Iraq snapshot - April 11, 2012
The Common Ills
Wednesday, April 11,
2012. Chaos and violence continues, Iraq's LGBT community gets some
attention, Martin Kobler talks about Camp Ashraf, did two bodyguards of
Tareq al-Hashemi die, and more.
As pointed out in yesterday's snapshot, Omar Ali (Liberation) notes A.N.S.W.E.R.'s
San Francisco chapter held a teach-in the afternoon of March 25th at
the First Unitarian Chuch on Franklin. The topic of the teach-in was
the Iraq War. Speakers included Dr. Jess Ghannam, Nazila Bargshady, Dr.
Henry Clark, former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Richard Becker and
Gloria La Riva. Ali notes, "The teach-in was well attended by
progressives from many different movements and communities. The
diversity of the attendees demonstrates the sense of unity of different
strata of the working class of this country in opposition to the war
against the Iraqi masses.
We included some of Iraq War veteran and March Forward
co-founder Mike Prysner's speech in yesterday's snapshot. A number of
e-mails state that the video with Omar Ali streams visually but there's
no audio. I didn't know that. I was using my own notes of Mike's
speech. Since there are problems with the stream, we'll note some more
of his speech (I didn't take notes during the other speeches)
Mike
Prysner: Families would come to us whose children had been killed,
whose children's limbs had been blown off, who came to us begging for
some kind of monetary compensation because they were left with
absolutely nothing. I saw literally thousands of detainees who did
absolutely nothing except be a military age male who happened to live in
a village that was picked at random to be raided one night and who was
brought into detention facilities to be tortured and humiliated. You
know, for me personally, as I said earlier, I wanted to go to this war.
I believed very much in it. I believed very much in the military and
our country. But all of the lies and indoctrination that we were being
fed couldn't match reality because I had other teachers beyond the
president and the military commanders and those were the Iraqi people.
And there are several people who will always be burned in my memory,
they're the ones who taught me the truth and taught me which side I was
on. It was men who were urinating themselves, pleading through
sandbags on their heads in detention facilities. It was a father who
was shot through the neck and as he was dying saying over and over, "I
just want to see my family, I just want to see my family." And the
number one person, the one that really did it for me was -- I have a
little sister who's now 18 so she was about 8 at the time I deployed. I
got her name tattooed on my arm before I -- before I left. Her name's
Rachel. And we were ordered at this one point to kick these families
out of their home for whatever reason. And there was this 8-year-old
girl who looked exactly like my sister and it was my job to drag her out
of her house as she was crying, as her parents were crying, as her
siblings were crying, arrest the males in her family, put them on a
truck and send them to those detention facilities. And I couldn't stop
looking at her face because it was my sister's face. And I realized
that this girl was exactly like my sister, that man who was shot was
exactly like my father and that these people were just like my family.
And so what happened was, I couldn't stop seeing that everything that we
were doing to the Iraqi people, I was doing to my own family. Because
they are our family, they're our brothers and sisters. And so this was
the breaking point for myself and so many others. And the daily
violence, the daily abuse, the daily humiliation all by an unwanted
foreign invader, led to a widespread popular uprising against the
occupation. And no rank-in-file soldier who has been to Iraq can say
that they don't understand why the Iraqi people stood up and fought
back. In fact, that's the main factor why the majority of US troops
ended up opposing the war: Because it was clear that the resistance of
the Iraqi people was justified. But the US government had a plan for the
popular rebellion too. They used the tactics of divide and conquer and
shredded a once united country. And in it's wake, they left a country
completely destroyed. And it's difficult to overstate the level of
suffering and destruction that the Iraqi people now deal with. And
anyone believing the lie that the war in Iraq was somehow out of care
for the Iraq people, one just has to look to the wave of the war within
the US military to see how true that is, to see how much this government
cares about its own soldiers -- let alone Iraqis. Today, in the wake
of the Iraq War, there's an epidemic of suicides in the US military --
where, for the past three years more active-duty soldiers are killing
themselves than are being killed in combat. This is a staggering,
shocking number. Thousands already have been abandoned and left to die
alone with the guilt and trauma of what they've been sent to do,
hundreds of thousands of families thrown into chaos by loved ones they
no longer recognize. Suicide and suicide attempts are at such a
staggering record breaking rate, they can only call it an emergency
situation. You can only call it a crisis that this government has
refused to respond to in any meaningful way. I've traveled to different
bases that have high rates of suicides and the numbers are staggering.
