Rivers of Blood, Rivers of Tears Unspoken Crimes Against Humanity Committed Against the People of Iraq

Dirk Adriaensens, member of the Executive Committee of the BRussells Tribunal

February 25, 2012 The Iraqi People: Criminally Neglected by the International Community Open Letter to The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay - 09 February 2012 Content: Introduction 1. US soldiers have a licence to kill 2. Accountability 3. Maliki's culture of death 4. Eleven Iraqi men in danger of being executed 5. Rivers of blood: the WikiLeaks war logs 6. You shouldn’t trust Mr Maliki’s government 7. Maliki’s sectarian policies in education 8. Sectarianism through the back door 9. Iraqi academics under attack 10. Iraq’s Universities now the worst in the Arab World 11. Rivers of tears: no rights for women in Iraq 12. Enforced Disappearance 13. Investigation in Jadiriya detention and torture scandal needed 14. Results of Investigation into Ministry of Higher Education abduction scandal? 15. Efforts of the OHCHR: too little, too late 16. Tareq Aziz and the arbitrariness of the executioners 17. The "Dujail wedding massacre" 18. Executions after enforced confessions under torture 19. Mass Arrests 20. Were Iraqi Security Forces Involved in Baghdad Church Massacre? 21. Bloodmoney: Laura Bush Children’s Hospital in Basrah 22. About the OHCHR webpage on Iraq 23. International Criminal Court: Criminal denial 24. Sectarianism and dirty war in Iraq continue 25. Media disinformation 26. Conclusion 27. Footnotes ___________________________________________________

Farmers furious after Iraq stops buying US rice

The Associated Press

Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 | 12:52 a.m.

The talk of the day among Ray Stoesser and other rice farmers is Iraq's decision not to buy U.S. rice, a stinging move that adds to a stressful year punctuated by everything from drought to unusual heat.

Stoesser and other farmers know Iraqis struggled during the U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation. They know most countries _ and people _ buy based on price.
But at the moment, with production costs rising, export markets shrinking and rice prices dropping, it's difficult to be rational and suppress emotions so intimately intertwined with their land and livelihood.
"That's just not right," the 63-year-old Stoesser fumed. "If we've got some rice to sell, they ought to pay a premium for it just because this is the country that freed them."
Iraq imports most of its rice, about 1 million metric tons per year, making it a significant player in the global market. In the past decade, about 10 percent to 15 percent of that total came from the United States. But Iraq hasn't bought any U.S. rice since late 2010.
"You would think with all that we've done over there, there would be a way to get them to do business with us," said Ronald Gertson, who grows rice in Lissie, Texas.
Iraq has been buying instead from Asia and South America, and it recently lowered its quality standards so it would be able to buy rice from India, something that was impossible under the Iraqi Grain Board's old rules, said Andy Aaronson, chairman of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rice Interagency Commodity Estimate Committee. It also recently bought rice from Uruguay, which grows a variety similar to the American one but sold for less.
"Iraq seems to be buying on price, and the lowest offered price is coming now from India," Aaronson said.
In Iraq, officials said the decision to forego American rice largely came down to a matter of taste. A Trade Ministry official said Iraq has decided to import only long-grain basmati rice from India due to its wide acceptance nationwide and cheap price.
"We have no problem with the U.S. rice specifically, which was widely acceptable by Iraqis, but we are seeing a demand for the Indian rice rather than others, which is also bought in good prices," he added.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to make a statement on government policies. He would not comment on U.S. farmers' anger or their argument that Iraq should buy U.S. rice because thousands of Americans died in the war there.
Iraq had accounted for about 2 percent to 5 percent of U.S. sales each year. It stopped buying American rice during the Gulf War in the early 1990s and in 2003, when the most recent war started, Aaronson said. Every other year, though, during the war, insurgency and U.S. occupation, the Iraqi Grain Board bought American rice.
Iraq's abandonment of U.S. rice comes as Haiti, once an exclusively American market, and Central America, another major buyer, also seek cheaper options elsewhere.
The lost sales sting because the U.S., unlike China and other major rice-growing nations, exports nearly half of its crop. With less demand from overseas, prices have dropped while production costs, including for fuel, have risen. The combination is squeezing farmers, Aaronson said. Rice acres in the United States decreased last year and will likely drop again as farmers switch to crops that will make them more money.
About half of the 3 million acres of rice typically planted in the U.S. each year are in Arkansas. The remainder comes from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and California.
When Iraq sought bids on rice a few months ago, word on the street was the U.S. would have a piece of the action, said Mike Wagner, who grew up on a rice farm in Sumner, Miss. When that didn't happen, Wagner and other rice farmers say they were shocked.
"We invested so much in that country, and we feel like it's something of a slap in the face," said Wagner, who's considering planting more soybeans or a new crop on his 4,000-acre Mississippi Delta farm.
John Alter, 64, also is considering alternatives. Usually, about one-third of his 1,500-acre farm in DeWitt, Ark., is devoted to rice. This year, it would be risky to dedicate too much land to the crop, he said. The loss of imports is disappointing, Alter said, noting the price difference between U.S. rice and Uruguayan grain was small.
"We spent billions and billions, if not trillions over there, and lots of people died," Alter said. "There should be some reciprocation ... Last time I checked, there wasn't any Uruguayan soldiers that lost their lives in Iraq."
___
Associated Press Writer Sinan Salaheddin contributed from Baghdad.
___

