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Volume 3,  Number 12              April 27 - May 3, 2003            Quezon City, Philippines


 





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In Iraq, Real Fighting has Just Begun 

The “coalition forces” that attacked Iraq on March 20, led by the U.S., have from all indications achieved a military victory and seem to have attained the objective of toppling the government of Saddam Hussein. But the warm welcomes they seem to have received in Baghdad and Basra notwithstanding, the war is far from over. More and more Iraqis are showing that they do not want to have to choose between two masters, that they want to be their own masters.

By Alexander Martin Remollino
Bulatlat.com 

In the first two weeks of this month, the world was bombarded with images of Iraqis welcoming American troops in Iraq. International television flashed images of frenzied jubilation on the streets of Baghdad and Basra, with placards shouting, “Thank you, U.S.A.!” and arms pulling down statues of erstwhile Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. 

Proponents of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, most notably Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, interpreted these images as proof that the so-called “coalition forces” were right after all in bringing this war upon Iraq. Macapagal-Arroyo has even gone so far as to compare the celebrations on the streets of Baghdad and Basra with those that took place on Edsa after the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Ejercito Estrada by popular uprisings. 

But as the days passed, more and more Iraqis belied these images. Today, a growing number of Iraqis have been showing that they want freedom from both Saddam Hussein’s tyranny and U.S. occupation. 

Simultaneous Protests 

Simultaneous anti-U.S. protests reverberated through the streets of Baghdad, Nasiriyah, Mosul, and Kut last April 15. 

That day about 200-300 Iraqis massed up outside the Palestine Hotel to protest the U.S. occupation of Iraq. That was the third straight day of anti-U.S. protests in Baghdad. The protesters in Baghdad that day easily outnumbered the 150 or so Iraqis shown on international television days before to be celebrating the entry of the “coalition forces” into the city. 

The protesters would later move to the square where a statue of Saddam Hussein had been toppled days earlier. As three armored vehicles of the U.S. Marines passed by them, the Iraqis chanted, “No, no, USA!” 

U.S. troops tried to prevent the media from covering this protest. 

Meanwhile, about 20,000 people marched to the center of Nasiriyah and protested a U.S.-sponsored meeting of Iraqi opposition leaders, in which plans for a post-Saddam Iraq were being discussed. “Yes to Islam, yes to freedom! No to America, no to Saddam!” the protesters yelled. 

Nasiriyah is a stronghold of Shiite Muslims, who have long been bitter opponents of Saddam Hussein. 

In Mosul, a riot broke out as the city’s newly appointed governor, Mashaan al-Jubiri, was speaking to a crowd estimated at 100-150. The crowd caught the pro-U.S. undertones in the Mosul governor’s speech and began to throw stones. U.S. troops stationed in the area fired at the protesters, killing at least 10 and wounding scores of others. 

In Kut, an anti-U.S. cleric took over the city hall. Hundreds of his followers prevented a group of U.S. Marines from entering the city. The Marines were forced to leave. 

“No to America, No to Saddam!” 

On April 16 there was a rally in Ur, where opposition leaders were meeting to discuss plans for a post-war government. Thousands staged a protest near the meeting, shouting, “No to America and no to Saddam!” 

Three days later, there would be another protest in Baghdad, much larger than the previous ones.  

After prayers, tens of thousands of Baghdad residents gathered in front of the Abu Hanifa Al-Numan mosque to demand the pullout of U.S. troops from the city. They waved banners in English and Arabic saying, “Leave our country, we want peace.”  

The protesters were from both the Shia and the Sunni. In a show of unity, they chanted, “No to America, no to Saddam!” and “This homeland is for the Shia and the Sunni!” 

The 25-million strong Iraqi population is 60 percent Shia. The Shia bore the brunt of the rule of the authoritarian and elitist Hussein regime, which was mostly Sunni. 

War Not Over 

The “coalition forces” that attacked Iraq on March 20, led by the U.S., have from all indications achieved a military victory and seem to have attained the objective of toppling the government of Saddam Hussein. 

But the warm welcomes they seem to have received in Baghdad and Basra notwithstanding, the war is far from over. More and more Iraqis are showing that they do not want to have to choose between two masters, that they want to be their own masters. They do not find in the ouster of the Hussein regime any reason for rejoicing over a U.S. occupation of their homeland. 

The Iraqi people have not thrown in the towel with the fall of Saddam Hussein. On the contrary, it looks like the real fighting has just begun. Bulatlat.com

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