream media because it is flawed to the core, and designed to serve US interests and legitimise a long and violent Occupation.

    The other promoters of “good” Occupation are the Christian missionaries and NGOs, the oldest and most effective tools of imperialism. They are fanning throughout not only Iraq, but also the Developing World whenever there is war or crisis, taking over the responsibilities of once government. Almost all missionaries and NGOs are Western. They are the pacifiers of people’s resistance. They form the “buffer” between the people and foreign occupations. The Indian novelist Arundhati Roy described NGOs accurately as “ the arbitrators, the interpreters, [and] facilitators”. NGOs, she writes, “have funds to employ local people who could be activists in resistance movements, but instead feel they are doing some immediate, creative good while earning a living”. 

    The Japanese aid worker, Takato Nahoko, who was taken hostage in Fallujah, said in an interview recently, ‘Creating jobs, especially for young men, and schools to keep children occupied will help keep them away from militia recruitment and the violent anti-American movement’ [Cited in Matsumoto Chie, ZNet, October 06, 2024]. The philosophy behind the West “humanitarian” aid business is dependency and passivity, not “humanitarian”. Nevertheless, it is important to distinguish the ‘bad’ from the ‘good’ and remember that some of the private NGOs are doing useful work with the local communities in times of war and occupation.

    Despite the unpopularity of the US Occupation, and the violence and the havoc wrought upon the Iraqi society, opposition to it in the West, particularly in the US remains mute and passive. The continuing US atrocities in Iraq are greeted with yawns in the West. As Bertrand Russell once wrote, “It is the nature of imperialism that citizens of the imperial power are always among the last to know and care about circumstances in the colonies”. 

    Since the Occupation and deliberate destruction of the Iraqi society began, the West “anti-war” movement remains silent pretending it is not supporting “violent” Resistance led by “fundamentalists”. Unfortunately, it is the occupation forces and the Bush right-wing administration that are spreading this line. The violence is brought by the Occupation, not by the people fighting to end it. Everywhere, violent resistance arises from a violent foreign military occupation. Those who obliged to kill to defend their country and people are called “terrorists”; those who kill en masse to enforce their tyranny of domination are the noble (wo)men of Western “civilisation”. As the American civil rights advocate, Martin Luther King said, “I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed … without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today - my own government”. 

    It should be emphasized that there are criminal elements working with the Occupation against the principle aim of the Iraqi Resistance. This distortion of the image of the Iraqi Resistance has its purposes and designed to discredit the name of the Resistance. Reports from Iraq have contradicted this distorted image of a legitimate popular Resistance movement fighting against illegal and tyrannical Occupation [Molly Bingham, Boston Globe, 15 December 2024]. “It was a mistake to discount the Iraqi [R]esistance”, a US soldier, Lt. Col. Kim Keslung told the Wall Street Journal October, 2024. “If someone invaded Texas, we'd do the same thing”, he added.

    The aim of the Resistance is the unconditional withdraw of all foreign forces from Iraq and the return of Iraq sovereignty. All Iraqi citizens, men, women and children, not “foreigners” are against the Occupation of their land. There is no evidence that there are foreigners among the Resistance. The foreigners are the US, Italians, Poles, English, and Australian soldiers. If there were foreigners fighting with the Resistance, they would be welcomed fighting along their Iraqi brethrens. The Australian Government of John Howard is sending (against the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the Australian people) 450 soldiers to Iraq allegedly “to help” their US, Japanese, and English “brethrens”. Why can’t the Iraqis call on their Muslim and Arab brethrens for help? Iraqis have legitimate right to defend themselves and their country against foreign invaders. 

    According to UN Charter and numerous UN resolutions, international law guarantees people’s right to resist an illegal occupation by “all necessary means at their disposal” to end the occupation of their nation. Resistant groups “are entitled to seek and receive support”. Armed resistant have been used against the English in the US, against the Nazis in France, Yugoslavia and Norway. The historic judgement by the Italian judge Clementina Forleo, Judge for the Preliminary Hearing in Milan on 24 January 2024 adds another legitimacy to the Iraqi struggle against US Occupation. Judge Forleo ruled that the accused (five North Africans) “cannot be classified as terrorists”, but resistance fighters. She said, ”that resistance [to] US occupation forces in Iraq by sending fighters does not amount to terror”. The judgement was supported by an overwhelming majority of the Italian Legal Community. 