Iraq snapshot

Friday, February 24, 2012

Iraq snapshot

Friday, February 24, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, the press loves to play, can you be both something and also linked to that something (no), Iraqi youths turn out to protest and make new demands, the 2012 budget is finally passed in Iraq, Veterans For Peace calls on the White House to drop the charges against Bradley Manning, and more.    Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports the US Embassy in Iraq has issued a statement on yesterday's attacks throughout the country which includes, "These heinous acts targeted people going to work and shopping, children going to school and security forces working to protect the citizenry."  Yes, that would be wrong.  Which is why, of course, that the US government evacuated every Iraqi out of the country in February 2003 in anticipation of the invasion.  It's why the US ensured that no one was in Falluja before they started their November 2004 assault.  What's that?  Oh, right.  The US government didn't do either of those things.  It launched a war and didn't give a damn about children going to school or people going to work or people shopping or anything.  It launched an illegal war of choice and now it thinks there's some high ground that can be stood on?  There is none.   Last December, Iraq War veteran Ross Caputi (Guardian) wrote about the November 2004 attack on Falluja:   I do not see any contradiction in feeling sympathy for the dead American Marines and soldiers and at the same time feeling sympathy for the Fallujans who fell to their guns.  The contradiction lies in believing that we were liberators, when in fact we opprssed the freedoms and wishes of Fallujahs.  The contradiction lies in believing that we were heroes, when the definition of "hero" bares no relation to our actions in Fallujah. What we did to Fallujah cannot be undone, and I see no point in attacking the people in my former unit.  What I want to attack are the lies and false beliefs.  I want to destroy the prejudcies that prevented us from putting ourselves in the other's shoes and asking ourselves what we would ahve done if a foreign army invaded our country and laid siege to our city. I understand the psychology that causes the aggressors to blame their victims.  I understand the justifications and defense mechanisms.  I understand the emotional urge to want to hate the people who killed someone dear to you.  But to describe the psychology that preserves such false beliefs is not to ignore the objective moral truth that no attacker can ever justly blame their victims for defending themselves.   Ross Caputi is the founding director of the Justice for Fallujah Project. And the birth defects that continue to be found in the children born in the area after the 2004 assault is not something Iraqis have forgotten or will.  Alsumaria TV's most watched report this month was this report on the birth defects in Falluja.  Last week, Matthis Chiroux spoke at the Occupy Military Recruiters actions in Manhattan (link is video at World Can't Wait).     Matthis Chiroux: Hey everybody, I'm Matthis. I haven't spoken out in awhile. I've been going to college and learning about the corruption in the market places and the courthouse and right here in these military recruiting centers. And on these US military bases all over the world. These abuses are not part of the story these recruiters are trying to sell your kids. They're trying to sell your kids the Boy Scouts. They're trying to sell your kids the Girl Scouts. They're trying to sell your kids the Peace Corps. The mission they are selling is to engage and destroy so called enemies of the United States of America. Killing bombing writing through streets with guns doesn't help people, is not the Boy Scouts, is not the Girl Scouts, is not fostering democracy. It's fostering a lot of debt. It's fostering a lot of hatred. It's fostering a lot of abuse. And the military, it bears the face of that abuse You see it in vets who come home and can't ever feel normal again. You've seen soldiers who are still in the military can't picture a life without war.   Matthis is an Afghanistan War veteran and Iraq War resister.  He and Ross Caputi made some very important observations that appeared to escape our 'wise' press.  Fortunately, on the second hour of today's The Diane Rehm Show (NPR), Diane and guests Abderrahim Foukara (Al Jazeera) and Moises Naim (El Pais) were able to discuss yesterday's violent attack across Iraq in an adult manner.       Abderrahim Foukara: Obviously, these bombings in Iraq have happened in a very interesting context because Maliki has been touting himself as the leader of the Iraqi Spring.  He's been saying, 'My government' which is a Shi'ite dominated government 'has brought stability to Iraq.'  The Iraqis are actually gearing up for hosting the Arab Summit in Baghdad as another sign that the government in Iraq thinks that Iraq is stable.  The Saudis, to placate the Iraqis and reward them for joining the boycott of the sanctions against Syria, have said that they will actually -- that they have actually appointed an ambassador for the first time to Iraq since 1990.  So I think this spate of bombings is really the answer to all this talk coming out  of Baghdad that the situation is under control.   Diane Rehm: Could this be sectarian warfare?   Abderrhaim Foukara:  There is definitely sectarian warfare.  Nouri's government is Shi'ite dominated government and it's seen by many Sunnis -- not just in Iraq but also in the neighborhood of Iraq --  it's seen as a proxy of Iran.   Moises Naim: It is sectarian and has sectarian elements but let's remember it is also about power.  These are the use of sectarian sentiments and manipulation of religious feelings and ethnic divides  this is a very, very basic fight for power and how to share power between different groups that are jockeying to dominate politics and government in Iraq.

Plundering the past: Scholarly Treasuers

by Sinan Antoon

[Art by Mohammad Alshammarey. Image from artist]