Among veterans there's 950 suicide attempts a month. But when you see
these peoples' faces -- I mean, I met people who jumped out of their
window in the middle of the night because they heard voices speaking in
Arabic every time they turned the lights off. I've met people who can't
eat because they can't hold their utensils because they shake so bad.
And these same people, when the go to the doctors in the army and say "I
need help," they're told that they're fine and that they have to go on
other deployments. And they can go a million times a day to every
doctor, every chaplain, every leader that they have in their chain of
command and they'll be told the same thing. It will always be written
into the history of this war that during this time the US government
allowed a wave of preventable suicides through it's US military and did
absolutely nothing to stop it but not only did nothing to stop it but
actively tried to deny soldiers their access to treatment, to deny them
compensation. This is what they're doing now as they try to save
precious tax dollars -- you know the same people who spared no expense
writing blank checks for new weapons systems. And of course if you can
witness the truly shocking, devestating effects of the war on US troops,
one can only imagine the level of psychological trauma experienced by
Iraq's entire population who didn't do just one tour or two tours but
lived 20 years under constant bombing and nine years of brutal
occupation. None will bear the scars of the war deeper than the Iraqi
people.
The Iraqi people have suffered
and the suffering continues to this day. In many ways, that's due to
the fact that the US government refused to utilize trained people and
instead put thugs in power to scare the people with the hopes that a
scared people couldn't fight back against the empire. The thugs get
bored and consumed with their self-hatred so they lash out at others.
Sometimes it's women, sometimes it's Christians, sometimes it's the LGBT
community, sometimes it's . . . Anyone who isn't in the thug class is
at risk of targeting in Iraq. Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project has released a video on being gay in Iraq which the Huffington Post has posted to their site. There is no closed caption but here's a transcript of the video.
Ahmed's Story: Surviving Persecution Against LGBT in Iraq
War and sectarian violence in Iraq forced thousands to flee for their lives and seek refuge elsewhere.
These people are stranded, unable to return to Iraq without risking their lives.
Ahmed had to flee Iraq as after the war intolerance towards homosexuality increased.
Neighboring countries fail to provide adequate protection to the growing number of refugees in Ahmed's situation.
For the safety of Ahmed and his family, identities have been concealed.
Ahmed:
I was studying medicine in Baghdad University but after the war
everybody starts to express every hatred he has. I don't support Saddam
[Hussein -- ruler the US overthrew with the Iraq War] and I don't like
him but at least there was law somehow. Sadly, my ex-boyfriend that I
met four years ago and I was devoted to him for four years, I gave him
my life, I gave him everything. He was the first boyfriend for me. He
lost his job and he started to ask me for money, okay? Immediately, I
started to give him, I give him everything I have. But then he started
to ask for more and more. I told him, "My love, I cannot any more
because my parents are suspecting. You know, I may lose my parents. He
said, "I don't care about your parents." I had a lot of private
pictures between me and him. He said, "You remember the photos we
had?" I said, "Yes." He said, "Imagine that I will send the CDs to
your uncles." I said, "No, you're joking." One day my sister called
me. She said, "You have to flee Baghdad now. I have just received a
call." She said that six of my uncles -- I have eight uncles -- they
received a small envelope under the main gates of their houses. A
letter was written with the CD: "Your son is one of Baghdad's biggest
gay bitches." They made a meeting, those uncles, and they decided they
want to make an 'honor' killing. And they want to shoot me in front of
people. I said, "Are they serious?" She said, "Sure they are serious.
You have to flee now. I prefer that you live in a far place rather than
seeing your name on a rock on a grave." I said, "Do you hate me?" She
said, "No, no. Just please, for God's sake, you have to flee."
Ahmed was able to escape to a neighbouring country, where he joined other family members.