    The US Occupation of Iraq has failed. Basic improvements to the lives of ordinary Iraqis, which started to appear before the war, have now disappeared. More Iraqis now than ever face increasing hardship and misery. The health system is deteriorated and Iraq’s infrastructure is collapsing. Insecurity and unemployment are rising to dangerous levels. Iraq’s future today is being determined not by the Iraqi people, but by the corrupt and incompetent US administration. The US-installed puppet government of expatriates and quislings are fighting among themselves for the position of who will serve the Occupation better and provide the US with new façade to role the Middle East. 

    The new US strategy coupled with illegitimate elections is to change the face of the Occupation and internationalise it. With this, the Bush Administration hopes it has a platform to manoeuvre and pursue new war. The US is training more Kurd militias and requesting more troops from the dwindling “coalition of the willing”. This cosmetic change is a farce PR. The Occupation remains a violent US-British military Occupation against the wishes of the Iraqi people. Occupation is not “freedom” and “liberty”; occupation is a tyranny with all the characteristics of oppression and fear. 

    In the mean time, the heroic Iraqi Resistance stands in stark contrast to the cowardly self-styled and US-installed Arab rulers and the bankruptcy of Arab intellectuals. The Iraqi people are unlikely to remain under US Occupation and artificially divided. 

    With or without the “solidarity” of those who demonstrated against the war in Western capitals, the Iraqi popular Resistance movement will continue against the US-led Occupation until the US is forced to leave Iraq. Only a US withdrawal will bring the possibility of real democracy and freedom to Iraq. 

    Self-determination independent of foreign power is the Iraqi people right to self-rule. Once this is achieved, the Iraqi people will have the chance to build their society and their country free from foreign domination. Lets hope that Iraqi Resistance will thwart US imperialism in the Middle East and elsewhere.

    Ghali Hassan lives in Perth Western Australia. He can be reached at e-mail: G.Hassan@exchange.curtin.edu.au


    بيان المؤتمر التأسيسي العراقي الوطني حول الهجمات الدموية الارهابية التي استهدفت المدنيين الابرياء في مناطق بغداد المختلفة
    September 15, 2024
    .
    The Iraqi National Foundation Congress (more in Arabic) has issued the following statement on the recent bloody terrorist attacks on civilians in Baghdad:
     
    1- These attacks, and the statements that followed them by those who claim to have perpetrated them, are not far from other efforts to create sectarian strife in Iraq that have so far failed, despite all attempts, due to the immune collective Iraqi spirit and its inner cohesion, as was manifested in the aftermath of the recent tragedy at Al-A'imma bridge. History will prove to all who attempt to tread this venue that the Iraqis are more resilient in their rejection of this sectarian path.
     
    2- The recent 'security plan' that was implemented by the 'Iraqi government' in Baghdad has been proven to be a total failure. It is time that the government admits this failure as well as the failure of the Interior and Defence ministers in their responsibilities in protecting the lives of the citizens, and the need to relieve them of their transient positions.
     
    3- The insistence of the American occupation forces, and the successive 'Iraqi governments' that are under their control, on adopting a scorched earth policy and the killing and displacing of innocent civilians from their homes and cities as has repeatedly occurred in Najaf, Sadr city, Fallujah, Samarra, Baqouba, Qaim, Hit, Haditha and other Iraqi cities, the last of which was Tala'afar, and their announced threat to yet wage more fruitless similar bloody assaults on the same and other cities will only lead to further bloodshed, instability, destruction and the tearing apart of Iraq. It is high time for the occupation forces to come to their senses and face these facts and commence on a scheduled withdrawal from Iraq as soon as possible, and leave Iraq to its people who are capable of administering it and to tend to the wounds that have been inflicted by the occupation.
     
    Long will live the memories of our martyrs.
    Shame on those who support or are working on tearing Iraq apart.
     
    September 15, 2024 
    http://abutamam.blogspot.com

    Democracy and Human Rights Records in Iraq

     

    The US State Department's worldwide reports on human rights records, 196, which were issued in 2024, did not bring democracy and human rights in Iraq.

