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id="search"><form method="get" id="searchform" action="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/"> <div><input type="text" value="" name="s" id="s"/> <input type="submit" id="searchsubmit" value="Search"/> </div> </form> </div> </div> <hr/> <div id="content" class="span-13 append-1"> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-13747"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/09/28/analysis-iraqi-shiites-fear-fallout-of-syria-turbulence-alertnet/#respond" title="Comment on ANALYSIS-Iraqi Shi’ites fear fallout of Syria turbulence – AlertNet">No Comments</a></span> Posted on September 28th, 2011 by Ali Ibn Hussayn</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/09/28/analysis-iraqi-shiites-fear-fallout-of-syria-turbulence-alertnet/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to ANALYSIS-Iraqi Shi’ites fear fallout of Syria turbulence – AlertNet">ANALYSIS-Iraqi Shi’ites fear fallout of Syria turbulence – AlertNet</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/analysis-briefings-commentary/" title="View all posts in Analysis Briefings Commentary" rel="category tag">Analysis Briefings Commentary</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/analysis/" rel="tag">Analysis</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/anbar/" rel="tag">Anbar</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/armed-groups/" rel="tag">Armed groups</a>, <a 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/middle-east/" rel="tag">Middle East</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/militia/" rel="tag">Militia</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/militias/" rel="tag">Militias</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/nuri-al-maliki/" rel="tag">Nuri Al-Maliki</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/reuters/" rel="tag">Reuters</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/saddam-hussein/" rel="tag">Saddam Hussein</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/saudi-arabia/" rel="tag">Saudi Arabia</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sectarian-violence/" rel="tag">sectarian violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/security-situation/" rel="tag">security situation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/situation-in-iraq/" rel="tag">situation in iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/syria/" rel="tag">Syria</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/syrian-unrest-and-protests/" rel="tag">Syrian unrest and protests</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/turkey/" rel="tag">Turkey</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <div style="text-align: left; unicode-bidi: bidi-override; direction: ltr"> <blockquote> <p>BAGHDAD, Sept 27 (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/analysis-iraqi-shiites-fear-fallout-of-syria-turbulence" target="_blank" class="external">Reuters</a>) – Iraqi Shi’ites, like their allies in Iran, fret that unrest in Syria could oust President Bashar al-Assad and bring to power hardline Sunnis eager to put their weight behind fellow-Sunnis in Iraq who have lost out since Saddam Hussein’s fall. </p> <p>They fear the turmoil next door could spill into Iraq, reignite sectarian violence and intensify a proxy battle between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which sees itself as the bastion of Sunni Islam and has never come to terms with Shi’ite rule in Baghdad. </p> <p>"If Syria falls, Iraq will work with Iran to influence events in Syria," said a senior Iraqi Shi’ite politician, who asked not to be named. </p> <p>"Change in Syria will cause major problems for Iraq. They (Sunnis) will incite the western (Sunni) part of Iraq." </p> <p>Iraqi Shi’ite militias are unlikely to fight for Assad’s survival, but might respond if Sunnis in Iraq’s western Anbar province were emboldened by the rise of Sunni power in Syria. </p> </blockquote></div> <p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/09/28/analysis-iraqi-shiites-fear-fallout-of-syria-turbulence-alertnet/#more-13747" class="more-link">» أقرأ التفاصيل .. | Read the rest of this entry »</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-12031"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/28/iraqi-refugees-interpreting-the-statistics/#respond" title="Comment on Iraqi refugees – interpreting the statistics">No Comments</a></span> Posted on December 28th, 2010 by Abdus-Samad</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/28/iraqi-refugees-interpreting-the-statistics/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Iraqi refugees – interpreting the statistics">Iraqi refugees – interpreting the statistics</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/brookings-institution/" rel="tag">Brookings Institution</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/damascus/" rel="tag">Damascus</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/food/" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/host-governments/" rel="tag">host governments</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/idps-internal-refugees/" rel="tag">IDPs (Internal Refugees)</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/international-organization-for-migration/" rel="tag">international organization for migration</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iraqi-refugee/" rel="tag">iraqi refugee</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iraqi-refugees/" rel="tag">iraqi refugees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/irin/" rel="tag">IRIN</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/jordan/" rel="tag">Jordan</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/middle-east/" rel="tag">Middle East</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/migrants/" rel="tag">migrants</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/migration/" rel="tag">migration</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/population-mobility/" rel="tag">population mobility</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/refugee-agency/" rel="tag">refugee agency</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/refugee-population/" rel="tag">refugee population</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/refugees/" rel="tag">Refugees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/refugees-international/" rel="tag">Refugees International</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/repatriation/" rel="tag">repatriation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/returned-refugees/" rel="tag">Returned Refugees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/returnees/" rel="tag">returnees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sectarian-violence/" rel="tag">sectarian violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/security-situation/" rel="tag">security situation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/situation-in-iraq/" rel="tag">situation in iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/statistics/" rel="tag">statistics</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/syria/" rel="tag">Syria</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/unhcr/" rel="tag">UNHCR</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/violence/" rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/world-food-programme/" rel="tag">World Food Programme</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p>DAMASCUS, 28 December 2010 (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91464" class="external" target="_blank">IRIN</a>) – Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis fled the country after sectarian violence broke out following the 2003 war which toppled Saddam Hussein. However, the precise number of refugees is hard to ascertain and fluctuates in line with changing perceptions and the security situation in Iraq. </p> <p>"It would be nice to have the full picture, but the special circumstances of the Iraqi refugee population means we don’t… although we have a good idea of the refugees registered with us," said Andrew Harper, head of the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) Iraq Support Unit in Geneva. </p> <p>Host governments (largely in the Middle East) at one time estimated that more than 2.5 million Iraqis had fled to their countries. But that statistic is now too high, say independent experts not affiliated with UNHCR. Distinguishing between refugees and other migrants, and deducting the number of those who have returned to Iraq for good can be difficult. </p> <p>UNHCR has registered just over 400,000 Iraqis since 2003 but currently they have 200,000 on their books. More refugees register every day – some 2,000 per month in Syria. However, the agency says those figures are not definitive. </p> <p>"Many refugees choose not to register with us, either because there is a stigma attached in asking for assistance or they see no reason to register unless they need our services," said Harper. </p> <p>Currently, host governments claim some 1.5 million Iraqis remain on their territories, while Refugees International, a US-based NGO, said it believed only 500,000 Iraqis remained outside the country. </p> <h3>Reasons for discrepancies </h3> <p>The Iraqi refugees are hard to track because they reside almost exclusively in an urban rather than a camp setting, predominantly in Syria and Jordan. In July last year, a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.unhcr.org/4a69ad639.pdf#zoom=66" class="external" target="_blank">UNHCR report detailed the challenges</a>. </p> <p>Population mobility is another factor, according to Harper. Many families are split or commute between Syria and Iraq to see relatives, work, or are checking the situation on the ground. </p> <p>In such a situation, they are harder to count, or may have