Ahmed:
I had a kind of stable, calm life. You know, I lived with my mom and
dad, they loved me so much. I have my own friends and I had a boyfriend
there.There was a small shop called Sense for perfumes and I liked some
of their perfumes. I went there and I am paying. At that moment, I
felt a hand is grabbing my hair and two hands grabbing and pulling my
hands. I looked at them. I was shocked. The religious police. They
say, "You're a f**. Is that how a man has to look like?" Then we went
to the high court. The judge, he said, "You know, you are accused for
being a homosexual. I want to tell you something, you don't deserve to
live and you are a shame for your family, for the Iraqi nation, or for
the Muslim nation. God, he took a lot of time. More than you deserve."
In that jail, a police man entered. He said, "I know your story and I
feel sorry for you." I was so happy. I said, "At last there is a good
guy here." He said, "I want you to stand up." I said, "Okay." I stood
up. He said, "I want to make sure. Are you really f**got?" Then he
said, "Yeah, it seems that you are." Okay, then he tried with me. I
refused. I refused. I refused. I clenched and clenched and spass-ed my
muscles so as he won't be able to rape me fully. He was so mad. And he
said, "You bitch. I will turn your days to hell in this jail.
Ahmed's parents were able to get him a conditional release from jail, prior to his trial.
They then contacted IRAP.
With the help of the Iraqi Refugees Assistance Project, Ahmed is now living safely and openly in the United States.
In Iraq, however, violence against the LGBT community is resurging.
Support the work of IRAP and help others like Ahmed.
Visit RefugeeRights.org to donate.
Imagine living in Iraq today and being gay (or just being thought to be gay). Huffington Post notes, "As Reuters reports,
death squads have been targeting two separate groups -- gay men, and
those who dress in a distinctive, Western-influenced style called 'emo,'
which some Iraqis mistakenly associate with homosexuality, since the
start of this year."
Near the start of last month, Trudy Ring (SheWired) reported:
A recent wave of violence in Iraq has resulted in the kidnapping, torture, and killing of about 40 people perceived to be gay or lesbian, with the murder weapon sometimes being a concrete block to the head. The killings began in early February after an unidentified group put up posters with death threats against "adulterous individuals" in largely Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and Basra, reports the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. The threats listed the targets' names and ages, and gave them four days to change their behavior or face divine retribution. Some of the murders have been carried out by smashing the victims' skulls with concrete blocks or pushing them off roofs of tall buildings, says a report from two other groups, the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq and Iraqi LGBT.
Again,
imagine living in Iraq today and being gay (or just being thought to be
gay). And, yes, it was better for Iraq's LGBT community under Saddam
Hussein. As it was for Christians and for women and for minority groups
in general.
Of course, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared last month, "To
those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, let me say -- you
are not alone. Your struggle for an end to violence and discrimination
is a shared struggle. Any attack on you is an attack on the universal
values the United Nations and I have sworn to uphold."
What
pretty words. What a shame his Special Envoy to Iraq spits on those
words, betrays Iraq's LGBT community, stays silent as they're targeted
and killed, ignores the persecution.
As we noted yesterday, the
Special Envoy Martin Kobler appeared Tuesday before the United Nations
Security Council where he yammered away for approximately 20 minutes and
also handed in a written report/statement which was 17 pages long.
Though he was supposedly concerned about violence and targeted groups
and though he made his focus the first three months of the year, he
couldn't bring himself to mention the targeting of Iraq's LGBT
community. He could talk about the so-called 'honor' killings but not
in relation to gay men or lesbians. Ban Ki-moon assured the world's
LGBT community just last month that they were not alone. Just
yesterday, his Special Envoy to Iraq, made clear that, in fact, Iraq's
LGBTs are very much alone. Martin Kobler made very clear that the
United Nations, as represented by him in Iraq, will gladly and always
look the other way while thugs go on killing sprees. One of the slogan
of the United Nations is, "It's your world." But apparently that doesn't
apply for LGBTs. Someone with the UN to address whether Ban Ki-moon
was lying or if Martin Kobler just doesn't understand how offensive what
he did yesterday was?
