We call on those states responsible for the invasion and occupation of Iraq to terminate their illegal and immoral war, and express our solidarity with the Iraqi people in their struggle for peace, justice and self-determination.

In particular, we demand:

  1. An immediate end to the US and UK-led occupation of Iraq;
  2. Urgent action to fully address the current humanitarian crises facing Iraq’s people, including help for the more than three million refugees and displaced persons;
  3. An end to all foreign interference in Iraq's affairs, including its oil industry, so that Iraqis can exercise their right to self-determination;
  4. Compensation and reparations from those countries responsible for war and sanctions on Iraq;
  5. Prosecution of all those responsible for war crimes, human rights abuses, and the theft of Iraq's resources.

We demand justice for Iraq.

This statement was adopted by the Justice for Iraq conference in London on 19th July 2008. We plan to publish this more widely in future. If you would like to add your name to the list of supporters please contact us.

Sunday 6 February 2011

The Egyptian contagion spreads...

These extracts speak for themselves:

Clamor for change now reaches Iraq

LA Times reports (February 6th): Clamor for political change across the Arab world has reached Iraq, where protests against poor government services have broken out in the capital and other cities.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki vowed not to run for a third term, a day after he announced that he would cut his pay in half. Other officials agreed to decrease their salaries in a bid to stave off the kind of unrest erupting elsewhere in the region.


Protesters in Iraq decry lack of basic services, shortages

 

CNN reports (February 3rd): Hundreds of demonstrators were in the street in locales around Iraq, inspired by uprisings elsewhere in the region as they railed against the government's inability to provide basic services and complained of food, water and power shortages, officials said.

The biggest demonstration took place in al Hamza, a relatively poor town in a heavily Shiite region about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Baghdad. Two Iraqi interior ministry officials -- who, per policy, did not speak by name due to security concerns -- estimated that that nearly 1,000 people participated.

The protesters walked toward a local council building, trying to force their way in as they hurled rocks inside the compound and at police outside, the Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said. Some were heard shouting, "We've had enough" and "Where are your promises."




One killed, four injured in Iraq protest


Al-Arabiya reports (February 4th): Police shot randomly at hundreds of protesters in al-Hamza district in Iraq’s southern province of al-Diwaniya, killing one person and injuring four. 

The incident came after a statement released by the Iraqi parliament condemning the use of violence against demonstrators in Egypt and urged for the respect of human rights.

The protesters who followed up with their demands from a previous demonstration called for the removal of al-Hamza head official and for the Iraqi government to provide basic services.

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