their files deactivated by UNHCR if they are absent for long periods. UNHCR says mobility is positive as it allows refugees to stay in touch with their country and prepare for an eventual return. </p> <h3>Bald statistics can be misleading </h3> <p>Bald statistics, without a breakdown, can be misleading due to the high rates of movement. Over the past few months, a fairly consistent number of refugees have been registered in Syria – currently some 139,586 – but this figure masks the fact that each month some refugees leave and others register. Some 32,200 files were deactivated in the first 10 months of 2010, 5,408 people were resettled elsewhere, 176 returned to Iraq under the UNHCR voluntary repatriation scheme, and some 18,719 registered in the same time period, UNHCR says. </p> <p>Statistical methods are also variable. "Many Iraqi refugees fled before the war," said Elizabeth Ferris, a senior fellow and Iraq expert at the Brookings Institution. "There is no agreement as to which time period to count people in." </p> <h3>Challenges </h3> <p>Uncertainty over figures has posed challenges for aid agencies, but UNHCR says it bases its planning for staff and budget on the number of refugees it has registered. </p> <p>Predicting trends can also be difficult, say experts. UNHCR has resettled more than 50,000 refugees, mostly in the USA, and assisted more than 2,000 to return to Iraq. But an unknown number is likely to have returned independently. </p> <p>Within Iraq, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) registers returned refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). It says some 130,000 refugees have returned since 2007. </p> <p>"Agencies have got used to working with imprecise figures," said Ferris, "but it is not good practice to develop programmes on this basis." </p> <p>UNHCR contests this argument. "We have precise information regarding the registered refugees and base our programmes on their needs. This information is regularly updated," said Wafa Amr, UNHCR’s regional spokesperson. </p> <p>Agencies have come up with novel techniques to meet the challenges. UNHCR has more than 150 outreach workers in Syria alone who visit neighbourhoods to identify refugees. Publications are used to raise awareness of the plight of the refugees. To maintain the dignity of refugees and overcome challenges posed by refugees living in an urban setting, UNHCR has made cash payments available via an ATM. UNHCR uses SMS text messages to alert refugees, and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) recently rolled out an <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=90560" class="external" target="_blank">SMS food voucher scheme</a>. </p> <h3>IDPs </h3> <p>Despite the uncertainty, no new assessment of the Iraqi refugees is due. "There is a fear the numbers would come in lower and this would have an impact on governments such as Syria and Jordan as it may affect the amount of financing channelled to them," said Ferris. </p> <p>More is known about IDPs, as the Iraqi authorities are better able to track them. UNHCR, Refugees International and Brookings agree on a figure of 1.5 million, 500,000 of whom live in slums. Of the returnees registered with the IOM, 86 percent are IDPs but overall numbers of returnees are said to be low. </p> <p>"Our main concern is that a very substantial number of Iraqis needing assistance are going to remain in 2011 and probably longer," said Amr. </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91464" class="external" target="_blank">IRIN Middle East | MIDDLE EAST: Iraqi refugees – interpreting the statistics | Iraq | Syria | Conflict | Refugees/IDPs</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-11826"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/11/30/iraq-civilians-still-suffering-undue-hardship/#respond" title="Comment on Iraq: civilians still suffering undue hardship">No Comments</a></span> Posted on November 30th, 2010 by Abdus-Samad</div> <h3><a 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rel="tag">Tarmiyah</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tripartite-commission/" rel="tag">Tripartite Commission</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d9%85%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%86%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d8%af%d8%b1%e2%80%8e/" rel="tag">مدينة الصدر‎</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/vice/" rel="tag">Vice</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water/" rel="tag">Water</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-purification/" rel="tag">water purification</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-shortage/" rel="tag">water shortage</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-shortages/" rel="tag">Water Shortages</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water-supply/" rel="tag">water supply</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/wheat/" rel="tag">wheat</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/women-and-children/" rel="tag">Women and Children</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%ac%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a8-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%87%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%ad%d9%85%d8%b1/" rel="tag">جمعية الصليب والهلال الاحمر</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p>The persistent lack of security is hampering efforts to provide essential services for civilians. The ICRC is doing its utmost to help meet the most pressing needs. This is an update on these and other <span style="border-right: black 1px solid; padding-right: 5px; border-top: black 1px solid; padding-left: 5px; float: right; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 5px 15px; border-left: black 1px solid; width: 300px; padding-top: 5px; border-bottom: black 1px solid"><strong><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/home!Open" target="_blank" class="external">ICRC</a> 30-11-2010 <a title="Operational Update" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/update/2010/irak-update-2010-11-30.htm" class="external" target="_blank">Operational Update</a></strong> </span>ICRC activities carried out in Iraq in September and October.</p> <p>Despite improvements in the security situation achieved over the years in many parts of Iraq, ongoing violence continues to claim the lives of hundreds of men, women and children every month, and to have a serious impact on the lives of many more.</p> <p>Over the past year, the lives of many Iraqi civilians have not changed for the better. Civilians continue to carry the heaviest burden amid the widespread violence. They are still the main victims of the indiscriminate attacks and mass explosions that have taken place in cities such as Baghdad, Ninewa, Diyala, Anbar, Najaf, Kerbala and Basra, and that have left, on average, hundreds of people wounded or dead each month this year.</p> <p>"Indiscriminate attacks against civilians inflict tremendous suffering. They are clearly unacceptable. They are contrary to international humanitarian law and to the most basic principles of humanity," said Magne Barth, head of the ICRC delegation in Iraq. "Civilians must be protected against violence, as must be medical personnel and facilities".</p> <p>The humanitarian situation in Iraq remains serious. Iraqis are filled with anxiety and uncertainty about what the future holds. Vulnerable people, such as women heading households, disabled people and detainees, continue to depend to some extent on outside help to meet basic needs.</p> <p>The persistent lack of security and wanton violence have had a considerable effect on the feasibility of providing essential services for the population. The ICRC is doing its utmost to help meet the most pressing needs, especially in rural areas and in the places hardest hit by the conflict and other violence. ICRC activities aim primarily at ensuring that people have access to adequate health, water and sanitation services, and at helping the destitute and other needy people.</p> <p>Visits to detainees held under Iraqi, Kurdistan Regional Government and USF-I authority remain a priority for the ICRC. "Ensuring that detainees are treated humanely and are held in conditions that respect their dignity has been our constant concern since we started working in Iraq 30 years ago," said Mr Barth.</p> <p>The ICRC continues to speak out about the plight of conflict victims in Iraq. It does so in dialogue with as many parties as possible that can influence the situation on the ground. Its aim is to bring about greater respect for civilians and detainees, and to ensure that unimpeded access is granted for humanitarian action to help the people in greatest need throughout the country.</p> <p>"The role of the ICRC, as an impartial humanitarian organization, is crucial to efforts to protect civilians from harm and to ensure that detainees are properly treated and held in decent conditions," said Mr Barth.</p> <p>In September and October 2010, in response to the unstable and often changing security environment, the ICRC made further adjustments to its working procedures so that it could continue to provide services to those who need them most.