Also smelling up the room
was US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice who didn't say a word about the
exclusion and silence despite the fact that she presided over the
Security Council hearing. The White House is aware, see this White House announcement,
that this is LGBT Pride Month. But Barack mouths a lot of pretty words
he apparently doesn't mean. This was made clear today when the White
House announced they would not issue an executive order barring
discrimination against LGBTs on the part of contractors awarded State
Dept or Defense Dept contracts. Byron Tau (POLITICO) reports:
Obama
is under pressure from some gay activists to endorse same-sex
marriage -- and his refusal to address discrimination through executive
order is unlikely to help him among those in the community who are
hoping for a more forceful stance on equality from the White House.
"I
don't know if the White House is politically homophobic, actually
homophobic, or just afraid of doing anything that might risk some
attention," Heather Cronk, the managing director of GetEQUAL.
"He's
not going to have hoards of gay folks running over and voting for
Romney," Cronk said, admitting that Obama stands little chance of losing
votes to Republicans over the issue. "The problem [is] that the White
House is making a calculation."
And
making it clear that they aren't that 'gay friendly,' let alone the
fierce advocate for gay rights Michelle used to insist Barack was.
As
shameful as Kobler's silence on the targeting of Iraq's LGBTs is the
Iranian press' refusal to be honest about what happened yesterday in the
hearing. Fars News Agency and the Islamic Republic News Agency
are among the outlets focusing on remarks read out loud by Iraq's
Ambassador to the UN Hamid al-Bayati while ignoring Kobler's remarks.
al-Bayati can demand that the Iranian dissidents who have been housed in
Iraq since 1986 leave and imply that this is the case and he can state
that the government of Iraq cannot keep these MEK in Iraq. That's in
contrast to remarks made by Kobler who stated that Iraq may have to
learn to be flexible with regards to the departure of the MEK. Only the
Iranian press even seemed to care about the issue, this despite it
being a signficant especially with regards to the US government which
gave the dissidents of Camp Ashraf protected persons status under the
Geneva coventions. We're going to include Kobler's full remarks on Camp
Ashraf since they've been ignored near completely by the press.
UN
Special Envoy to Iraq Martin Kobler: Madam President, a year ago on
8th of April 2011, the tragic incidents in Camp Ashraf led to the death
of dozens of Camp Ashraf residents and hundreds injured. In an effort to
reach a peaceful and durable solution, UNAMI and the government of Iraq
signed a memorandum of understanding on 25th of December 2011. The
government of Iraq agreed to extend the deadline for the closure of the
camp. From mid-February until now, almost 1,200 residents of Camp New
Iraq were safely relocated to the temporary transient location in Camp
Hurriyah, near Baghdad. UN monitors are deployed to monitor both the
relocation and the situation in Camp Hurriyah around the clock. The
UNHCR has a team at Camp Hurriyah to carry out the verfication and the
ajudication. I wish to make it clear that this memorandum of
understanding concerns voluntary relocation and its implementation is
based firmly on all sides acting peacefully and in good faith. It
should be noted that on 8th of April an incident took place at Camp Iraq
during the prepartion for the fourth transfer of residents. A
confrontation developed. UN monitors now report that the situation has
returned to calm. Both sides have no resumed cooperation in preparation
for the next trasfer. I would love to have reported that another 400
group of residents have moved to Camp Hurriyah. These incidents have
momentarily interrupted the relocation but as we speak, UN monitors are
at Camp Hurriyah and in Camp Liberty -- in Camp New Iraq and, I'm
pleased to report, that the next 400 residents will move immediately
once the loading of personal belongings is completed. This is a sign of
good will of the residents. And I will continue to be actively engaged
that an understanding is reached on the remaining issues. With this
move, half of the residents of Camp New Iraq will have been relocated
to Camp Hurriyah. I would like to take this opportunity to make the
following four remarks. First, I would like to commend the Iraqi
authorities, particularly Prime Minister al-Maliki for his advisers and
the commanding general and the many Iraqi police men and the Iraqi army
for their patience and cooperation in ensuring the safe and secure
relocation of the first three groups of the residents. I encourage them
to pursue the relocation of the remaining residents in a manner that
guarantees the residents human rights, safety and security. And avoid
everything which can be seen as provocative. We will do everything