“Not a year has passed without hunger in Iraq,” wrote the great Iraqi poet al-Sayyab (1926–1964) more than half a century ago in his memorable poem “Rainsong.” Now, many years and many wars later, there is hunger aplenty. Were he alive today, al-Sayyab would have expressed nothing short of horror at the massive hunger in the “new” Iraq, especially when considering the obscene wealth that has been and is still being plundered and squandered by its rulers.
One in six Iraqis live in poverty. This is in a nation with the second highest oil reserves in the world and a budget surplus of more than fifty billion US dollars in 2011. According to Transparency International, Iraq has one of the most corrupt governments in the world. Some of the wealth stays inside the country and is spread among the beneficiaries and clients of the new political elite. Much of it, however, is transferred outside and translated into real estate or other assets, or is often hard to trace. Not a year has passed without plunder in Iraq.
The villains are not only or always Iraqis and the stolen money is not US taxpayer money. At least eighteen billion US dollars from Iraq’s frozen assets in the United States and from the surplus of the United Nations (UN) Oil-for-Food Program was sent from the Federal Reserve Currency Repository in New Jersey to Iraq right after the war. It was slated for the so-called Iraq Development Fund (IDF) during L. Paul Bremmer’s reign. All of that is now missing and there is not a single piece of paper to account for it or explain its whereabouts. Aside from the monstrous US embassy in Baghdad, the Iraq Reconstruction has nothing to show.
The executive summary of the Congressional Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan stated in its August 2011 report that “at least 31 US billion dollars, and possibly as much as 60 US billion dollars, have been lost to contract waste and fraud” in both countries. Perhaps this is what Fouad Ajami had in mind when he described the invasion and occupation of Iraq as an “acquisition.” The plunder has not been limited to paper money. Scholars have documented the pillaging of Iraq’s ancient and modern cultural heritage immediately after the invasion of 2003. Some have called it a form of “cultural cleansing.” Every now and then we read “happy stories” about some of these stolen artifacts being found in the United States and returned to Iraq. But much remains missing.
It is not only precious artifacts and relics from Iraq’s ancient history that were smuggled to the United States. The United States pillaged millions of documents belonging to the Iraqi state. Another important collection of official records was seized by an Iraqi-American. The itinerary of this archive and the rhetoric legitimizing its “acquisition” is quite telling. In April 2003, Kanan Makiya, one of the cheerleaders of the war (during its first few weeks he wrote that the bombing was music to his ears) made his way to the basement under the Ba'th Party’s headquarters in Baghdad. Makiya removed the records he found there to his family home in what became later the Green Zone. The house supposedly became the Baghdad office of the Iraq Memory Foundation, a Washington, DC-based institution he established. The entire staff of the Iraq Memory Foundation is comprised of five persons, two of whom are not Iraqi. It has no advisory board of any sort, nor does it have any links to any Iraqi historians. It has no presence on the ground in Iraq outside the Green Zone. In 2005, the foundation reached an agreement with the US army to ship the documents to the United States.
Considering the rampant corruption of both the US occupation and the Iraqi puppet regime it installed in Iraq none of this is surprising. Nevertheless, it does not change the fact that these documents are not anyone’s private property. They belong to the Iraqi people and their seizure and transfer to the United States. was a violation of international law. Despite calls from Saad Eskander, the Director General of Iraq’s National Library and Archive, to return these documents to Iraq, the Iraq Memory Foundation decided otherwise. In January of 2008, the foundation signed an agreement with the Hoover Institution to transfer the documents there. Opposition did not only come from inside Iraq. In April of 2008, the Society of American Archivist (SAA) and the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA), the world’s largest organization of archivists with 5100 members, expressed its “deep concern about [these] records and others obtained by the United States. . . in actions [that] may be considered an act of pillage, which is specifically forbidden by the 1907 Hague Convention.” The letter stressed that these records must be returned to Iraq “to be maintained as part of the official records in the National Library and Archives.”
These plundered documents are a treasure for scholars. They illuminate the inner dynamics of the Ba'th regime and trace its growth and detail its various visceral effects on Iraqi society. But, alas, neither Iraqi scholars, nor Iraqi citizens, the victims of the Ba'th regime, have access to these important documents from their visceral past. One of the “happy” stories about the benefits of this plunder to “our knowledge” speaks about the intensity with which some scholars are working on these “recovered” documents. “Recovered” is the key word here. The plunder is conveniently erased. But not for Iraqis. They have to live with the loss and fight to retrieve their plundered memory. And not a year has passed without plunder in Iraq.
As for the concerned scholars who mine this archive to “understand” the barbarism of the Ba'th regime, I wonder if they will find time to contemplate the "barbarism [that] taints the manner in which it was transmitted from one owner to another," to borrow Benjamin's words.

TURKEY VERSUS DEMOCRACY

Prof. Khatchatur I. Pilikian
Again and Again Turkey: Freedom of Expression Under Attacks Solidarity Meeting for Imprisoned Journalists, Human Rights Activists
Academics, Publishers, Elected Kurdish Politicians
3rd February 2012
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London
Organised by Kurdish Society at SOAS
Kurdish Studies and Student Organisation (KSSO)
Give me an adequate army, with power to provide it with more pay and better food than falls to the lot of average man, and I will undertake within thirty years, to make the majority of the population believe that two and two are three, that water freezes when it gets hot and boils when it gets cold, or any other nonsense that might seem to serve the interest of the state. Of course, even when these beliefs have been generated, people would not put the kettle in the refrigerator when they wanted it to boil […] No person who did not enthusiastically accept the official doctrine would be allowed to teach or to have any position of power. Only the highest officials, in their cups would whisper to each other what rubbish it all is; then they would laugh and drink again. (Unpopular Essays, 1950),

Read more

Iraq: Amnesty International Report 2011

For decades the people of Iraq have suffered appalling human rights abuses, and the devastating consequences of war and economic sanctions continues.

Our members and supporters have campaigned tirelessly for the rights and dignity of the Iraqis.

As the future of the country remains uncertain, the work we do to protect individuals and their rights has never been more important.

Read about Iraq in our 2011 Annual Report

تقرير منظمة العفو الدولية لعام 2011

العراق

رئيس الدولة

جلال الطالباني

رئيس الحكومة الانتقالية

نوري المالكي

عقوبة الإعدام

مطبَّقة

تعداد السكان

31.5 مليون نسمة

متوسط العمر المتوقع

68.5 سنة

معدل وفيات الأطفال دون الخامسة

43 (ذكور)/ 38 (إناث) لكل ألف

معدل الإلمام بالقراءة والكتابة لدى البالغين

77.6 بالمئة

• خلفية
• الانتهاكات على أيدي جماعات مسلحة
• الاحتجاز بدون محاكمة
• التعذيب وغيره من صنوف المعاملة السيئة
• الوفيات أثناء الاحتجاز
• محاكمة المسؤولين السابقين في «حزب البعث»
• انتهاكات حقوق الإنسان على أيدي القوات الأمريكية
• العنف ضد النساء والفتيات
• اللاجئون والنازحون داخلياً
• عقوبة الإعدام
• منطقة كردستان العراق
• الزيارات/التقارير القطرية لمنظمة العفو الدولية

الهيئة تحمل الحكومة الحالية مسؤولية استمرار الاعتقالات الظالمة

حمَلت هيئة علماء المسلمين، حكومة الاحتلال الخامسة مسؤولية استمرار الاعتقالات العشوائية 

الجائرة التي تنفذها قواتها الهمجية ـ التي نشأت في ظل الاحتلال الغاشم ـ منذ تسع سنوات ضد العراقيين الابرياء.