</p> <h4><b>Bringing aid to vulnerable people</b></h4> <p>The ICRC has maintained its support for people facing special difficulties earning a living and supporting their families, such as women heading households and people with disabilities. In September and October:</p> <ul> <li>hygiene kits and food parcels were provided for more than 5,600 people in the governorate of Mosul; </li> <li>emergency aid was provided for more than 170 displaced people in Sulaimaniya governorate; </li> <li>95 grants were made in Kirkuk, Ninewa, Dohuk, Sulaimaniya and Erbil governorates to enable disabled people to start small businesses and regain economic self-sufficiency. Around 700 disabled people have received such aid since 2008; </li> <li>the livestock of 731 needy farmers in the Kifri district of Diyala governorate were vaccinated; </li> <li>around 950 metric tonnes of wheat seed were delivered to some 3,800 farmers in the governorates of Diyala, Anbar, Salahadin, Baghdad and Babil to help them restore their food production; </li> <li>50 kilometres of irrigation canals serving over 7,000 people were cleaned and renovated in the Khalis and Kifri districts of Diyala governorate; </li> <li>600 sheep and 38 metric tonnes of fodder were distributed to 200 farmers in the Baaj district of Ninewa governorate. </li> </ul> <h4>Assisting hospitals and physical rehabilitation centres</h4> <p>In some rural and conflict-prone areas, health-care services are still struggling to meet the needs of the civilian population. The ICRC continues to help renovate the premises of health-care facilities and train staff. Limb-fitting and physical rehabilitation services are provided by the ICRC to help disabled people reintegrate into the community. In September and October:</p> <ul> <li>10 doctors and 28 nurses successfully took part in a course intended to strengthen emergency services given in Al Sadr Teaching Hospital in Najaf; </li> <li>273 new patients were fitted with prostheses and 1,148 new patients with orthoses at 10 ICRC-supported centres throughout Iraq. </li> </ul> <h4>Providing clean water and sanitation</h4> <p>Access to clean water remains difficult in much of Iraq. ICRC engineers continue to repair and upgrade water, electrical and sanitary facilities, especially in places where violence remains a concern and in rural areas, to improve the quality of services provided in communities and health-care facilities. In September and October, these activities included:</p> <h5>Emergency assistance:</h5> <p>The ICRC delivered water by truck:</p> <p>● in Zharawa district, Sadr City, Husseinia and Maamal to 6,384 internally displaced people; <br/>● to the 385-bed Al Imam Ali General Hospital; <br/>● to the 400-bed Al Kindy General Hospital in Baghdad, which was struggling to cope with summer water shortages.</p> <h5>Support for health-care facilities:</h5> <p>The ICRC completed work upgrading: <br/>● Tarmiyah General Hospital, which serves between 250 and 300 outpatients daily, in Baghdad governorate; <br/>● Tamour primary health-care centre, which serves 50 patients per day, in Kirkuk governorate.</p> <h5>Water supply in hospitals:</h5> <ul> <li>The ICRC completed the installation of drinking-water purification units in Baquba General Hospital, Muqdadiya General Hospital, Baladrooz General Hospital and Al Zahraa Maternity Hospital, with an overall capacity of 600 beds, in Diyala governorate. </li> </ul> <h5>Drinking-water supply:</h5> <ul> <li>Five main projects benefiting around 725,000 people were completed throughout the country. </li> </ul> <h4><b>Visiting detainees</b></h4> <p>ICRC delegates visit detainees in order to monitor the conditions in which they are being held and the treatment they receive. In all cases, the ICRC shares its findings and recommendations confidentially with the detaining authorities, with the aim of obtaining improvements where necessary.</p> <p>In September and October, the ICRC visited detainees held by the correctional service of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Defence and various Kurdish Regional Government authorities in places of detention in Basra, Thi Qar/Nasiriya, Baghdad, Babil, Kirkuk, Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniya governorates.</p> <p>In some of these places, to help the detaining authority improve conditions of detention, the ICRC gave detainees mattresses, blankets and recreational items such as books and games.</p> <p>The ICRC makes a special effort to restore and maintain ties between detainees and their families. In September and October, over 1,000 Red Cross messages were exchanged between detainees and their families in Iraq and abroad. The ICRC also responded to around 800 enquiries from families seeking information on detained relatives. In addition, it issued 249 certificates of detention to former detainees. The ICRC facilitated the voluntary repatriation of two released detainees, and issued two travel documents to refugees to enable them to resettle abroad.</p> <h4><b>Clarifying what happened to missing people</b></h4> <p>In its role as a neutral intermediary, the ICRC continues to chair the mechanisms set up to address the cases of people who went missing in connection with the 1990-1991 Gulf War. At the 67th session of the Technical Sub-Committee of the Tripartite Commission, held on 28 September in Kuwait, the members of the sub-committee reaffirmed their commitment to accounting for people who went missing in connection with the war. At the sub-committee’s next meeting, which will take place in Kuwait in November, preparations will be made for a joint field mission to the south of Iraq to check on suspected burial sites.</p> <p>On 27 and 28 October, representatives of Iran and Iraq held a high-level meeting in Geneva under ICRC auspices with the aim of determining what happened to people missing in connection with the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. The meeting was the first of its kind following the signature in October 2008 of a memorandum of understanding between Iran, Iraq and the ICRC aimed at expediting the search for information on people previously registered as, or presumed to be, prisoners of war and on others who have gone missing, and at identifying mortal remains.</p> <p>Relieving the suffering of the families of missing persons by clarifying what happened to their loved ones is one of the ICRC’s priorities. The ICRC continues to provide the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights and Baghdad’s Medical-Legal Institute with the technical support they require to exchange information and build up their capacity in the area of forensics.</p> <h4><b>Promoting international humanitarian law</b></h4> <p>Reminding parties to a conflict of their obligation to protect civilians is a fundamental part of the ICRC’s work. The organization also endeavours to promote international humanitarian law within civil society. In this framework, it organizes presentations for various audiences, which include military personnel, prison staff, students and professors.</p> <p>In September and October, information sessions on international humanitarian law were organized for members of the Iraqi Army, the Peshmerga forces and Assayesh security forces. In October, a "train-the-trainers" course was organized for 14 members of the Iraqi Centre for Military Values and Professional Leadership Development. One member of the Iraqi armed forces attended an advanced course on international humanitarian law at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy, and another attended a workshop on rules of engagement, also held in Italy.</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/update/2010/irak-update-2010-11-30.htm" class="external" target="_blank">Iraq: civilians still suffering undue hardship</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-11568"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/10/07/vatican-synod-mulls-middle-east-christian-exodus-reuters/#respond" title="Comment on Vatican synod mulls Middle East Christian exodus | Reuters">No Comments</a></span> Posted on October 7th, 2010 by Mohammed Al-Hamadani</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/10/07/vatican-synod-mulls-middle-east-christian-exodus-reuters/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Vatican synod mulls Middle East Christian exodus | Reuters">Vatican synod mulls Middle East Christian exodus | Reuters</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/religion/" title="View all posts in Religion" rel="category tag">Religion</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/arab-society/" rel="tag">arab society</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/catholic-church/" rel="tag">Catholic Church</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/catholics/" rel="tag">Catholics</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-churches/" rel="tag">christian churches</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-exodus/" rel="tag">christian exodus</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christianity/" rel="tag">Christianity</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christianity-in-the-middle-east/" rel="tag">christianity in the middle east</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians/" rel="tag">Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-persecution-of/" rel="tag">Christians - 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Christians made up around 20 percent of the region’s population a century ago, but now account for about five percent and falling.</p> <p>"If this phenomenon continues, Christianity in the Middle East will disappear," said Rev. Samir Khalil Samir, a Beirut-based Egyptian Jesuit who helped draw up the working documents for the October 10-24 synod at the Vatican.</p> <p>"This is not an unreal hypothesis — Turkey went from 20 percent Christian in the early 20th century to 0.2 percent now," he told journalists in Paris. The Christian exodus since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion "could bleed the Church in Iraq dry."</p> <h3>CALL FOR CHANGE</h3> <p>Instead of simply appealing for more aid to Catholics in the region, the experts who prepared the synod call for sweeping social changes to bring forth democratic secular states, interfaith cooperation and a rollback of advancing Islamism.</p> <p>"At issue is the renewal of Arab society," said Samir, who stressed most Christians and Muslims there are fellow Arabs.