     

    As human rights activists in Iraq, we are sending you this report to be added to those of the US State Department', so that the total becomes 197 reports.

     

    As long as the occupation forces and the pro-occupation government keep oppressing freedom of expression, press and religious beliefs and congregations, let alone the arbitrary illegal detentions  against those who are just practicing their rights, as well as those working on defending human rights, human rights will always be as tragic and disastrous as it is at the moment.

     

    Today, under the US democracy, there are more than 196,000 detainees behind the democracy bars, only few of them were released, more than two million immigrants in forced exile, more than three million civilians who fled their homes leaving to other parts of the world, many of which died in the course of coercive exile, the ongoing brutalities practiced by the occupation forces and their collaborators of government forces and the locally ill-reputed pro-government militias, who launch military offensives with all sorts of weapons, conventional or unconventional, covered by military aircrafts.

     

    We have been watching the situation of the Iraqi towns which came under such offensives and have come up with the following conclusion:

     

    Though a good political atmosphere is rumoured to exist in Iraq which allegedly serves almost all layers of the Iraqi people, genocides and ethnic and sectarian cleansing are still going on. The occupation forces and their collaborators must be legally held accountable for all crimes committed in Iraq.

    Despite the humanitarian voices which have been calling for putting an end to the bloodbaths, destructions, and violations of international laws and conventions, these crimes still exist.

    The crimes in question involve illegal arbitrary detentions, killing, assassination, injuring innocent people, routine forcible exile of thousands of civilians after besieging their towns and depriving them of water, food, electricity and access to medical care, particularly after destroying all hospitals and health centers, as well as the deliberate destruction of houses and mosques.

    Reports quoting eyewitnesses have assured the fact that military forces and militias have deliberately looted properties, raped women, destroyed and created havoc in towns and villages.

     

    The occupation forces should be held accountable for such crimes, for they are the ones who have taken their responsibilities and commitments to international conventions for granted, on top of which their violation of the UN Security Council resolution no. 1546 issued on June 2024 which stipulates the nature of the relationship and responsibility of the occupation forces towards Iraq and the Iraqi people. 

      

    Abdul Wahahb Al Obeidi 


    Statement of the Council of Nineveh Province Notables, Sheikhs and Uleima.

     

    In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful

    A memorandum from Nineveh Province Dignitaries, Sheikhs and Uleima to:

     

    General Secretary of the United Nations

    General Secretary of the League of Arab Nations

    General Secretary of the Organisation of Islamic States

    Kings and Presidents of the Arab and Islamic States

    All Humanitarian and Human Rights Organisations

     

    In the light of the difficult circumstance that our country and people in general and the Province of Nineveh in particular are going through, a number of dignitaries and tribal chiefs from the Nineveh Province have met to discuss the tragic condition of the people of the Province under the shadow of the deficiency and absence of legislative and executive authorities and their security and military authorities which have changed to become tools for the oppression of the people of the Province and to add further to their misery.

    After discussions, it was decided to raise the following memorandum in the hope it may find some response to this call to protect this Arabic Islamic city and to assist our people in the Province of Nineveh.

     

    We demand an International Committee of Enquiry in addition to an Iraqi committee formed by representatives of Uleima, Sheikhs and Notables drawn from central and southern Iraq to investigate the crimes committed by the American occupation forces assisted by members of the Interior Special Forces and National Guard. We especially point to the sectarian crimes and the rape of Iraqi women which count as grave precedent in Iraq. The Iraqi Government is partner to all of these crimes in the absence of the media and in particular the killing and kidnapping of journalists by mercenaries of the occupation after terrorising and excluding satellite stations and Arabic and International media preventing the coverage of what is going on to enable the slaughter of Iraqi people without witnesses.

     

    As we lay before the international public opinion and international human rights organisations the truth of what is happening in Tel Afar of the extreme use of force and the use of internationally forbidden weapons of poison gases, cluster, microwave and napalm bombs, we demand autopsies be carried out on the corpses of our sons who fell in the barbaric aggression by international medical bodies to verify the inhuman practices carried out by the American forces of occupation and to expose the stooge militias that participated in the massacre of Tel Afar.