واكدت الهيئة في تصريح صحفي اصدره قسم الثقافة والاعلام فيها اليوم ان قوات حكومية كبيرة تابعة للفرقة (11) من الجيش الحكومي، وأخرى من ما تسمى قوات مغاوير الداخلية الحالية، ترافقها أكثر من (100) عجلة عسكرية طوقت يومي الاحد والاثنين الماضيين منطقة الاعظمية شمال العاصمة بغداد، وشنت حملة دهم وتفتيش واسعة النطاق اعتلقت خلالها (40) مواطناً بينهم اطفال وطاعنين في السن ومدرسين وطلبة جامعيين، واقتادتهم الى جهة مجهولة، دون تبرير هذه الجريمة النكراء . ونسب القسم الى شهود عيان في المنطقة المذكورة قولهم ان تلك القوات المسعورة قامت كعادتها بتحطيم ابواب المنازل التي طالتها عمليات الدهم والتفتيش الظالمة، وعبثت باثاثها ومحتوياتها بطريقة واساليب وحشية، أثارت الخوف والرعب في صفوف العائلات ولا سيما الاطفال والنساء، كما اعتدت على المواطنين الامنين باطلاق الشتائم والالفاظ النابية ضدهم.  وفي ختام التصريح الصحفي لفتت هيئة علماء المسلمين، الانتباه الى ان الممارسات القمعية والانتهاكات الصارخة التي تقترفها الاجهزة الحكومية بشكل يومي ضد العراقيين في العاصمة بغداد وعدد من المحافظات تهدف الى إرهاب هذا الشعب الابي ومحاولة كسر إرادته واصراره على مواصلة الصبر والصمود .. مطالبة بإطلاق سراح جميع المعتقلين فورا.  يشار الى ان قوات امنية حكومية كانت قد نفذت يوم امس الاثنين حملة دهم وتفتيش طالت مناطق مختلفة من محافظات ( نينوى، وبابل، وذي قار، وواسط )، اعتقلت خلالها أكثر من (32) مواطناً .  الهيئة نت the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMSI), holds the fifth occupation government responsible for the continued and intensified campaign of arbitrary arrests carried out by the [oppressive forces] trained during the brutal occupation for nine years against innocent Iraqis.  AMSI issued a press statement issued by the Department of Culture and Information, the brigade number (11) of the government army and another of the so-called forces commandos commandos of the Interior ministry, accompanied by more than (100) military vehicle cordoned off on Sunday and Monday the Adhamiya district north of the capitalBaghdad, and launched a campaign of raids and searches and arresting during which (40) citizen, including children and very elderly, teachers, university students, and took them to an unknown destination, without justifying this heinous crime. Eye witness accounts state that those forces smashed the doors of houses which had been affected by the unlawful raids and inspections , and rampaged thru the houses' contents of the manner and methods of brutality, sparked fear and terror among the families, especially children and women, and attacked the peaceful citizens by firing insults and improper words against them. At the end of press release drew the Association of Muslim Scholars, the attention to the practices of oppression and flagrant violations committed by government agencies on a daily basis against the Iraqis in Baghdad and several provinces designed to terrorize the people, proud people and try to break his will and his determination to continue to be patient and endure .. Demand the release of all detainees immediately. It is said that government security forces had been carried out on Monday a campaign of raids and searches affected different areas of the governorates (Ninewa, and Babil, Dhi Qar, and Wasit), and arrested more than (32) citizen.

water worries: three million drink from mosul’s poisoned river

       niqash | Abdul-Hadi Mohammed | Mosul | 22.02.2012

One thing the troubled city of Mosul doesn’t have to worry about is water: the River Tigris flows through it. However, as pollution levels go up, fish die and waste is dumped there, that may soon change.

One of the problems that the oft-troubled northern city of Mosul does not have is a water supply. The Tigris River passes through the city, the capital of the state of Ninawa, dividing it into two coasts. And as it passes through, the river’s waters are used by a wide variety of businesses and private households on its banks.

The local sewage department estimates that there are 172 sources of sewage pouring about half a million cubic meters of waste water into the river daily, including waste water from private households and factories, some of which are state-owned.

On the banks of the Tigris, there are a number of construction sites, industrial areas and one large medical complex. Various types of liquids and solids find their way into the river, some of them dangerous, many of them untreated and polluting. In the past, reports have suggested that medical waste was being thrown directly into the river – even though the local health department denies this.

“One of the biggest cities in Iraq after Baghdad, and Mosul doesn’t even have a real sewage system,” the head of the local sewage department, engineer Anwar Ammar, complained. “The current system was designed to collect rainwater but now it’s used to dispose of industrial, commercial and residential wastewater. There is only one real sewage system in two small residential compounds,” he added.

Some of the first to draw attention to the problems the local populace is facing as the Tigris gets more polluted, were local fishermen. There’s been a decrease in numbers making a living this way and the federal Ministry of Agriculture published a report indicating that fish stock numbers were falling right around Iraq, and that the main cause was water pollution. 

“The quality of the river waters has been worsening for some time – because there’s less water in the river, the changes in river temperature and the increased amount of floating oil slicks and other waste,” local fisherman Abu Ali, 50, said. “Fish are not coming into the river anymore. Ten years ago fish from the Tigris, especially the carp, were sold all over Iraq,” he noted.

Aware of the seriousness of this issue, the local government formed a committee in August 2011 to assess the levels of pollution in the Tigris River. The committee confirmed that around 100,000 tons of salt and chemicals were finding their way into the river every year. Crude oil, and crude oil derivatives, from the Kasak area in western Mosul, were also finding their way into the river.

Dried animal dung was entering the river around the Badush area, through which the Tigris flowed, and there was also an impact from heavy metals coming from a former military installation upriver. Cadmium, which can cause a variety of health problems, was a particular issue.