</p> <p>Challenged by western-style modernity, many Middle Eastern societies have fused their Arab and Muslim identities, he said, narrowing religious freedom for non-Muslim minorities.</p> <p>The working document stated: "Catholics, along with other Christian citizens and Muslim thinkers and reformers, ought to be able to support initiatives at examining thoroughly the concept of the ‘positive laicity’ of the state.</p> <p>"This could help eliminate the theocratic character of government and allow for greater equality among citizens of different religions, thereby fostering the promotion of a sound democracy, positively secular in nature."</p> <p>The document pins most of the blame for the Christian exodus on political tensions in the region: "Today, emigration is particularly prevalent because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the resulting instability throughout the region."</p> <p>It cited the "menacing social situation in Iraq," where about half the estimated 850,000 Christians there in 2003 have since fled sectarian violence and persecution, and "political instability of Lebanon" as further factors driving them out.</p> <p>The rise of political Islam since the 1970s, especially its violent variations, menaces the whole region, it added, saying: "These extremist currents, clearly a threat to everyone, Christians and Muslims alike, require joint action."</p> <h3>CHRISTIAN COOPERATION</h3> <p>The region’s Christians have also been weakened by age-old splits. The Catholics are divided into Latin Catholic, Coptic, Maronite, Chaldean, Armenian, Syrian and Greek Melkite churches — and they are outnumbered by various Orthodox churches.</p> <p>Protestants are also present, in older communities founded by colonial missionaries or in newer evangelical groups whose aggressive proselytising — often backed by conservative U.S. churches — has provoked a backlash from Muslim authorities.</p> <p>The synod document urges the sometimes competing Catholic churches to work with each other and with other Christians to make their voice heard in Middle Eastern society.</p> <p>Its advice to open up to other churches and faiths, simplify their ancient liturgies and introduce more Arabic into their services echoes the Second Vatican Council reforms that worldwide Roman Catholicism launched back in the 1960s.</p> <p>Highlighting this openness, the synod has invited an Iranian ayatollah, a Lebanese Muslim and a rabbi from Jerusalem to attend the proceedings and address the 250 participants.</p> <p>"I don’t think people in the West appreciate to what extent the thematics of the synod are totally new to so much of the Church in the Middle East," said Rev. David Jaeger, a Franciscan and leading Roman Catholic expert on the Middle East.</p> <p>"The whole discussion of the civic duty of the Christian … is totally new for the region as a whole. For 13 centuries, Christians in the Middle East have been made to live in a kind of socio-economic ghetto," he told Reuters Television in Rome.</p> <p>As Samir summed it up: "If we can do something with other Christians, it is better than doing it alone. If we Christians can do something with the Muslims, that is even better."</p> <p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFLDE6952EJ20101007?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=egyptNews&rpc=401&sp=true" class="external" target="_blank">Vatican synod mulls Middle East Christian exodus | News by Country | Reuters</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10326"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/03/03-05-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/#respond" title="Comment on 03-05-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">No Comments</a></span> Posted on May 3rd, 2010 by Um Thalit</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/03/03-05-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to 03-05-2010 Selected English 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year old man on the experience of being tortured by British troops in Basrah: </p> <p></strong>“The main problem is that my reputation is ruined. The people in our area, when they hear I have been arrested by the British Army, assumed I had been abused by British soldiers. People associate the British Army with sexual abuse.”  </p> <p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article7114602.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Britain faces payout shame as hundreds of detainees claim soldiers abused them – Times Online</strong></a><strong>: </strong></li> <li><strong>Qassim al-Abbudi, an official with the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), to reporters:</strong> <p>"We will count 600 boxes today," </p> <p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/05/03/107548.html" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Al Arabiya.net | Middle East News | Baghdad begins vote recount requested by PM</strong></a><strong>: </strong>  </li> </ul> <h3 style="color: #800000">Human Rights:</h3> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://en.rsf.org/www-rsf-org-predators2010-03-05-2010,37235.html" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Reporters Sans Frontières – Forty predators of press freedom</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p style="padding-bottom: 1em; border-bottom: gray 1px solid">In Iraq, journalists who do their job face real dangers from the conflicts that keep erupting but the situation is slowly improving and the violence is affecting the general population more than journalists in particular. That is why Reporters Without Borders has withdrawn Islamist groups from the ranks of the predators.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article7114602.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Britain faces payout shame as hundreds of detainees claim soldiers abused them – Times Online</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p>The cash-strapped Ministry of Defence faces the prospect of further compensation payouts as hundreds of Iraqis held in British custody file complaints of abuse, described to The Times by former detainees. </p> <p><em>snip</em></p> <p>The family of Baha Musa, an Iraqi who died in British custody in 2003, shared a £2.83 million MoD settlement with nine others. An inquiry into his death saw evidence suggesting that the illegal treatment of prisoners, such as hooding and sleep deprivation, was widespread. </p> <p>Substantial out-of-court settlements have also been reached with nine men who made allegations of violence and sexual abuse at the hands of British soldiers in 2003 at a base known as Camp Breadbasket. </p> <p>The MoD admitted in 2008 that Iraqis were unlawfully assaulted at the base in Basra. <br/>Leigh Day solicitors, who represented the nine men, said that a further 14 have since come forward. The law firm also represents about 100 other Iraqi citizens in claims against the MoD for alleged maltreatment by British forces, mainly relating to arrest and detention. “Fresh allegations continue to come forward, so the number of cases will undoubtedly rise,” a spokesman for the firm said. </p> <p><em>snip</em></p> <p style="padding-bottom: 1em; border-bottom: gray 1px solid">He said: “The main problem is that my reputation is ruined. The people in our area, when they hear I have been arrested by the British Army, assumed I had been abused by British soldiers. People associate the British Army with sexual abuse.” </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://hamptonroads.com/2010/05/military-court-hears-graners-abu-ghraib-appeal" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Military court hears Graner’s Abu Ghraib appeal | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p>The U.S. military’s highest court is considering whether a "Catch-22" prevented the alleged ringleader of detainee abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq from getting a fair trial in 2005. </p> <p>In arguments today in Washington, Army Spc. Charles Graner’s lawyer told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces that the defense was wrongly denied access to classified documents indicating that some of the harsh treatment of detainees reflected "enhanced interrogation techniques" approved by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. </p> <p>One of the five justices questioned whether the secret nature of the documents made it impossible for the defense to request specific memos — a situation he called a Catch-22. </p> <p>The court is expected to rule by August on Graner’s request for a new trial.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://hamptonroads.com/2010/05/seal-accused-assault-iraq-goes-trial-norfolk" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>SEAL accused of assault in Iraq goes to trial in Norfolk | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p>The last of three U.S. Navy SEALs to face court-martial in connection with the alleged abuse of a suspected terrorist in Iraq is scheduled to stand trial this week at Norfolk Naval Station. </p> <p><em>snip</em></p> <p>The SEAL who will stand trial beginning today, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe, is the only one who is accused of physically harming Abed. The charges against him include assault for allegedly punching Abed in the midsection; dereliction of duty for not protecting Abed; and making a false statement to an investigator who later interviewed him about the matter.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/03/military-defends-prosecution-of-seal/" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Military defends prosecution of SEAL – Washington Times</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p style="padding-bottom: 1em; border-bottom: gray 1px solid">The U.S. military is issuing an extensive defense of its decision to prosecute three Navy SEALs on charges of abusing a terrorism suspect they had captured in Iraq, after two of the servicemen were found not guilty during courts-martial.