So where is the democracy? Where is the freedom?
Tony bombed for her | 15.05.2003 08:42
A New Kind of Democracy
A 22 year old Iraqi college student at Baghdad University speaks out about "democracy" and the occupation of Iraq.
by Hamsa Mohammed
A 22 year old Iraqi college student at Baghdad University speaks out about "democracy" and the occupation of Iraq.
by Hamsa Mohammed
05/14/03
As an Iraqi civilian, and after being through this war, and after listening to all that has been said and done, I want everyone to know that this war has just begun. This isn’t the end. And everyone should know that the Iraqi people are ready to sacrifice their lives for Iraq, and only for Iraq – not for Saddam, and not for the Americans.
For years, most of the people have seen Iraq through Saddam We always tried to make people see them as two different things, but it was too hard. Now that Saddam is no more the question is—what will the world see?
The United States said, or to be more precise—George Bush said that they will enter Iraq as liberators not as occupiers, and that they are here to eliminate an aggressive regime, to destroy the weapons of mass destruction, to offer the Iraqi people freedom and independence, and to help Iraq regain a respected place in the world.
But will Iraq be just another American State?
From my place now we are not even respected in our own land. We don’t have the right to say anything about what the Americans are doing. They hold the machine guns, and we don’t. Is this the new, George Bush democracy?
We are calling for democracy. We want our voices to go out to the world with no fear. But that is not possible because we are not free. We are not free to move, especially at night. We are not allowed to film near any U.S. military (just like with Saddam!). Al-Jazeera TV was threatened and accused that they were not showing the right (American) viewpoint, and their live pictures of the war were not true, and so their office got bombed and one of their reporters were murdered because the American government was not pleased with their programs. Is this the new, George Bush democracy?
Voices in the Wilderness was banned from working at the Palestine hotel because they did some writing that showed part of this reality. So they had to be stopped. So where is the democracy? Where is the freedom?
We don’t even have the right to protect ourselves and our families. We see crimes that are committed, and we can’t stop them. We can’t even say “no” to anything the American soldiers are doing, even if it is illegal.
For example, the weapons that they find now, in the city, they are destroying them in the middle of Baghdad – in the city where children, women, and men live, with no concern for what it might do to the properties of the people, and some of our people have lost their lives and houses because of those destructions. They don’t have any other place to live. Who is responsible for that?
In addition to that, the pollution that these destructions are causing to the environment, and the diseases that might appear because of no clean water, and not enough medicines, threaten all of us.
Who is in charge of this? Who is responsible for all these crimes? Or this the new, George Bush democracy, where no one can say, “No!”?
-----
Hamsa Mohammed is a 22 year old Iraqi college student at Baghdad University, and captain of the women’s volleyball team. She would like to be a writer.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3377.htm
As an Iraqi civilian, and after being through this war, and after listening to all that has been said and done, I want everyone to know that this war has just begun. This isn’t the end. And everyone should know that the Iraqi people are ready to sacrifice their lives for Iraq, and only for Iraq – not for Saddam, and not for the Americans.
For years, most of the people have seen Iraq through Saddam We always tried to make people see them as two different things, but it was too hard. Now that Saddam is no more the question is—what will the world see?
The United States said, or to be more precise—George Bush said that they will enter Iraq as liberators not as occupiers, and that they are here to eliminate an aggressive regime, to destroy the weapons of mass destruction, to offer the Iraqi people freedom and independence, and to help Iraq regain a respected place in the world.
But will Iraq be just another American State?
From my place now we are not even respected in our own land. We don’t have the right to say anything about what the Americans are doing. They hold the machine guns, and we don’t. Is this the new, George Bush democracy?
We are calling for democracy. We want our voices to go out to the world with no fear. But that is not possible because we are not free. We are not free to move, especially at night. We are not allowed to film near any U.S. military (just like with Saddam!). Al-Jazeera TV was threatened and accused that they were not showing the right (American) viewpoint, and their live pictures of the war were not true, and so their office got bombed and one of their reporters were murdered because the American government was not pleased with their programs. Is this the new, George Bush democracy?
Voices in the Wilderness was banned from working at the Palestine hotel because they did some writing that showed part of this reality. So they had to be stopped. So where is the democracy? Where is the freedom?
We don’t even have the right to protect ourselves and our families. We see crimes that are committed, and we can’t stop them. We can’t even say “no” to anything the American soldiers are doing, even if it is illegal.
For example, the weapons that they find now, in the city, they are destroying them in the middle of Baghdad – in the city where children, women, and men live, with no concern for what it might do to the properties of the people, and some of our people have lost their lives and houses because of those destructions. They don’t have any other place to live. Who is responsible for that?
In addition to that, the pollution that these destructions are causing to the environment, and the diseases that might appear because of no clean water, and not enough medicines, threaten all of us.
Who is in charge of this? Who is responsible for all these crimes? Or this the new, George Bush democracy, where no one can say, “No!”?
-----
Hamsa Mohammed is a 22 year old Iraqi college student at Baghdad University, and captain of the women’s volleyball team. She would like to be a writer.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3377.htm
Tony bombed for her
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15.05.2003 09:17
UK troops took the port seven weeks ago
The port of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq has become the first town to be handed back to local people since the end of the US-led conflict.
UK soldiers, who took control of the strategic port seven weeks ago, have passed control to a temporary town council of twelve professionals.
Elections for permanent council members are to be held on 22 May.
Iraq has not had its own government since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.
A new US administrator for Iraq, Paul Bremer, arrived in the country on Monday to lead the American post-war team.
Among his duties will be overseeing the political transition towards the creation of an interim Iraqi Government.
Withdrawal
A short ceremony was held in Umm Qasr on Thursday to officially mark the handing over, with British Lieutenant Colonel Peter Jones representing the UK forces.
Umm Qasr - with a population of 45,000 - was the first town to fall to the coalition and is the first to return to Iraqi control since the war.
It was a key military objective and has been a vital port for delivering humanitarian aid.
Efforts have been made to redress the disruption caused by the war in the area.
Public services have been restored and a new local police force is providing security in the harbour town.
On Saturday, the 200 UK soldiers will withdraw, leaving only a handful in case of problems.
The democratic elections being held next week will allow anyone over 18 years old to vote.
The chairman of the interim council said it was a great moment - the first time in more than 35 years that the people have had a real say in the way their town is run.
Saddam
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3029795.stm