Letter from Greg Muttitt : Take Action Now please!

URGENT:


Iraq oil workers' leader Hassan Juma'a will be in court in Basra on 7 April, facing 5 years in prison for organising protests.

South Oil Company has brought charges against Hassan, under the Iraqi Penal Code No. (111) 1969, Paragraph 327, accusing him under the section concerning officials who “overstep the bounds of their duty.” He faces imprisonment if, as a result of his actions, “the interests of the state are harmed.”

Please take action to help defend Hassan.

Since 2003 Hassan has been a courageous voice for the rights of oil workers in Iraq, and indeed for the rebuilding of his country's economy. In civil society activists like Hassan lies hope for Iraq's future, which perhaps is why he has faced such persistent attacks from the government. He is also my friend.

Iraq observers fear the country is taking an increasingly authoritarian turn. The rise of Iraqi civil society is one of the few positive stories since 2003. Taking action for Hassan will send a message that government attacks on civil society are not acceptable.

Currently 31 unions and 10 NGOs have signed our letter to Prime Minister al-Maliki (below), calling for the charges to be dropped.

Please take any or all of the following actions:
Sign the petition to Maliki here
Ask your trade union, or other organisation you are involved in, or your MP/Congressperson URGENTLY to sign the letter here
Forward this email to your contacts, and post on Facebook and Twitter

Thank you

Greg Muttitt
Author, 'Fuel on the Fire: Oil and Politics in Occupied Iraq'
www.fuelonthefire.com

The letter :

To His Excellency Mr. Nouri Al Maliki Prime Minister of Iraq Baghdad-Iraq   Best Greetings, We are deeply concerned about the continuing violations of union rights and freedoms in Iraq, in particular in the oil sector. Hassan Juma Awad, Chairman of the Federation of Oil Unions, has been summoned before the Basra Court, on March 20, where he will face charges of organizing a strike at the Southern Oil Company. However, Hassan Juma Awad declares that these charges are false and that he is being accused as part of a Ministry of Oil effort to slander and undermine him and the unions. Also, eight Southern Oil Company workers have been summoned to the General Inspector’s Office in the Ministry of Oil in order for the Ministry to investigate their role in recent demonstrations in Basra, where workers engaged in peaceful protest to express their legitimate demands. The Iraqi constitution guarantees freedom of association and peaceful demonstrations, yet over the years, the Ministry of Oil has repeatedly taken disciplinary actions against union activists, including transferring them to distant work sites, reprimanding them, filing criminal complaints against them and imposing heavy fines and penalties on them. The Ministry has banned union organizing at the companies affiliated to it, which is also a violation of ILO convention 98, which Iraq has ratified. These attacks on freedom of association and the right to organize and bargain collectively reflect the government of Iraq’s intention to hold on to repressive laws and policies issued under the Saddam Hussein regime. Decree 150 of 1987, which bans union organizing in the public sector, is clear evidence of that, as is the continued enforcement of labor law number 71 and the union organizing law number 52 of 1987, both of which are in contradiction with ILO conventions and international labor standards, though Iraq has ratified sixty six international labor conventions. The Iraqi government’s continued repression of freedom of association and worker rights, based on laws issued under a dictatorship, is in direct contradiction with the principals of democracy and justice that the Iraqi government promises its people. The government of Iraq should immediately cancel the orders issued by the Ministry of Oil to union activists, including all transfer orders, reprimands and arbitrary penalties against union activists. Charges against Hassan Juma Awad, and any other workers