</p> </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Politics and Security</h3> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/05/03/monday-6-iraqis-killed-16-wounded/" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Monday: 6 Iraqis Killed, 16 Wounded — Antiwar.com</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p>At least six Iraqis were killed and 16 more were wounded as a manual recount of ballots begin today in Baghdad. The contentious recount was not without its own controversy as the prime minister’s party found fault with the procedures that could help them win more seats in the new parliament.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100503006020&newsLang=en" class="external" target="_blank"> <br/></a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2080528&Language=en" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>كونا : Three explosions kill three Iraqis, injured 13 – الدفاع والأمن – 03/05/2010</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p>BAGHDAD, May 3 (KUNA) — Three Iraqi civilians wer killed and 13 others injured by explosions at Al-Zafarania, New Baghdad and Al-Kesra, Iraqi military sources said on Monday. <br/>The first explosion took place near Al-Kbaisi cafe at the main road of Al-Zafarania town. The booby-trapped car blast resulted in the wounding of four Iraqis, as well as the destruction of the cafe. <br/>The second explosion occured in Al-Darwesh Bakery in New Baghdad resulted in the death of one Iraqi civilian and the injurey of six others. <br/>At Al-Kesra town, northern Baghdad, an explosive device attached to a parked car killed two civilians, and injured three others.</p></blockquote> <p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_522069.html" class="external" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/05/20105371714653272.html"> <br/></a> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1552775.php/Three-killed-in-two-separate-attacks-in-Iraq" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Three killed in two separate attacks in Iraq – Monsters and Critics</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p>An unidentified group of gunmen attacked two employees of the court of first instance in Toz, just south of the city Kirkuk, leaving one dead and the other injured.</p> <p style="padding-bottom: 1em; border-bottom: gray 1px solid">In a separate incident, an Iraqi soldier and a police officer were killed while walking along a road when a remotely controlled bomb exploded in a parked car in the province of Salah al-Din, security forces said. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2080270&Language=en" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>كونا : Iraqi electoral commission: manual re-counting starts officially in Baghdad – الشؤون السياسية – 03/05/2010</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p>The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced launch of the manual re-counting and sorting of ballots at Al-Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad, IHEC Spokesman Qassim Al-Abodi said on Monday.</p> <p>It is expected that recount and sorting of 600 ballot stations would be done today and that 800 ballot boxes a day would be counted within the upcoming few days, he told reporters.</p> <p>Recount process is expected to last between 11 to 15 days, he said. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1552761.php/Al-Maliki-s-coalition-calls-for-halt-to-vote-recount-1st-Lead" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Al-Maliki’s coalition calls for halt to vote recount (1st Lead) – Monsters and Critics</strong></a></p> <blockquote><p>Baghdad – Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s State of law Coalition Monday called for halting the recount of votes cast in Baghdad, saying ‘it does not comply with the court’s decision’. </p> <p>Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission started earlier on Monday recounting votes of the March parliamentary elections in the capital, as ordered by a court last month. </p> <p>The coalition said it filed a new complaint to the court to say that the ‘commission insists that the results would not reflect the true will of the voters.’ </p> <p><em>snip</em></p> <p>Al-Shahristani said that the process should have started by comparing the number of voters with the number of votes, and if they match, then they would start the manual recount. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Gulf%2C+Middle+East+%26+Africa&month=May2010&file=World_News201005036150.xml" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Iraq locked in two-man power struggle after vote : The Peninsula On-line: Qatar</strong></a>: </p> <blockquote><p>BAGHDAD: Two months after a general election that produced no outright winner, Iraq has become locked in a battle between two men fighting for power that threatens its fragile security and hopes for stability.</p> <p style="padding-bottom: 1em; border-bottom: gray 1px solid">Whether or not Shia Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and ex-Prime Minister Iyad Allawi are putting personal ambition ahead of the nation’s good, their battle could stoke sectarian tensions and invite foreign interference, analysts say. “The battle in many ways boils down to the personal antipathy between the two, something which is now threatening political stability,” IHS Global Insight Middle East analyst Gala Riani said.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/world/asia/03kurds.html?ref=asia&pagewanted=print" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Election Victories Help Kurds in Iraq Push for More Sovereignty – NYTimes.com</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p>As the deadlock in Baghdad has deepened with the recent disqualification of some winning Sunni candidates and the coming vote recount in the capital, important bloc leaders like the Kurdish president, Massoud Barzani, have been heavily courted for support in forming coalitions.</p> <p style="padding-bottom: 1em; border-bottom: gray 1px solid">But no one has been more openly aggressive in the jockeying for position than Mr. Barzani, and he is being closely watched because the issues he seeks to influence all have stark ramifications for Iraq’s stability. In particular, his demands for a federalist approach to governing Iraq — a weakened national government and stronger regional control — have revived fears that his Iraqi Kurdistan region may eventually try to secede.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/topofthetimes/topstories/la-fg-iraq-premier-20100503,0,6654673,print.story" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>An unlikely Iraqi leader emerges – latimes.com</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p>Among all the candidates being touted for the prime minister’s job in the next Iraqi government, one stands out for his near-total lack of political experience.</p> <p><em>snip</em></p> <p>But Sadr’s heritage puts him in the ranks of aristocracy, at least by Iraqi Shiite Muslim standards. He is the only son of the revered Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Sadr, who was executed by Saddam Hussein in 1980 and whose portrait looms large on billboards in almost every Shiite community across the country. And he is a second cousin and brother-in-law of the radical cleric Muqtada Sadr, who commands a vast following among poor Shiites.</p> <p style="padding-bottom: 1em; border-bottom: gray 1px solid">Jaafar Sadr’s pedigree alone was enough to ensure that when he ran from Baghdad on Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s State of Law list, he received the slate’s most votes after Maliki — albeit with a huge gulf. That secured him a seat in parliament. He also came in second in an advisory referendum Muqtada Sadr supporters held on the prime minister’s post, and he was named one of their two candidates for the job.</p> </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Society and Economy:</h3> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100503006020&newsLang=en" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Scania is back in Iraq | Business Wire</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p>Scania has a presence in Iraq again, including both production and sales. Trucks ordered by government customers are being assembled locally there, while an independent distributor is supplying the private sector market with imported vehicles. This distributor is also responsible for the reconstruction of Scania’s sales and service network in the country.</p> <p>“If the situation in Iraq continues to stabilise, within a few years the country can regain its position as Scania’s most important market in the Middle East,” says Martin Lundstedt, Executive Vice President and responsible for the company’s sales and marketing.</p> <p>In the early 1980s, Iraq was one of Scania’s largest markets. At the peak, sales totalled 3,900 trucks in one year (1981).</p> <p>Late in 2009, Iraq’s State Company for Automotive Industry (SCAI) began production of the first of 500 trucks ordered under the terms of an agreement between Scania and Iraq’s Ministry of Industry & Minerals. Production is taking place at the government’s Iskandariyah industrial complex south of Baghdad.</p> <p>“Creating jobs in the country’s industry has been an important aspect of the agreement between Scania and the Iraqi government,” Lundstedt says.</p> <p>Today the SCAI facility in Iskandariyah employs about 300 people in its Scania operations, which not only includes final assembly of truck chassis but also bodywork for delivery of ready-to-drive trucks.</p> <p>So far, SCAI has delivered some 150 fully equipped trucks to various public sector customers, for example tank trucks to the Ministry of Water Protection and Supply.