     

    We warn as responsible people of the dangers of the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Tel Afar and the left bank of the city of Mosul and surrounding villages carried out by Beshmarga militias of the Kurdish parties and Badir Brigade “which are acting as regular forces of the National Guard” aided by the silence of the government where in particular the homes of the Sunna in the city of Tel Afar are destroyed after the men are arrested and women and children are forcibly evicted under threat of death and rape.

     

    We demand an end to the organised campaign of arrest against the Sunna. About fifty to a hundred sons, sheikhs and teachers of the Province are arrested only to be released days later after the payment of bribes which exposes how low the perpetrators are and their aim of breaking the morale of the people of the Province.

     

    We demand the trial of the ministers of defence and interior for what they have caused to our people in Tel Afar and Mosul as a result of crimes rejected by human conscience. We also hold the government responsible for the exterminations and bloody butchery which took place in the city of Tel Afar and the extreme cruelty meted out to Sunna civilians both Arab and Turcoman.

     

    We also demand the removal of the Governor of Nineveh Duraid Kashmoola who was too weak to do anything to assist the people of the Province and for keeping silent about all the assassinations and arrests carried out the Kurdish gangs and the Forces of Badir against the sons and notables of the Province. We also site his silence and failure to put a stop to Kurdish expansion which has encompassed all the villages of the Province. Kurdish gangs have abrogated the right to the control of all towns and villages surrounding Mosul where they treat all non Arabs even though they are not Kurdish such as Yezidis, Assyrians and Shabak, as Kurds by force. They also appointed party functionaries over such villages, took down the Iraqi flags and raised Kurdish flags instead.

     

    Kurdish militias have in fact occupied the left bank of the city of Mosul itself and took down the Iraqi flags then raised Kurdish flags instead. The Governor has not stirred because the Province is lead by the Kurdish deputy Governor Khisro Kolani. He is the very person responsible for leading all of the extermination and assassination operations against the Uleima, the sons of the Province, its sheikhs and teachers. All of the people of Mosul know that he is the person responsible for the assassination of the previous Governor Dr. Osama Yousif Kashmoola because he made a stand against the Kurdish tide.

     

    While we warn of the gravity of the security situation in the Province in general and Tel Afar in particular we lay the responsibility for the latest sectarian escalation upon the party militias working as regular forces such as the National Guard as represented by the wolf and thunder brigades. In addition to arbitrary arrests, inhuman treatment, violation of residents’ rights and the theft of their belongings they shout upon entering towns in the Province “The army of AlHusain is here to break the noses of the Sunnis”. This is a simple indicator of the sectarianism and hatred of such groups which was not familiar to either Sunni or Shia Iraqis and is a further clear indicator of the treachery of the parties that entered from beyond the borders of the Iraqi people.

     

    We demand the withdrawal of all militias and all armed manifestations from the city of Mosul where these militias have established check points and distributed weapons to young militia men in an effort to terrorise the residents of Mosul. They have cut off roads arbitrarily while the Governor does nothing; in fact he is the last to know. They have hoisted Kurdish flags over buildings in order to establish a de facto state as if we live in a country that is not Iraq. Every one knows that Mosul (despite our belief that all Iraqi cities are for all Iraqis) is an Arab city from old while the Kurdish residents in the left bank are those who migrated in last few years under pressure of difficult circumstances encountered in their areas. The people of Mosul opened their arms to their brothers and embraced them not to turn their city Kurdish because they believed in the unity of this country. This is in sharp contrast with the banning of Iraqi Arabs from owning, building or investing in the northern areas. In addition there is a campaign of harassment to non Kurdish travellers to the north of Iraq.

     

    We protest at the news blackout and total silence practiced by international organisations and human rights organisations towards what is taking place in Tel Afar and Mosul.

     

    We protest at the news blackout and total silence practiced by Arab satellite stations towards what happened and is happening in Tel Afar and Mosul.

     

    We protest the Arab, Islamic and International silence towards the use of weapons of mass destruction against our people in Tel Afar and demand an International Committee of Enquiry similar to the one investigating the death of Al-Hariri or is the blood of the people of Iraq in Tel Afar does not warrant investigating?