Reports from the province’s water department, sighted by NIQASH, mention other reasons for concern. Untreated wastes from cities north of Mosul – Zakho and Dohuk – end up in the Khabur River, which then flows into the Tigris.

Unfortunately the main water purification plant serving Mosul’s population for drinking water is located on the Tigris River. “The river is at risk and those concerned with water purification must rely mainly on chlorine for purification processes,” Mohammed al-Ghannam, the chairman of Mosul's environment and health committee, explained. As al-Ghannam, who is an ophthalmologist by profession, pointed out: “this has an impact on people’s health”.

Additionally, he said, diseases like cholera were spreading and kidney disease and allergies were on the rise too. “If river pollution is not controlled there will be serious consequences,” he said.

Local power stations were also having an impact. “Thermal power stations cause pollution too because they use water for cooling their motors, and this too affects the water ecology,” Fakhri Yassin, a professor of engineering at Mosul University, explained. “The sand and gravel quarries on the upper side of the river have also contributed to pollution because they’ve increased the amount of plankton in the river. This in turn leads to an enormous consumption of oxygen in the water. And that is why medium sized and larger fish have become rare in the river.”

The local committee tasked with researching the issue concluded by saying that waste shouldn’t be dumped into the Tigris, if it hadn’t been treated according to generally accepted international standards. The committee also suggested that special regulations be introduced to ban the dumping of untreated solids and liquids. It also suggested more sophisticated water purification methods, banning quarrying activities around the river and, most importantly, initiating the construction of a real sewage network for Mosul. 

Unfortunately over two months have passed since the committee made these suggestions and up until now, no further action has been taken.

And despite all of the evidence that the Tigris River and its tributaries were becoming more and more polluted, local government departments still seem to prefer to play things down.

According to official statements from local departments of water and the environment, more than 3 million people rely on the river for drinking water. The undeclared intention of that statement, according to critics: they’re drinking it and they’re not dead yet.

This story was prepared as part of the Media academy Iraq’s mentorship programme for young Iraqi journalists, together with NIQASH’s regular correspondents around Iraq. The mentor for this story was regular NIQASH contributor Saleh Elias.

http://www.niqash.org/articles/?id=2998&lang=ar

        الموصل: ثلاثة ملايين مواطن يشربون المياه الملوثة

| english | کوردی

نقاش | عبد الهادي محمد | الموصل | 22.02.2012      

امتياز الموصل كونها أكثر المدن العراقية حظا في المياه العذبة، بات عرضة للخطر، فدلالات البيانات الرسمية والدراسات العلمية المتخصصة تضع علامات استفهام كثيرة حول نسبة التلوث الحقيقية في النهر.
يمر نهر دجلة في المدينة من جهتها الشمالية الغربية ليقسمها إلى ساحلين، حيث تستقبله بكثافة البيوتات والمؤسسات والشركات والمصانع والمستشفيات الحكومية والخاصة متراصة على الجانبين الأيمن والأيسر.

دائرة مجاري نينوى أعلنت عن وجود 172 مصبا تلقي في النهر يوميا حوالي نصف مليون متر مكعب من المياه الآسنة، مصدرها ليس الاستعمال المنزلي فقط، وانما المصانع التابعة للدولة والخاصة التي تلفظ فضلاتها الى مجرى النهر من تحت قبضة الرقابة الرخوة او اللارقابة.

يضاف الى ذلك اربع مناطق صناعية للسيارات والمكائن المتنوعة ومعدات البناء بجميعها، والمجمع الطبي الكبير (خمس مستشفيات كبيرة وعدد من المراكز الطبية) على ضفة النهر، وقد كشفت تقارير اعلامية سابقة عن القاء مخلفات طبية في النهر مباشرة، وهو ما نفته دائرة الصحة.

الفضلات السائلة والصلبة بمصادرها المتعددة ومستوياتها المتفاوتة في الخطورة، تجد طريقها أخيرا الى النهر بلا معالجة.

فقد أوضح معاون مدير المجاري المهندس عمار أنور لموقع "نقاش" أن ثاني اكبر مدينة عراقية بعد بغداد "تفتقر تماما إلى مجار للصرف الصحي، إلا في مجمعين سكنيين صغيرين"، متابعا "ان الشبكة الحالية ظاهرية وهي مصممة اساسا لتجميع مياه الامطار لكنها تستخدم الان في المناطق السكنية والصناعية والتجارية لتصريف المياه المستعملة".

ويضيف انور ان منطقة بادوش (8 كم شمال غرب الموصل) التي يمر فيها نهر دجلة قبل الموصل تلقي ما يقارب الـ(10) طن من الروث الجاف لحيوانات الجاموس يوميا. مما يشكل مشكلة كبيرة عند العمل على تنقية مياه الشرب.

كما ان مياه العيون الكبريتية التي تتدفق من سد بادوش بمعدل 300 متر مكعب في الساعة اضافة الى بقايا تأثيرات العناصر الثقيلة وتحديدا الكادميوم الناتج من نشاط سابق لاحدى المنشات العسكرية، تشكل مصادر تلوث ملفتة للانتباه.

والكادميوم وفقا لمختصين هو عنصر فلزي لين قد يسبب الفشل الكلوي أو ارتفاع ضغط الدم.

التراجع الذي أصاب مهنة صيد السمك في الموصل بعد ان كانت من أكثر المدن ازدهارا في الصيد، كان احدى الدلالات التي جعلت المعنيين بتربية الأسماك في العراق السباقين الى التنبيه لمخاطر تلوث مياه دجلة.

وكان صدر مؤخرا عن وزارة الزراعة كتاب رسمي يعزو تراجع أعداد الأسماك في عموم العراق لأسباب كثيرة من أبرزها التلوث. وهذا ما أكده المهندس لؤي شاكر مسؤول الثروة السمكية في مديرية الزراعة.

وتضيف تقارير مديرية ماء محافظة نينوى، التي اطلع عليها مراسل "نقاش" مصادر قلق أخرى حول تلوث النهر، تتمثل فيما تطرحه كل من مدينتي دهوك وزاخو (شمال الموصل) من فضلات مياه غير معالجة في رافد الخابور ومنه إلى دجلة.