</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.dissentmagazine.org/atw.php?id=109" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Dissent Magazine | Seven Years–And There’s Still No Labor Law in Iraq</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p style="padding-bottom: 1em; border-bottom: gray 1px solid">Seven years since the invasion and Iraq still does not have a labor law. Workers in the public sector are denied the right to organise and join trade unions and collective bargaining is almost impossible. It’s a disgrace. The good news that the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has set up an <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.iraqitradeunions.org/cgi-bin/campaign1.cgi" class="external" target="_blank">Iraqi Labour Campaign</a>: For a Fair and Just Labour Law.  For a short history of the Iraqi unions before and after the invasion order <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-12149-f0.cfm" class="external" target="_blank">this rather splendid pamphlet</a> from the TUC. </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=359092&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Gulf Times – Qatar’s top-selling English daily newspaper – Qatar</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote><p style="padding-bottom: 1em; border-bottom: gray 1px solid">The Iraqi Cultural Week got under way on Saturday as part of the ‘Doha, Capital of Arab Culture 2010’ celebrations. The week, featuring exhibitions and folk performances, will run until Wednesday at the Qatar National Theatre. </p> </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Commentary and Analysis</h3> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=20816" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>Intimidating the Iraqis Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English)</strong></a><strong>: </strong></p> <blockquote style="padding-bottom: 1em; border-bottom: gray 1px solid"><p>It is not strange for al-Maliki to try to hold onto his position – for this is the case with most Arab rulers – but by doing so he is threatening the political process and putting all of Iraq in danger. Al-Maliki is today trying to scare the Iraqis with the prospect of UN interference; however the UN is the chief election monitor and observer, and Iraq remains under the purview of Chapter VII of the UN Chapter which gives the UN Security Council the final say in this matter. Al-Maliki is right that there is no need to involve the UN, but the problem is that by trying to change the announced election results he has caused the elector bloc that originally won the most number of seats to call for help from the authorities in charge of supervising the elections. Al-Maliki has also called for a recount without first guaranteeing that this will take place in a transparent atmosphere and under the supervision of a party that is acceptable to all electoral blocs, not just his own. We do not understand what has afflicted al-Maliki to cause him to raise all of these obstacles, especially as there is no clear victor that would be able to form a government on their own, and al-Maliki or Allawi or anybody else cannot form a government or become Prime Minister without first allying with other parties.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10323"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/03/iraq-civilians-under-fire-amnesty-international-usa/#respond" title="Comment on Iraq: Civilians Under Fire Amnesty International USA">No Comments</a></span> Posted on May 3rd, 2010 by Um Thalit</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/03/iraq-civilians-under-fire-amnesty-international-usa/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Iraq: Civilians Under Fire Amnesty International USA">Iraq: Civilians Under Fire Amnesty International USA</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/amnesty-international/" rel="tag">Amnesty International</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/amnesty-international-usa/" rel="tag">amnesty international usa</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/camp-ashraf/" rel="tag">Camp Ashraf</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/civilians/" rel="tag">Civilians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-cleansing/" rel="tag">Ethnic Cleansing</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-cleansing-of-christians/" rel="tag">Ethnic cleansing of Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-minorities/" rel="tag">ethnic minorities</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/fatwas/" rel="tag">Fatwas</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/homosexuals-killing-of/" rel="tag">Homosexuals - killing of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/homosexuals-attacks-on/" rel="tag">Homosexuals -attacks on</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/human-rights/" rel="tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/human-rights-act/" rel="tag">human rights act</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/human-rights-activists/" rel="tag">human rights activists</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/invasion-of-iraq/" rel="tag">invasion of iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iraqi-refugees/" rel="tag">iraqi refugees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/journalists-attacked/" rel="tag">Journalists Attacked</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kidnapping/" rel="tag">kidnapping</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/militias/" rel="tag">Militias</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/minoritieswomen-disempowerment-of/" rel="tag">minorities/women disempowerment of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/minority-rights/" rel="tag">Minority rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/murder/" rel="tag">murder</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/palestinian-refugee/" rel="tag">palestinian refugee</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/rape/" rel="tag">Rape</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/refugees/" rel="tag">Refugees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/religion/" rel="tag">Religion</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/religious-minorities/" rel="tag">Religious minorities</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/religious-minorities-suppression-of-rights/" rel="tag">Religious minorities - suppression of rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sabian-mandeans/" rel="tag">Sabian Mandeans</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/situation-in-iraq/" rel="tag">situation in iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d9%85%d8%b9%d8%b3%d9%83%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d8%b4%d8%b1%d9%81/" rel="tag">معسكر اشرف</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/violence/" rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/yazhidi/" rel="tag">Yazhidi</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/yezhidi/" rel="tag">Yezhidi</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a3%d8%b4%d8%b1%d9%81-%d9%85%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%86%d8%a9/" rel="tag">أشرف مدينة</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p>Seven years after the US invasion of Iraq, violence is still taking the lives of countless Iraqis. Amnesty International’s new report <em><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE14/002/2010/en/c9dc5d8d-95fa-46e4-8671-cd9b99d0378c/mde140022010en.pdf" class="external" target="_blank">Iraq, Civilians Under Fire</a></em> exposes the ongoing violence inflicted on minority groups including women, gay men, religious minorities, and human rights activists, journalists and refugees.</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.cfr.org/publication/8175/" class="external" target="_blank">Kidnapping, torture and murder are used by militias</a>, terrorist organizations and occasionally the government itself, often with impunity.</p> <p>Women who are abused are not safe even in the few shelters that exist. Honor killings are rampant and those who perform them are not punished. Forced marriages, forced veiling and rape are common across the country.</p> <p>Gay men have been <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/08/17/they-want-us-exterminated-0" class="external" target="_blank">living in fear</a> since political and religious leaders started issuing fatwas against them. In Sadr City and Baghdad gay men and men perceived to be gay were kidnapped, tortured and killed in large numbers.</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/11/10/iraq-protect-besieged-minorities" class="external" target="_blank">Christian, Yazidi, Sabean-Mandean</a> and other religious communities have been harrassed and brutalized since 2003, their places of worship bombed, their religious leaders systematically killed. Individuals are stopped on the streets by groups of armed men and asked for their identification cards, which indicate their religion. If they belong to the “wrong” religious group, they are shot.</p> <p>Human rights activists in Iraq who try to protect abused women, gay men or religious minorities are threatened and killed by the same militias, many of which are affiliated with members of the Iraqi parliament. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.cpj.org/reports/2008/07/journalists-killed-in-iraq.php" class="external" target="_blank">Journalists</a> who speak out against the corruption in the government which has allowed the continued arming of these militias have also been threatened and killed.</p> <p>With around 2.7 million internally displaced Iraqis, 1.5 million Iraqi refugees in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.unhcr.org/4b30f6de9.html" class="external" target="_blank">neighboring countries</a> that threaten to send them back, 12,000 Palestinian refugees in Iraq and 4,300 Iranian refugees in Camp Ashraf, the situation in Iraq is dire.