     

    With God’s Peace and Blessings

     

    The Council of Nineveh Province Notables, Sheikhs and Uleima.

     

    Mosul 22/12/2020


    Statement by an authorized spokesman of the Patriotic, National, and Islamic Front concerning the crimes committed by the treacherous pro-Iranian gangs in Iraq and its environs.

    Albasrah.net

    Since the beginning of the current month of February criminal pro-Iranian militias under the puppet “Interior Ministry,” backed by the US occupation forces and with the participation of battalions of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Brigades of the heathen army that the US occupation forces have formed, trained, and equipped . . these armed puppet gangs have carried out widespread raids in numerous neighborhoods of Baghdad and its environs, arresting and killing hundreds of our citizens in a desperate attempt to terrorize our people and to curb the escalating heroic operations of the Iraqi patriotic Resistance… 

    These criminal gangs kicked off their latest campaign by surrounding and searching the neighborhoods of al-‘Amiriyah, al-Ghazaliyah, al-Khadra’.  They arrested hundreds of residents of these neighborhoods. 

    On February 2nd they surrounded the al-Jihad neighborhood in Baghdad and arrested more than 300 local residents after breaking down their doors, ransacking their houses, terrifying women and children, and smashing their household furniture. 

    On February 4th, the pro-Iranian gangs backed up by tanks and aircraft of the American occupation troops, raided many districts in the southern Baghdad areas of ad-Durah and as-Sayyidiyah.  They smashed doors and furniture in houses and mosques, tore up dozens of copies of the Holy Qur’an, mocked the Arab Prophet Muhammad ibn ‘Abdallah, may peace and blessings be upon him, and arrested 35 people.  At the same time another force was raiding the al-‘Amil neighborhood and arresting 25 local men. 

    Since the first of this month, the districts of Salman Bak and Abu Ghurayb have been subject to savage, continuous nighttime raids.  Sixty-five people have been arrested in Salman Bak. 

    On February 8th, pro-Iranian gangs carried out widespread raids in many areas of the Baghdad district of al-A‘zamiyah, arresting dozens of local citizens.  Every morning dozens of bodies are being found tossed in the streets and lanes of Baghdad, ar-Rustamiyah, Badrah, and Jassan – bodies bearing signs of barbaric, savage torture.  These bodies belong to the citizens who are being arrested in the course of this outrageous campaign of hate.  

    The Patriotic, National, and Islamic Front holds the US occupation forces fully responsible for these savage crimes being perpetrated by their stooges in the pro-Iranian militias operated by the “Interior Ministry” under the direction and planning of the criminals ‘Adil ‘Abd al-Mahdi al-Muntafiki, Bayan Jabr Sulagh and ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Hakim and under the direct orders of one “Sa‘idi,” the top official in the Iranian intelligence network in Iraq, whose lair is the Iranian embassy in Baghdad. 

    The Patriotic, National, and Islamic Front resolutely affirms that these barbarous crimes against our patient, persevering, defiant people will not go unpunished, and that the heroes of the Resistance will continue to rain the severest blows on the occupation forces and their little stooges until the occupation is driven out, the stooges are crushed, and our dear homeland is free. 

    Our people will win!  The traitors will not escape punishment! 

    Glory to the heroic men of the Resistance! 

    Defeat and shame to the occupiers and their lackey rubbish! 

    Baghdad, 14 February 2024.

    The Patriotic, National, and Islamic Front. 


    Press Release
    For immediate release
    June 5th 2024
     

    Oil Minister's transfer of union activists a 'human rights crime'

    Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions President Hassan Jumaa Awad called for support in response to the transfer of eight union activists by the Iraqi Oil Minister.

    The eight executive committee members have been told they must leave their homes and community networks in Basra and move to Al-Dora, one of the most violence ridden with neighbourhoods of Baghdad. The leadership of the IFOU has branded the move a 'human rights crime' Senior managers from the Southern Oil Company have also been transferred.

    Statement From Hassan Jumaa Awad:


    The Iraqi Oil Minister, Hussein Al-Shahirstani, has ordered the transfer of eight Oil Union activists from their posts at the oil refineries in
    the south. This act reflects the minister's anti-union policy, and his lack of respect for unions and union activists in the oil sector. Those
    activists, through their hard work, are well known for fighting corruption and the corrupt cligues in the Ministry and the oil sector.