ويبدو هذا القلق مشروعا لان محطة تصفية المياه الرئيسة لمدينة الموصل التي توفر مياه الشرب لأغلب سكانها تقع في بحيرة سد الموصل التي تتشكل من مياه النهر بما فيها ما يصل من الخابور.

رئيس لجنة الصحة والبيئة في مجلس المحافظة محمد الغنام اكد "ان النهر في مرحلة خطرة في ظل ضعف امكانات الدوائر المعنية بتنقية المياه التي تعتمد فقط على استخدام الكلور".

ويضيف الغنام وهو طبيب "ان آثار ذلك على الصحة واضحة، فهناك انتشار متزايد لأمراض الكوليرا والكلى والحساسية وغيرها"، مطالبا الدوائر المعنية بالعمل على تدارك هذا الخطر بجدية كبيرة.

بعد ان تحسست الحكومة المحلية الخطر، قامت في آب (أغسطس) الماضي بتشكيل لجنة لدراسة حجم التلوث في نهر دجلة. وجاء في تقريرها أن مئة الف طن من الاملاح والمواد الكيمياوية تجد طريقها الى النهر سنويا عبر مبازل مشروع ري الجزيرة العملاق غرب المحافظة جراء الري الجائر. كذلك تتكرر حالات تسرب النفط الخام ومشتقاته خاصة في منطقة الكسك غرب المدينة.

بدوره يقول أبو علي، وهو صياد سمك تجاوز عمره الـ (50 عاما) "ان حالة النهر باتت سيئة جدا، حيث انخفضت كميات المياه كثيرا واضحت اكثر برودة، كما اشاهد باستمرار بقعا زيتية ونفايات صلبة طافية فيه" .

وأضاف "النهر هنا بات يطرد السمك فمن النادر جدا إن نصطاد فيه سمكا كان قبل عشرة سنوات يملئ الأسواق ويباع في المحافظة وخارجها، وبخاصة الشبوط".

كما أن انخفاض كميات المياه المطلقة عبر بحيرة السد (50 كم غربا) الى النهر بنحو 80% في الثانية، "أثر سلبا على أداء محطات الاسالة من الناحية التشغيلية وتردي نوعية المياه بشكل كبير جدا"، حسبما ورد في محضر اللجنة الحكومية الذي حصل موقع "نقاش" على نسخة منه.

ومن حسن الحظ أن محطات تنقية المياه أقيمت في اعالي مجرى النهر، باستثناء محطة الدندان جنوبي المدينة وهي "موقع خاطئ" وفقا لمختصين.

"المحطات الحرارية لتوليد الكهرباء هي الاخرى تترك ملوثات فيزيائية ناتجة عن استخدام الماء لتبريد المحركات الضخمة مؤثرا بذلك على حالة الماء الايكولوجية"، حسب قول فخري ياسين استاذ الهندسة الصحية والبيئة في جامعة الموصل .

ويضيف "إن مقالع الحصى والرمل (مواد انشائية) المنتشرة في اعالي النهر، ساهمت بدورها في زيادة نسبة العوالق الكامنة في قعر النهر وبالتالي استهلاك جزء كبير من الاوكسجين، مفسرا بذلك ندرة الاسماك المتوسطة والكبيرة في النهر المار في المدينة لإضافة للكثير من الكائنات المائية الاخرى".

كل هذه المؤشرات لم تثنِ مديريتي البيئة والماء عن التقليل من خطر التلوث في مياه النهر، "والا لما استطاع ما يزيد على الثلاثة ملايين شخص الاعتماد عليها في الشرب والاستعمالات الاخرى"، وفق تصريحات رسمية من مسؤولي المديريتين.

مع ذلك فان لجنة الدراسة وللحد من نسبة التلوث أوصت ببعض النقاط من ابرزها منع رمي المخلفات السائلة والصلبة في مجرى النهر الا بعد معالجتها وفق المحددات العالمية واصدار تشريع بذلك، ومنع نشاط المقالع واستدراج مربي الجاموس الى مواقع جنوب المدينة، واعتماد اساليب اكثر تطورا في تنقية مياه الاسالة وربما الاهم من كل ذلك تنفيذ مشروع لانشاء شبكة مجاري الصرف الصحي.

لكن المؤسف انه إلى تاريخ اعداد هذا التحقيق لم تتحرك الحكومة المحلية باتجاه تنفيذ التوصيات التي تمخضت عن اللجنة المختصة رغم مرور 70 يوما على إعلانها، بحسب عضوها المهندس عمار انور معاون مدير المجاري.


تم انجاز هذه القصة من خلال برنامج  Mentorship وهو مشروع تدريبي للصحفيين الشباب في "أكاديمية الإعلام- العراق"، بالتعاون مع مراسلي موقع "نقاش" في مختلف محافظات العراق.