</p> <p>In the coming weeks Amnesty International will launch <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.amnestyusa.org/iraq/action/page.do?id=YCA0923076000E" class="external" target="_blank">actions</a> addressing each of these issues. As a new Iraqi government takes shape in the next months, it’s vital that we let them know that the world is watching and expecting them to take responsibility for the safety and security of all of Iraq’s civilians, regardless of religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation or belief.</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://blog.amnestyusa.org/refugees/iraq-civilians-under-fire/" class="external" target="_blank">Iraq: Civilians Under Fire | Human Rights Now – Amnesty International USA Blog</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-9656"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/04/08/jerusalem-patriarch-hamas-protecting-christians/#respond" title="Comment on Jerusalem patriarch: Hamas protecting Christians">No Comments</a></span> Posted on April 8th, 2010 by Suheila Jamil</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/04/08/jerusalem-patriarch-hamas-protecting-christians/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Jerusalem patriarch: Hamas protecting Christians">Jerusalem patriarch: Hamas protecting Christians</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/catholic-church/" rel="tag">Catholic Church</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-persecution/" rel="tag">christian persecution</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians/" rel="tag">Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/clash-of-civilizations/" rel="tag">clash of civilizations</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/colonialism/" rel="tag">colonialism</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/gaza/" rel="tag">Gaza</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/hamas/" rel="tag">Hamas</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/history/" rel="tag">History</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/islam/" rel="tag">Islam</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/israel/" rel="tag">Israel</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/michel-sabbah/" rel="tag">Michel Sabbah</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/middle-east/" rel="tag">Middle East</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/middle-east-online/" rel="tag">Middle East Online</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/palestine/" rel="tag">Palestine</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/palestinians/" rel="tag">palestinians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/situation-in-iraq/" rel="tag">situation in iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/solidarity/" rel="tag">Solidarity</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%b3%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%85%e2%80%8e/" rel="tag">الإسلام‎</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86/" rel="tag">بالمسيحيين</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <blockquote><p>Even in Gaza, Christians are protected by Hamas, so often presented as a terrorist organization. </p> </blockquote> <p><i>What is the situation for Christians in Palestine? </i></p> <p>It is the same as for all Arabs in Palestine. Christians or Muslims, we are the same people, with the same culture and the same history. A nation that is in conflict with another nation. A nation that is living under military occupation has no need of compassion but of justice. In a very tense political context we are trying to cope with the same challenge. What does it mean to be a Christian? It is to be in a society, in a world that we have not chosen but has been given to us. Our vocation therefore is to be Christian in an Arab society which has a Muslim majority. This is a familiar experience to us, we have several centuries of history behind us. </p> <p><i><a title="Michel_Sabbah_quote" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.flickr.com/photos/27086036@N02/4502822541/" class="external" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline; margin: 5px 15px 25px 0px" alt="Michel_Sabbah_quote" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645im_/http://static.flickr.com/4037/4502822541_9efb170ee2.jpg" align="left" border="0"/></a>However, today one speaks of anti-Christian persecution</i></p> <p>Individual incidents between Muslims and Christians can take on a community dimension. In these cases there are mediators, families known for their wisdom and their authority, capable of resolving conflicts. I can bear witness to the fact that in Palestine, it never goes further than this. There have never been massacres or terrorist attacks against churches, never have I known an openly antichristian persecution. Even in Gaza, Christians are protected by Hamas, so often presented as a terrorist organization. </p> <p><i>Is it the same situation in Iraq? </i></p> <p>No, over there Christians are victims of violence and are killed because they are Christians. But it is a question of political not religious movements. Extremists hope to destabilize the country. Many Sunnis and Shiites have been killed for the same reasons. It does not help to accuse Muslims of all the evils. Working for peace and for justice in Iraq as elsewhere is the best way to avoid a mass exodus of Christians from the East. A political problem needs to find a political solution. </p> <p><i>What do you say to those who defend the idea of a clash of civilizations? </i></p> <p>There is a clash but it is not religious or cultural. It is political. The West treats the East and those who live there, whether they are Christians or Muslims, as lesser beings. As long as there is this relationship between the dominant and the dominated, we will never escape the spiral of violence. The roots of global terrorism are rooted here. The East is not free to choose its destiny; it is subjected to Western dominance. The problem is not Islam, but the confrontation between East and West. The history of colonialisation has given way to another kind of colonialisation, more latent, but no less real. </p> <p><i>Are you not afraid of the expansion of Islam? </i></p> <p>It is a fantasy fed by those who do not understand the East, in general, and Islam in particular. As long as the Palestinians feel oppressed, all Muslims globally will feel solidarity with them and are capable of creating disruption from within the societies in which they live. We need to put an end to the relationship of strength against weakness between the West and the Muslim world and instead focus on affirmative education in citizenship and respect for one’s neighbour. We need to develop a culture of engaged coexistence, learn to know one another and live and act together in unity. </p> <p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=38316" class="external" target="_blank">Middle East Online</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-9171"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/03/16/the-new-forgotten-war-dahr-jamail/#respond" title="Comment on The New ‘Forgotten’ War | Dahr Jamail">No Comments</a></span> Posted on March 16th, 2010 by Diya al din</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/03/16/the-new-forgotten-war-dahr-jamail/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to The New ‘Forgotten’ War | Dahr Jamail">The New ‘Forgotten’ War | Dahr Jamail</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/analysis-briefings-commentary/" title="View all posts in Analysis Briefings Commentary" rel="category tag">Analysis Briefings Commentary</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ali-ghalib-baban/" rel="tag">Ali Ghalib Baban</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/america/" rel="tag">America</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/assassinations/" rel="tag">Assassinations</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/awakening-councils/" rel="tag">Awakening Councils</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/barack-obama/" rel="tag">Barack Obama</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/birth-defects/" rel="tag">birth defects</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/bombings/" rel="tag">Bombings</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/cancer-rate/" rel="tag">cancer rate</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/cancer-rates/" rel="tag">cancer rates</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/chicago-tribune/" rel="tag">Chicago Tribune</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/civilians/" rel="tag">Civilians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/congressional-research-service/" rel="tag">congressional research service</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/contractors/" rel="tag">Contractors</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/corruption/" rel="tag">Corruption</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/dahr-jamail-reports/" rel="tag">Dahr Jamail Reports</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/depleted-uranium/" rel="tag">Depleted Uranium</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/devastation/" rel="tag">devastation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/fallujah/" rel="tag">Fallujah</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/invasion/" rel="tag">invasion</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iraqi-refugees/" rel="tag">iraqi refugees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/los-angeles-times/" rel="tag">Los Angeles