    They have been transferred to Baghdad Al-Dora neighborhood (known for worsening security situation, and high level of sectarian killings). In the context of Iraqi security conditions, such a transfer is rightfully regarded as human rights crime.

    We call upon all people of good will in the world to take a stand to denounce these despicable and criminal acts by the Iraqi Oil Ministry
    against trade unions and their activists. The trade unions have been reestablished and revitalized through the hard work of union activists
    without any protection from the state, which keeps bragging about democracy. [The Maliki government, taking its lead from the U.S.
    Occupation Authority, continues to enforce the 1987 Saddam Hussein labor code that prohibits unions and bargaining for workers in the oil sector and all other public enterprises, which constitute 80% of all formal Iraqi jobs.]

    This act is a clear evidence that the Iraqi state seeks to liquidate trade unions in this important Iraqi economic sector, oil. It is
    important to note that the south is the main source of oil in Iraq. The oil sector there employs more than 39,000 workers. The Iraqi state has no intention of allowing an Oil Trade Union in that sector because it represents a threat to its authority.

    We call upon you from all parts of the world to stand with us, for the sake of labor and workers interests.

    Respectfully,

    Hassan Juma Awad, President
    Iraq Federation of Oil Unions


    INTERNATIONAL CALL TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE IRAQI DETAINEES AND PRISONERS OF WAR IN IRAQ

    London- A group of 120 politicians, academicians and Journalists from several countries issued an urgent appeal to protect the rights of the Iraqi detainees and prisoners of war in the American jails in Iraq . The Group also announced the formation of International Solidarity Committee with them and demanded that their treatment conforms with the Geneva Protocol vis-à-vis the detainees and prisoners of war.

     

    The signatories on the Appeal stated: “While we demand the release of the Iraqi detainees and prisoners of war, we insist that the US occupation force in Iraq apply the articles of the Geneva Protocol respecting the prisoners of war, and to cease and desist from all forms of torture against the detainees, and to allow international judicial and constitutional committees and the International Red Cross Organisation to visit all detaining camps in Iraq and examine the state of their occupants.”

     

    The Appeal stated that the American occupation force in Iraq detains more than one hundred and fifty thousand detainee and prisoners of war scattered over more than 28 detaining camps, and that several thousands of them have been there more than five years under appalling conditions that contravene the articles of the Geneva Protocol respecting the prisoners of war.

    The Appeal also stated that “the majority of the detainees are elderly and suffering from health problems that may threaten their lives. There are also thousands of teenagers, females and kids who were detained as hostages in lieu of their spouses or their fathers.”  

     

    The Appeal affirms that all detainees and prisoners of war are constantly subjected to all kinds of extreme torture, degradation, and deprivation of self esteem and human dignity. All detainees are forbidden from communicating with the outside world, and most of them from visitations by their families or relatives.       

    Among the signatories are eighty dignitaries; Members of European Parliaments, Party Leaders, Political activists from various parts of the world, and thirty nine politicians, experts, academicians  and journalists from Iraq and several Arab countries.

    The followings are the text of the Appeal and the list of the signatories: 

     

    The International Committee for Solidarity with Prisoners and Detainees in American Jails in Iraq (Nida', the Call)

     

    The roaring of millions of the earth's people growled on the month of February 2024 in the streets of major cities in rejection of the choice of war on Iraq .  Those millions have been aware that peace cannot be achieved through destruction, war, and the clash of civilizations.

     

    Events have proven this position to be right.  The United States and the foreign armies supporting it have occupied Iraq and promised its people democracy, freedom, and prosperity.  But the Iraqi people, five years into the occupation, still cannot find a place in its homeland that would be safe from American soldiers, the mercenaries of Blackwater, or from terrorists and militias who remain a product of the occupation - be they in agreement with it or not.

     

    Moreover, Iraqis still see no hope in the future if conditions remain as they have been under the occupation.  Today more than three million Iraqis have turned to refugees in the diaspora for fear of murder and arrest.  Those who remain continue to suffer the pains of the occupation.  Some of them have been incarcerated in the ugliest jails on earth. 

