State of fear (Al-Ahram / Cairo)

[struggle4progress]

Bush's new plan, and tough words from Maliki, assure Iraqis that more violence is ahead,
writes Nermeen Al-Mufti

... Iraqi parliamentarian Mohammad Al-Deini told Al-Ahram Weekly that dozens were killed or wounded in US shelling of villages situated to the east of Baquba on the Iraqi-Iranian border. US and Iraqi forces, he said, were still imposing a blockade on the villages. Al-Deini has disclosed incidents of torture in Iraqi Interior Ministry prisons, releasing films and documents as evidence. He facilitated the production of a film on death squads that was aired on Britain's Channel 4 TV. He left Iraq recently to Amman to obtain an entry visa to the UK. The British Foreign Office turned down his visa application, he told the Weekly over the telephone. This happened although Al-Deini was invited by British organisations to speak about the situation in Iraq ...

Moqtada Al-Sadr has 30 members in parliament, all of whom pledged to suspend their participation in the political process. But a source close to Al-Sadr told the Weekly that the 30 intended to take part in parliamentary discussions of an oil investment bill. The bill would give three major US and UK companies the right to work in Iraqi oil for 30 years, during which period the companies would turn over 75 per cent of their revenue to their respective countries. The Sadr group is going to oppose the bill, the source said.

In Kirkuk, several Turkoman figures and buildings have been targeted in a spate of car bombings. Turhan Ketene, political adviser of the Turkoman National Movement, says that the Kurds are trying to change the demography of Kirkuk ahead of a referendum on self- determination. Turkey and Egypt want the referendum to be postponed, fearing that it may instigate ethnic cleansing. The two major Kurdish parties have already brought in 600,000 Kurds to Kirkuk. Meanwhile, Kurdish armed groups are said to be threatening Turkoman businessmen, telling them to leave town or pay hefty protection fees. Of those who refuse to pay, several have had their companies bombed. The number of Iraqis requesting political asylum in other countries, meanwhile, has reached its highest level ever, according to the UN.

Although the number of daily civilian victims has dropped slightly in Baghdad, every day police collect 45 bodies on average from the streets, most with bullet wounds and signs of torture. In the increasingly segregated capital, the Sunnis and Shias of Baghdad are learning which streets are safe and which must be avoided.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/828/re73.htm

[barb162]

1. I'm surprised the SHiites haven't retaliated yet for the big

bombing of earlier this week

[teryang]

2. Sadr group opposes US/UK drafted oil bill

Now we know why Sadr and his militia have to go as a matter of official US policy.