possible to assist the government of Iraq to relocate the remaining
residents. There are, however, still major obstacles ahead which might
require flexability on the deadline. Second, I would also like to
highlight that the Camp residents, despite initial difficulties, have
shown goodwill and cooperation recently in the relocation process. The
residents have indeed come a long way. It is difficult to abandon a
place where one has lived for more than two decades. And I do encourage
the residents to continue to show good will and continue to work in a
cooperative spirit. Third, and most importantly, I reiterate my call to
member states to accept the residents. Now that the UNHCR has begun its
work, it is high time for the international community to accept
eligable candidates and fund the relocation process. The support of the
international community is urgently needed. I welcome the joint UNHCR
- UNAMI resettlement conference which took place last month on March
23rd. More than 30 member-states participated; however, no country has
committed to accept residents. A donors appeal meeting also took place
the same day seeking to raise $39 million US dollars fund for the Ashraf
Project. Only one member-state made a concrete pledge and this falls
far behind what we had hoped. Without international support, the
process cannot succeed. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my
colleagues in UNAMI, UNHCR and the Office of High Commissioner for Human
Rights for the hard work and support. The Ashraf file placed a heavy
burden on the mission. I could count on the support of most of my
colleagues. My admiration goes to the monitoring staff at Camp Hurriyah
and the UNHCR staff in particular -- those who accompanied the convoys
under truly dangerous conditions. As stated by the Secretary-General in
his report the process is still fragile and incidents of violence
cannot be excluded. We must, therefore, remain vigilant.
Again, Kobler speaking to the UN Security Council yesterday.
On the hearing, AP, Trend News Agency, Antiwar.com (Margaret Griffis)
rushed to tell you that Special Envoy Martin Kobler declared 613 Iraqis
were killed in the first three months of the year. Those are not UN
numbers, the United Nations doesn't keep its own count. Those are the
official numbers from the Iraqi government. For a more reliable and
independt The independent Iraq Body Count
has a different number. IBC says 295 civilians died in March, 278 in
February and 458 in January. That's 1031. That's over 400 more than what
Kobler offered. (418 more, check my math -- always.) If you're going
to run with a number Kobler gave, it's probaby a good idea to provide
another number so that readers can compare and contrast.
The press also missed that Kobler states the ongoing political crisis is resulting in violence. UN Special Envoy Martin Kobler: [. . .] the tensions that have arisen between the main party blocs in Iraq which have developed into a political impasse. I have therefore Iraqi political parties and leaders to work together in the spirit of partnership towards finding common ground that will resolve their differences. In this regard, Iraqiya's decision to end its boycott of the Council of Ministers and Council of Representatives was the right step. President [Jalal] Talabani suggested holding a National Conference as a way forward to bring about an end to the stalemate. Unfortunately, until today, there was no agreement on the agenda. An inclusive forum is needed, however, as a first step to end the political impasse. I call on all Iraqi leaders to sit together to address all their differences in a meaningful way. UNAMI stands ready to continue supporting these efforts. [. . .] I'm concerned that Iraq's political situation is heightening communal tensions in the country and leading to an increase in the number of attacks on civilians. Not only was Kobler's remarks on the political crisis ignored so were those by US Ambassador to Iraq Susan Rice in her press briefing (mainly on Syria, she dismissed the topic of Iraq quickly) who noted Martin Kobler had spoken of the political crisis, "SRSG Kobler and Council members noted the importance for Iraq to resolve political differences and to address the concerns of all political blocs in an inclusive forum."
On the topic of violence, Reuters reports
that Diyala Province saw multiple home bombings today in an organized
attack by unknown assailants which left 5 people dead and another six
injured.
Meanwhile the day started with confusion and ends that way. This morning BBC News and Sameer N. Yacoub (AP)
were among those reporting that Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi
stated two more of his bodyguards had died in the custody of Nouri's
security forces. In a later report, Yacoub notes that Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council is maintaining there have not been any deaths. Al Rafidayn was reporting the denial several hours prior to AP.