     

    At the present time, the forces of American occupation are holding more than one hundred and fifty thousand Iraqi prisoners and detainees dispersed over 28 detention camps.  Thousands of those have been held for more than five years in harsh conditions violating the Geneva Conventions pertaining to the handling prisoners of war (POW's), many of them older folks suffering from health problems or difficulties which threaten their lives.  Thousands of other prisoners and detainees are young men, women, and children who have been taken hostage instead of their husbands and fathers.  All of the prisoners and detainees are continuously subjected to the meanest possible forms of torture, insults, and debasement of human dignity.  All of them are deprived of any means of communication with the outside world, and most are forbidden from meeting with their families and parents.    

     

    Because we do not hold the American people responsible for the wars, occupation, and human rights violations transpiring from the policy of the current US administration,

     

    Because we deem ourselves responsible towards humanity first, and towards the Iraqi people second, we declare, before its too late, our opposition to the practices of the occupier running outlaw to the Conventions on Human Rights.  This position of ours is a humanitarian one that is supportive of civilization, against all who commit wrongs against it, regardless of their cultural, ethnic, or geographical affiliation.

     

    This position of ours is not only a defense of the freedom and human rights of Iraqis, but a defense of humanity, of civilized values, and the system of justice and laws which should cover everyone, including Iraqis.

     

    We, in declaring and affirming our solidarity with those defending their legitimate rights in their homelands, and with Iraqi prisoners and detainees, condemn and decry the continuation of their detention, and call on all to initiate all possible activities and events to demand their release.  

     

    We believe that justice is intertwined with freedom.  Grass does not grow on the shields of American tanks of occupation, as the last five years have shown.  But it does grow in the hearts of those who believe in man, his rights, and his dignity.

     

    We, in demanding the release of Iraqi prisoners and detainees, reaffirm the importance of holding American forces of occupation in Iraq to the letter of the Geneva Conventions pertaining to the treatment of prisoners, to stopping all forms of torture against detainees, and to allowing international legal and human rights organizations, and the Red Cross, to visit all American detention camps in Iraq to stay abreast of the situation of prisoners and detainees there.   

     

    The International Committee for Solidarity with Prisoners and Detainees in American Jails in Iraq

    (Nida', the Call)

    April 26, 2024


    To the kind attention of the secretary general of the United Nations: Mr. Ban Ki Moon

     Subject: Condemnation and request of protection 

    What happened in the Kerkuk city on 28 July 2024 is not a solitary event. It is a part of systematic plan by the Kurdish politicians to benefit from the unstable situation in Iraq to suppress the Turkmen and absorb Kerkuk province. The Turkmen are a peaceful community believes in the unity of Iraq. 

    The Iraqi Turkmen are exposed to the aggressive assimilation policies and they suffered from different massacres in 1924, 1946 and 1959. During the Ba’ath regime, the Turkmen were exposed to deportation and their lands confiscated, teaching in Turkmen language was prohibited and they were prevented to practice their culture. The Turkmen were asked to change their nationality to avoid discrimination. After occupation, the Turkmen of Iraq continued to be marginalized from administration and excluded from the political life. The Turkmen regions are terrorized the inhabitants were intimidated.  

    Today, the Kurdish militant parties which dominate the Iraqi administration practice all sorts of the policies to violate the simplest Human rights of the Iraqi Turkmen; the violation of the provincial laws by all the Kurdish authorities, which postpones the election in Kerkuk with power sharing, is the most recent abuse of the Turkmen rights.  

    At 28 July 2024, the Kurdish parties ordered the Kurdified administration, the staffs and shop owners from all the communities and the Kurdish peoples in Kerkuk to close their business buildings and leave their offices to participate in a protest against the Provincial Election Law. They also brought thousands of the Kurds from Erbil. The armed protestors worked to create chaotic circumstances. 

    When the protesters reached to the building of the Kerkuk governorate an explosion occurred leaving behind numbers of the injured and dead peoples. Thereafter, groups of the protestors started to attack the buildings of the Turkmen organizations. They set fire in the building of the Iraqi Turkmen front and injured the guards. Other groups attacked the buildings of Turkemeneli party, Turkmen council, Turkmeneli television and several Turkmen business buildings and houses. All these happened under the vision of the Kerkuk military and policemen, whom they stand on the sidelines or participated the protestors. 