المدرب: صالح الياس

Iraq plans 33 more executions -The Common Ills

February 21, 2012 Iraq has already executed at least 69 people this year. Al Rafidayn reports that Iraq's presidency council signed off on 33 more executions Sunday. If all are conducted in the next weeks, Iraq will have executed over 100 people before 2012's half-year mark. At Jurist, Middlesex University Law Department's Nadia Bernaz weighs in on the issue: On August 8, 2004, only two months after the new Iraqi interim government replaced the Coalition Provisional Authority as the ruling power in Iraq, the death penalty was reinstated by Decree No. 3 for offenses that were punishable by death before the suspension as well as new offenses such as abduction. The reinstatement of the death penalty has been strongly criticized by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq who remains concerned by the lack of fair trial guarantees in the country. In 2005, the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal was established to prosecute perpetrators of gross human rights violations, among other serious crimes. The Statute of the Tribunal indicates that the penalties should be in line with the Iraqi Penal Code, therefore including the death penalty in the list of applicable sentences, which led the UN to disengage entirely from the process. Tried before this tribunal in 2006, former president Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death, and eventually executed on December 30, 2006. As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iraq is under the obligation to respect Article 6 on the right to life which provides that a sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes, "it being understood that their scope should not go beyond intentional crimes with lethal or other extremely grave consequences," as mentioned in the 1984 UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty. Iraq is currently in violation of this obligation since, for example, rape, kidnapping and drug trafficking are all punishable by death. Moreover, Iraq was among the minority of states to vote against the UN General Assembly resolutions calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions in 2007, 2008 and 2010. It can't provide potable water or reliable electricity or even basic jobs, but Nouri's 'leadership' can provide executions. Lots and lots of executions. Nouri's 'leadership' also can't provide a national conference still -- despite Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi and President Jalal Talabani calling for one since December 21st. Aswat al-Iraq reports that Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc states it has prepared an agenda for the national conference -- to deal with Iraq's ongoing political crisis -- which is scheduled to be discussed today in yet another prep-meeting. The agenda is said to "start with the topics that were not implemented from the Arbil agreement and the joint issues between Iraqiya and the Kurdish blocs." The Erbil Agreement ended Political Stalemate I in November 2010. Following the March 2010 elections, Nouri at first disputed the results, demanded a recount and then refused to abide by the results. This created Political Stalemate I. Though his State of Law came in second, the US-brokered Erbil Agreement found the other political blocs (including Iraqiya which came in first) agreeing to allow Nouri to remain as prime minister. As a result of that aspect of the Erbil Agreement, the political blocs were supposed to get various things. What happened was after Nouri was named prime minister-designate, he refused to follow the Erbil Agreement. This starts the ongoing Political Stalemate II which can be said to have begun at the end of December when Nouri refused to name the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Interior and the Minister of National Security. The nominees for the post were reportedly agreed on and in the Erbil Agreement. Nouri refused to fill the positions. He lied and stated he would shortly. Critics of Nouri insisted he was refusing to name the positions because it was part of his power-grab. The US press largely ran with Nouri's claim as reality and either ignored the critics or else chided them. All these months later, it's the critics and not the US press that were correct. For a year and two months now Nouri has refused to name the posts. (Per the Constitution, he should not have been transferred from "prime minister-designate" to "prime minister" as a result of this. Per the Constitution, Talabani should have named a new prime minister-designate at the end of December 2010.) Ayad al-Tamimi (Al Mada) reports that sources in the National Alliance (which State of Law is a part of) state that they want the security ministries to remain empty until the next prime minister is elected. Hossam Acommok (Al Mada) reports that KRG President Massoud Barzani stated on Sunday that he hopes the national conference ends the political crisis and that Baghdad decides to abide by the Erbil Agreement including the issue of Kirkuk. Al Rafidayn notes that the spokesperson for the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Hamid Maaleh, states that his party is working with various components of the National Alliance including the Sadrists and are striving for a way to move the political process forward. In addition, the Adel Abdul Mahdi has recevied a delegation from the Sadr bloc and discussed the situation and what can be done. Adel Abdul Madhi isn't just a high ranking member of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, he's also the former vice president of Iraq. He was v.p. from 2006 through the summer of 2011 when he resigned due to the corruption in the government and the refusal of 'leadership' to address it. Aswat al-Iraq, citing the Chair of Parliament's Human Rights Commission, reports Iraqiya's calling for the national conference to limit the three presidencies (Iraq's President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament) to two terms. Source

:: Article nr. 85902 sent on 21-feb-2012 22:48 ECT

www.uruknet.info?p=85902

WSIUI: We support all forms of resistance stemming from the heart of our country

A statement by Women Solidarity for an Independent Unified iraq
London
22/2/2011

Iraq has been witnessing protests and demonstrations up and down the country for several weeks now, including towns and cities where no protests has taken place in the past .

We got news of  mass protests from Baghdad, Basra, Kut, Samawah, Diwaniyah, Fallujah, Kirkuk to Sulaymaniyah. Against  the suppression of freedoms, arrests, torture, corruption, disillusionment and unfulfilled  election promises not least the disastrous lack of basic services such as electricity, water and health services and the inefficient and corrupt way the ration system is being handled. They also protest the lack of employment opportunities. They protest the lack of social support, in particular, for widows and orphans and pensioners in order to enable them to live in the dignity they deserve, instead of destitution and humniliation.

What unites the protesters, too is their determination to keep the demonstrations peaceful, despite the savage reaction by the security men and police, as in the shooting and the arrest of peaceful demonstrators and wounding and killing several of them in Kut, Sulaymaniyah and Baghdad.

The unified voice of the all the protesters, call for peaceful demonstrations  and for the slogans to represent the national concerns. This is the voice people who are fed up with the promises made without any real achievement. They are fed up with patronizing bombastic speeches made by one government official after another to no avail.

The voice of the protesters is the voice of the freedom and dignity of the Iraqi people. It is the voice of the valiant Iraqi woman, as she struggles to restore her historic achievements and her leading role in the Iraqi people’s struggle for freedom, equality and self determination.

It is the voice of people who know all too well, that super human patience is of no use and the current crucial historical moment has to be seized. It must not be wasted, it is time to go down the road of restoring the dignity of all Iraqis and a better future for our children.
We in Women Solidarity for an Independent United Iraq, support all forms and levels of resistance stemming from the heart of our country. These protests are a manifestation and popular expressions of the unity of our people. In organising such protests and attending them our people are exercising their rights as guaranteed by international law and basic human rights. We support the protests and urge our people to come out in their support.