TImes</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/militias/" rel="tag">Militias</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/occupation/" rel="tag">occupation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/occupation-of-iraq/" rel="tag">occupation of iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/oncology-center/" rel="tag">oncology center</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/reconstruction/" rel="tag">Reconstruction</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/refugees/" rel="tag">Refugees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sanctions/" rel="tag">Sanctions</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/situation-in-iraq/" rel="tag">situation in iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/unhcr/" rel="tag">UNHCR</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/uranium-in-iraq/" rel="tag">Uranium in Iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/vatican/" rel="tag">Vatican</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water/" rel="tag">Water</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p>Iraq occupation falls into media shadows</p> <blockquote><p>“<em>The Western world that slaughtered Iraq and Iraqis, through 13 years of sanctions and seven years of occupation, is now turning its back on the victims. What has remained of Iraq is still being devastated by bombings, assassinations, corruption, millions of evictions and continued infrastructure destruction. Yet the world that caused all this is trying to draw a rosy picture of the situation in Iraq.”</em></p> <p>-Maki Al-Nazzal, Iraqi political analyst</p> </blockquote> <p>As Afghanistan has taken center stage in U.S. corporate media, with President Barack Obama announcing two major escalations of the war in recent months, the U.S. occupation of Iraq has fallen into the media shadows.</p> <p>But while U.S. forces have begun to slowly pull back in Iraq, approximately 130,000 American troops and 114,000 private contractors still remain in the country (Congressional Research Service, 12/14/09)-along with an embassy the size of Vatican City. Upwards of 400 Iraqi civilians still die in a typical month (Iraq Body Count, 12/31/09), and fallout from the occupation that is now responsible, by some estimates, for 1 million Iraqi deaths (<strong>Extra!</strong>, 1/2/08) continues to severely impact Iraqis in ways that go uncovered by the U.S. press.</p> <p>From early on in the occupation of Iraq, one of the most pressing concerns for Iraqis-besides ending the occupation and a desperate need for security-has been basic infrastructure. The average home in Iraq today, over six and a half years into the occupation, operates on less than six hours of electricity per day (<strong>AP</strong>, 9/7/09). “A water shortage described as the most critical since the earliest days of Iraq’s civilization is threatening to leave up to 2 million people in the south of the country without electricity and almost as many without drinking water,” the <strong>Guardian</strong> (8/26/09) reported; waterborne diseases and dysentery are rampant. The ongoing lack of power and clean drinking water has even led Iraqis to take to the streets in Baghdad (<strong>AP</strong>, 10/11/09), chanting, “No water, no electricity in the country of oil and the two rivers.”</p> <p>Devastation wrought by the occupation, coupled with rampant corruption among the Western contractors awarded the contracts to rebuild Iraq’s demolished infrastructure, are to blame (<strong>International Herald Tribune</strong>, 7/6/09). Ali Ghalib Baban, Iraq’s minister of planning, said late last year (<strong>International Herald Tribune</strong>, 11/21/09) that the billions of dollars the U.S. has spent on so-called reconstruction contracts in Iraq has had no discernible impact. “Maybe they spent it,” he said, “but Iraq doesn’t feel it.”</p> <p>Last January, the <strong>Los Angeles Times</strong> ran a story (1/26/09) that highlighted the lack of electricity: “As elections near, people say it’s hard to have faith in leaders when they don’t even have electricity,” was the subhead. But most other large U.S. papers have avoided the topic-unless it is brought up in such a way as to blame Iraqis for the problem, as the <strong>New York Times</strong> (11/21/09) did with its piece, “U.S. Fears Iraqis Will Not Keep Up Rebuilt Projects.”</p> <p>Further complicating matters, a drought that is now over four years old plagues most of Iraq. In the country’s north, lack of water has forced more than 100,000 people to abandon their homes since 2005, with 36,000 more on the verge of leaving (<strong>AP</strong>, 10/13/09).</p> <p>Corporate media coverage of the ongoing Iraqi refugee crisis-the U.N. estimates that more than 4.5 million Iraqis in all have been displaced from their homes (UNHCR.org, 1/09)-continues to be scant. The stories that do appear tend to be local stories about Iraqi refugees in the newspaper’s home city (e.g., <strong>Chicago Tribune</strong>, 10/25/09).</p> <p>For Iraqis who remain in the country, another critical story is cancer. The U.S. and British militaries used more than 1,700 tons of depleted uranium in Iraq in the 2003 invasion (<strong>Jane’s Defence News</strong>, 4/2/04)-on top of 320 tons used in the 1991 Gulf War (<strong>Inter Press Service</strong>, 3/25/03). Literally every local person I’ve ever spoken with in Iraq during my nine months of reporting there knows someone who either suffers from or has died of cancer.</p> <p>The lead paragraph of an article by Jalal Ghazi, for <strong>New America Media</strong> (1/6/10), is blunt:</p> <p>Forget about oil, occupation, terrorism or even Al-Qaeda. The real hazard for Iraqis these days is cancer. Cancer is spreading like wildfire in Iraq. Thousands of infants are being born with deformities. Doctors say they are struggling to cope with the rise of cancer and birth defects, especially in cities subjected to heavy American and British bombardment.</p> <p>Ghazi reported that in Fallujah, which bore the brunt of two massive U.S. military operations in 2004, as many as 25 percent of newborn infants have serious physical abnormalities. Cancer rates in Babil, an area south of Baghdad, have risen from 500 cases in 2004 to more than 9,000 in 2009. Dr. Jawad al-Ali, the director of the Oncology Center in Basra, told <strong>Al Jazeera English</strong> (10/12/09) that there were 1,885 cases of cancer in all of 2005; between 1,250 and 1,500 patients visit his center every month now.</p> <p>Babies born to U.S. veterans of the 1991 war are showing birth defects very similar to affected Iraqi babies (<strong>Sunday Herald</strong>, 3/30/03), and many U.S. soldiers are now referring to Gulf War Syndrome 2, alleging they have developed cancer because of exposure to depleted uranium in Iraq (<strong>New America Media</strong>, 1/6/10).</p> <p>How has this ongoing story been covered by the corporate media? It hasn’t, at least not in the last five years, with the exception of an article in <strong>Vanity Fair</strong> (2/05) and a few isolated <strong>Associated Press</strong> stories, like “Sickened Iraq Vets Cite Depleted Uranium” (8/13/06). While smaller publications like the<strong> Washington Report on Middle East Affairs</strong> (11/05) and the<strong> Public Record</strong> (10/19/09) have taken it on, none of the other big outlets have touched the story.</p> <p>While U.S. newspapers have been following the lead-up to the Iraq elections, there has been virtually no coverage of the mass arrests Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s government is busy conducting in predominantly Sunni areas of Iraq. As the Iraqi daily <strong>Azzaman </strong>(1/4/10) reported:</p> <p>Iraqi security forces have launched a wide campaign in Sunni Muslim-dominated neighborhoods of Baghdad and towns and cities to the north and west of the capital…. The campaign is said to be the widest by the government in years and has led to an exodus of people to the Kurdish north.</p> <p>Family members of those being arrested are not told where their loved ones are being held, only that those arrested will remain behind bars until after the elections. These sweeps have collected members of the formerly U.S.-backed Awakening Councils, Sunni militias once paid off by the U.S. to stop their attacks on occupation forces. The cutoff of U.S. support for the Councils is another underreported story.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the hardship for Iraqis continues unabated, along with the need to find alternative sources for accurate information-or any information-about an occupation that continues to involve as many troops as when Iraq dominated U.S. headlines in 2004 (Congressional Research Service, 7/2/09).</p> <p><em>Dahr Jamail is an independent journalist who has been reporting about the U.S. occupation of Iraq for more than six years. His most recent book is</em> The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan<em>.</em></p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://dahrjamailiraq.com/the-new-%e2%80%98forgotten-war" class="external" target="_blank">The New ‘Forgotten’ War | Dahr Jamail – Independent Reporting from Iraq and the Middle East</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="navigation"> <div class="alignleft"></div> <div class="alignright"></div> </div> </div> <div id="sidebar" class="span-10 last"> <div class="span-10" id="tabs"> <ul> <li class="ui-tabs-nav-item"><a href="#featured-articles">Featured Articles</a></li> <li class="ui-tabs-nav-item"><a href="#latest-articles">Latest Articles</a></li> </ul> <div id="featured-articles" class="widget"> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130124042645/http://gorillasguides.com/2012/04/19/hezbollah-says-latest-bombings-in-iraq-thwart-mission-to-build-state/">Hezbollah says latest bombings in Iraq “thwart mission 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