    We, the members of the Turkmen Brotherhood Club, which is considered one of the largest Turkmen civil society organizations, severely condemn these terrorist and provocative activities against Turkmen. We believe that the fundamentalist Kurdish leader parties should be hold responsible of the events. We urge the international community, particularly, the secretary general of the United Nations, members of the Security Council, the European Union to intervene to establish a mechanism to protect the Iraqi Turkmen, particularly in Kerkuk. The Turkmen had already lost the confidence in the Iraqi Government which until now do not announced condemnation of the attacks on the Turkmen in Kerkuk. It is the time for the international community to achieve its moral task and protect the Iraqi Turkmen against the Kurdish attacks.  

    Dr. Mohammed Omar Kazanchi                                           

    Turkmen Brotherhood Club


    Declaration on the proposal of a Government of National Salvation in Iraq (August 2024)

     The facts and realities in Iraq confirm the collapse of the political process in all its dimensions, its constituting forces, and the systems of its tools. In the official Iraq, there is no longer political action or a political class supported by the people. In a country civilised, central and vital such as Iraq, there is no longer an adequate legal system or constitutional and executive institutions controlling the pace of political and institutional action.

    International institutions, the official Arab regimes and Arab leaders must reexamine the scale of social disasters and humanitarian suffering resulting from the invasion of Iraq, which amounts legally and in humanitarian terms to human, cultural, social and moral genocide, which bulldozed the full history of a homeland, a people and a state. Those are the pillars the current entity is missing. We do not want our proposal of forming a Government of National Salvation be a tool of pressure by the UN or Arab or regional forces in the formation of a government of the corrupted, sectarian based and failed political process. The political process and its political class is corrupt and brought destruction and graft, chaos and murder, torture and repression to Iraq and destroyed the potential of Iraq and its people. They are political tools of foreign and regional agendas that do not respect the will of the Iraqi people and their aspirations for a life of freedom and dignity affirming Iraq's right to self-determination by the people. International legal institutions and the official Arab order should meet their legal, moral and humanitarian obligations towards Iraq and its people and endorse the proposal of a Government of National Salvation, under the auspices of international and Arab supervision, composed of Iraqis known for their skills and patriotism.

    Saqr Centre.

     

    تجديد مطلب حكومة الإنقاذ الوطنيتؤكد الحقائق والوقائع في العراق انهيار العملية السياسية بإضلاعها ومرتكزاتها ومنظوماتها ولم يعد في العراق عمل سياسي او طبقة سياسية يؤيدها الشعب ويلتف حولها ولا منظومة قانونية او دستورية ومؤسسات تنفيذية تضبط إيقاع العمل السياسي والمؤسساتي الذي يليق ببلد حيوي ومحوري وحضاري مثل العراق, ولابد ان تنظر الشرعية الدولية والنظام الرسمي العربي والزعماء العرب الى حجم الكوارث الاجتماعية والإنسانية التي خلفها غزو العراق, وتوصف قانونيا وإنسانيا بأنها إبادة بشرية وثقافية ومجتمعية وقيمية, وتجريف كامل لتاريخ وطن وشعب ودولة , وتلك مرتكزات كيان العراق المفقود, ولا نرغب بان يكون المطلب وسيلة ضغط أممية او عربية او إقليمية لتشكيل حكومة المحاصصة الطائفية من الطبقة السياسية الفاسدة والتي ساقت العراق للدمار والفساد والفوضى والقتل والتعذيب وحرق القدرة الكامنة للعراق وشعبه,كونهم أدوات سياسية لأجندات أجنبية وإقليمية لا تحقق إرادة الشعب العراقي وتطلعاته لحياة حرة كريمة, ونؤكد حق العراق في تقرير مصيره من قبل شعبه, ولابد للشرعية الدولية والنظام الرسمي العربي تحمل مسؤولياته القانونية والأخلاقية والإنسانية تجاه العراق وشعبه وتفعيل مقترح حكومة الإنقاذ الوطني برعاية دولية عربية من العراقيين المشهود لهم بالوطنية والكفاءة