تضامن المرأة لعراق مستقل وموحد تساند التظاهرات والاعتصامات الشعبية في العراق المحتل

منذ اسابيع وابناء شعبنا العراقي  يتظاهرون في مدن عدة، من بينها مدن تساهم في التظاهرات لاول مرة، منذ احتلال البلاد في عام 2003. يوحد ما بين المتظاهرين، جميعا، من بغداد والبصرة والكوت والسماوة والديوانية والفلوجة وكركوك الى السليمانية، رغبتهم في التخلص من قمع الحريات، الاعتقالات والتعذيب، الفساد المستشري، وخيبة الامل المريرة في وعود انتخابية لم يتحقق اقل القليل منها في مجال الخدمات الاساسية كالكهرباء والماء والخدمات الصحية والبطاقة التموينية بالاضافة الى توفير فرص العمل والدعم ، خاصة، للارامل والايتام والمتقاعدين لتوفير ما يستحقونه من حياة كريمة تقيهم مهانة العوز. 

يوحد ما بين المتظاهرين ، ايضا، عزمهم على ان تبقى التظاهرات سلمية، على الرغم من رد الفعل الهمجي من قبل رجال الأمن والشرطة، كما في اطلاق النار واعتقال واصابة المتظاهرين وقتل عدد منهم في في الكوت والسليمانية وبغداد.

ان الدعوة الى التظاهرات السلمية الموحدة لجميع ابناء الشعب وبشعارات تمثل الهم الوطني هي صوت ابناء الشعب الذين ضاقوا ذرعا بالوعود المبذولة بلا أي انجاز حقيقي والتي باتت في خطابيتها الرنانة تعبيرا عن الاستهانة بعقول المواطنين.

انها صوت المطالبين بالتحرير والكرامة وعزة النفس. أنها صوت المرأة العراقية البطلة المناضلة وهي تستعيد مكانتها التي طالما احتلتها ، تاريخيا،

  

ان تقود المتظاهرين نحو الحرية والمساواة واعادة بناء العراق كما يريد له ابنائه. انها صوت شعب يدرك جيدا انه قد وصل مرحلة حاسمة تجاوزت حدود الصبر الانساني ، وأن كرامته وعزة نفسه ومستقبل وطنه ومستقبل ابنائه يرتبط  ارتباطا وثيقا بما يفعله الآن وما سيفعله في الايام المقبلة. 

ان "تضامن المرأة لعراق مستقل وموحد" تساند كل اشكال ومستويات المقاومة النابعة من قلب بلادنا، وترى في التظاهرات  والاعتصامات الشعبية،  تعبيرا عن وحدة ابناء الشعب وممارسة تكفلها التشريعات القانونية الدولية والانسانية وهي حق من حقوق الانسان الاساسية وواجب اخلاقي ملزم للجميع.

22 شباط / فبراير 2011

Links showing government violations during the day of Rage 25th Feb 2011

A good but one day late report from Aljazeera Arabic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkXQ5sYyARI

Russia Today  http://arabic.rt.com/news_all_news/64359 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/26/AR2011022601854.html

Iraq 'Day of Rage' protests followed by detentions, beatings

BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12576613

New York Times

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/caught-in-the-heat-of-baghdads-protests/?partner=rss&emc=rss

February 26, 2011, 11:53 pm

Caught in the Heat of Baghdad’s Protests

By DURAID ADNAN

Curfew and movement restrictions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF-x1mPUML0&NR=1

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/25/AR2011022502781.html

23 killed in Iraq's 'Day of Rage' protests

By Stephanie McCrummen

Washington Post Foreign Service

Friday, February 25, 2011; 8:05 PM 

Look at this testimony of a journalist arrested and tortured (you can put it thru google translation)

http://www.middle-east-online.com/?id=105777

 العراق: حرية التعبير في 'أسوأ أيامها'

إعلامي عراقي يروي ظروف اعتقاله: صعقوني بالكهرباء وشتموني ببذاءة وأجبروني على التوقيع على اعترافات تؤكد انني ممول من البعثيين.

Restrictions on the media to prevent them reporting the protests

http://www.youtube.com/user/IraqiRevolutions#p/u/26/fEmyI-_Zrvo

http://www.albaghdadia.com/n/iraq-polotics/24630-2011-02-24-14-36-00.html#comment-32417

Footage from Mousel the killing of four protesters by SWAT forces (riot police force)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I-11gO8YAs

http://www.youtube.com/user/IraqiRevolutions#p/a/u/0/MQQr8VY6b6U

Police fire on Huwaijeh protesters killing one person

http://www.youtube.com/user/hadeedh#p/a/u/0/E9doTfU6qEE

http://www.facebook.com/Tahrir#!/video/video.php?v=10150152400605934&oid=179025415465838&comments

Amarra Missan - firing on demonstrators

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdtTkgonEb8&feature=player_embedded

Firing on protesers in Ramady

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmQdJcjrTnE

a dead protester

http://www.youtube.com/user/IraqiRevolutions#p/u/40/wYDMNzk7vWo

InTikrit a child is killed

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=106404672772397&oid=195167167173566&comments

http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=179025415465838&s=30&hash=0355e64a039d253d60785fa6c5bec8e6#!/photo.php?fbid=114801278595291&set=o.179025415465838&theater

Basra firing on protesters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF3JFUowG9k&feature=player_embedded

death of protester in Baghdad

http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=179025415465838&s=15&hash=728082c6383136b0567eabc5fe9dd1b5#!/video/video.php?v=113228425419542

Fallujah (firing on protesters)

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=113229942088421

http://www.youtube.com/user/hadeedh#p/a/u/0/E9doTfU6qEE

karbala

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyvtta0EaYM

Firing on protesters Khalidiya - Anbar province

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM3sLOYTU0s&feature=player_embedded

Sulaimaniya shooting at protesters injuring 2 20th Feb 2011

outside Sulaimaniya private hospital

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xit9PY_wpZY

http://www.youtube.com/user/IraqiRevolutions#p/u/2/GTPACLhH5CQ

Chemchemal in the Kurdish region

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xemBxNnj8uY&feature=player_embedded

Last moment of a Kurdish child killed by Kurdish police in Iraq 25 Feb 2011  

   25th Feb 2011

unarmed demonstrators are met with live ammunition

there are many video clips on facebook

look for :  الثورة العراقية الكبرى iraqi revolution

on Youtube :

Iraqi Revolution channel