They also note that al-Hashemi is calling for Parliament to
investigate. Someone needs to and doesn't appear that the press did
since the story is no more clearer this evening than it was this
morning.
In the US, peace activist
Cindy Sheehan refuses to pay her taxes as a protest against empire and
the perpetual war. As a result of her activism, the US government now
wants to take her to court. She notes:
Ecological Wisdom • Social Justice • Grassroots Democracy • Non-Violence
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Green Party of Michigan
News Release
April 11, 2012
For More Information, Contact:
Media Coordinator: Jennifer La Pietra (508)280-1360
Green Party of Michigan Concerned About Consent Agreement
(Detroit)
- On April 4th, the Detroit City Council approved a consent agreement
by a vote of 5-4. The close vote emphasizes the controversial nature of
the final agreement, its measures clearly unfair to citizens of Detroit,
and especially union workers.
The
Green Party of Michigan has long supported unions and works to assure
that the people's voice is heard in government, encouraging groups which
are in line with our stated goals. John Anthony La Pietra, Platform
Committee Chair explains: "We endorse the sharp criticisms of the
consent agreement expressed on Monday in a letter to City Council
members by Concerned Citizens for Democracy. The Green Party of Michigan
believes in grassroots democracy as one of its key values -- that's why
we oppose the anti-democratic power grabs of Public Act 4 and this
coercive contract on Detroit."
One
of the most unsettling of the measures include the ability of the city
to void contracts, which could prove detrimental to the unions which are
the heart of many of Detroit's industries, clearly a measure not
desired by the numerous union workers in the city. The agreement also
calls for the city to slash costs, unfortunately, with no assistance
from the state. While re-examining expenditures and emphasizing
efficiency is important for recovery on any level, cuts called for by
this agreement will have to be made by the average struggling citizen.
The
threatened alternative of an emergency manager could be even worse than
a consent agreement, so a well-reasoned consent agreement which places
more power in the hands of the citizens it affects would pave a road to
recovery. For weeks, Detroit's residents watched press releases
anxiously, hoping that the unjust Emergency Manager Law would not be
implemented in their city as has been the case in surrounding
communities. However, as the debts continued to mount, a record-making
financial collapse began to seem disturbingly possible. And without
adequate financial support, the consent agreement could slide down the
slippery slope and put the city under an emergency manager anyway.
What makes this consent agreement worrisome is the similarity between the emergency manager and the appointed "financial advisory board" (along with other bureaucrats appointed by the mayor). Even though the consent agreement states explicitly that its goal is to improve finances while maintaining a safe, secure environment, maintaining public services and attracting business, the financial advisory board's main goal is improving finances. Maintaining, or especially growing, a city requires an influx of funds - not a reduction. The consent agreement is self-defeating.
A
city in such financial straits undoubtedly needs a boost to get it
started down the path to financial solvency. The expectation that
Detroit will be able to live under the strict budgetary constraints and
pay down its debts at the same time seems unreasonable. Flint's
emergency manager realized the same of his situation as he prepared a
budget proposal for the city. It included a request for $20 million in
bonds backed by the state. Detroit leaders should have insisted on a
similar commitment.
The
timing of the back and forth agreement authorship between Governor
Snyder and Mayor Bing is far from coincidental. This consent agreement
could not have come too quickly for the governor as a successful
petition drive is very near to making the implementation of an Emergency
Manager a moot threat. Even despite a feeble challenge to the type size
on the petition, there is every likelihood that it will pass. If it
does, the Emergency Manager Law will be suspended until Michiganders can
vote on it. The governor undoubtedly knows that support for his law is
very slim, so he is using it while he can.
Art
Myatt, Green Party of Michigan Vice-Chair, sums up the reasons why the
consent agreement isn't in the city's best interest: "It looks to
service the city's budget at the expense of the city's people and the
city's employees, and to preclude the possibility of the affected
population interfering with the process by way of local elections."
###
|
No comments:
Post a Comment