Stories from Azzaman

Commission orders arrest of Iraqi Central Bank Governor on corruption charges

Azzaman reports (October 15^th): In a surprise move, the Commission of Integrity has ordered the arrest of Central Bank Governor Sinan al-Shabibi, his deputy Mudher Aref and 15 other officials, the Central Bank has revealed.

The commission says the arrest orders come following its investigations which have shown that the governor, his deputy and the other officials are implicated in corruption.

http://www.azzaman.com/english/?p=413

Iraq relying more and more on foreign medical doctors

Azzaman reports (October 14^th): Iraq, a country which used to export medical personnel to other states, is relying more and more on foreign doctors.

The health system, despite massive allocations, has still not recovered and in certain specializations and consultancies there are not enough Iraqi medical specialists to support the system.

http://www.azzaman.com/english/?p=410

Fallujah

Iraq records huge rise in birth defects

The Independent reports (October 14^th): It played unwilling host to one of the bloodiest battles of the Iraq war. Fallujah's homes and businesses were left shattered; hundreds of Iraqi civilians were killed. Its residents changed the name of their "City of Mosques" to "the polluted city" after the United States launched two massive military campaigns eight years ago. Now, one month before the World Health Organisation reveals its view on the legacy of the two battles for the town, a new study reports a "staggering rise" in birth defects among Iraqi children conceived in the aftermath of the war.

High rates of miscarriage, toxic levels of lead and mercury contamination and spiralling numbers of birth defects ranging from congenital heart defects to brain dysfunctions and malformed limbs have been recorded. Even more disturbingly, they appear to be occurring at an increasing rate in children born in Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad.

There is "compelling evidence" to link the increased numbers of defects and miscarriages to military assaults, says Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, one of the lead authors of the report and an environmental toxicologist at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health. Similar defects have been found among children born in Basra after British troops invaded, according to the new research.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/iraq-records-huge-rise-in-birth-defects-8210444.html

Iraq executes 23 despite international calls to stop

Xinhua reports (October 8^th): The Iraqi Ministry of Justice announced that it has executed a total of 23 convicted prisoners during the past five days over terror and criminal charges.

"The number of prisoners who have been executed for terror and criminal charges so far in this year reached to 102, including five female terrorist," it added.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-10/08/c_123796688.htm

U.S. stole archives and refuses to return them to Iraq

Azzaman reports (October 6^th): U.S. occupation troops had stolen more than 20,000 documents and their government now refuses to hand them over to Iraq, the head of Iraqi National Archives Saad Iskander said.

Iskander, in a telephone interview with the newspaper, said the Iraqi Jewish archives were among the treasures U.S. troops had removed from the country.

http://www.azzaman.com/english/?p=392

More daily life

In postwar Iraq, housing is scarce and pricey

Washington Post reports (September 23^rd): As Iraq’s economy rattles awake after years of war, the country is experiencing a real-estate boom, with choice properties in Baghdad or in towns such as Karbala or Irbil selling for $500,000 to more than $1 million.

Years of violence, sectarian tensions and international sanctions have left the country with an acute housing shortage that is driving up prices, experts say. The growing country of 30 million needs about 2 million housing units, according to a United Nations estimate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/in-postwar-iraq-housing-still-scarce/2011/09/19/gIQAu9H0pK_story.html

Historic Baghdad Book Market Bulldozed in Late-Night Raid

Al Monitor reports (September 24^th): Iraqi police raided Mutanabi Street in Baghdad, a vital hub of cultural activity in the country, and destroyed the book-fair stalls on the street.

On September 17, bulldozers guarded by armed soldiers stormed the street late at night and smashed the wooden stalls used by booksellers for displaying and selling their books.

The vendors said they did not receive a warning to evacuate the area.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/01/09/historic-baghdad-book-market-ransacked-by-iraqi-police.html

Iraqi night clubs under attack by mysterious agents

Al Arabiya reports (September 22^nd): While human rights groups increasingly voice frustration at a wave of assaults on nightclubs and other alcohol-serving venues in Iraq, parties behind the raid and the destruction of some of these places remain shrouded in mystery, at least officially.

“The office of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces issued a statement saying that the orders to close these clubs came from the judiciary, but judicial spokesman Abdul Sattar al-Beer Qadar denied issuing any orders of this sort,” Ali Yazid, manager of alcohol-serving Al-Marshreq Social Club, told Al Arabiya.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/09/22/239550.html

Iraqi officials say jailbreak assisted from inside

AP report (September 29^th): Iraqi officials said that a jailbreak where al-Qaida-linked militants escaped death row had help from inside, further tarnishing state authority and raising new concerns over corruption.

A day after the escape in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, scores of prisoners are still at large.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middle-east/2012/09/29/iraqi-officials-say-jailbreak-assisted-from-inside/goaNF01J6qjNmhhn5sxn8J/story.html

Anti-war news

Don’t deport war resister Kimberly Rivera

Desmond Tutu writes in the Globe and Mail (September 17^th): When the United States and Britain made the case in 2003 for the invasion of Iraq, it was on the basis of a lie. We were told that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, and that these weapons posed an imminent threat to humanity.

 But those who were called to fight this war believed what their leaders had told them. The reason we know this is because U.S. soldiers such as Kimberly Rivera, through her own experience in Iraq, came to the conclusion that the invasion had nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction. Indeed, the presence of U.S. forces only created immense misery for civilians and soldiers alike.

Ms. Rivera, who is from Texas, joined the U.S. Army when she was 24 and was stationed in Baghdad. Disillusioned by the reality of civilian casualties, she came to Canada in 2007 and applied for refugee status. She felt she could no longer participate in a war where she was contributing to causing harm and death to innocent people.

The Canadian government has notified Ms. Rivera that she is scheduled for deportation to the U.S. on Sept. 20. Her lawyer says she faces a prison sentence of two to five years on her return. Ms. Rivera lives in Toronto with her husband and four children (two of whom were born in Canada); these are people of courage and peace, and they should be granted asylum.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/dont-deport-war-resister-kimberly-rivera/article4544856/

More bad news from Iraq

Baghdad bans beer: why new Iraqi prohibition is an ominous sign

Niqash reports (September 13^th): Unexpected raids on Baghdad’s bars, as well as beaten customers, shocked locals. But it’s not just drinkers who are upset. Activists say it’s the government’s latest plan to curb personal freedoms while MPs pondering re-election in the mainly-Muslim nation haven’t said a word.  

One eyewitness told NIQASH that the raiders had been violent. “They were brutal,” he said. “They entered and told us all to get out immediately. They then went around smashing everything up, including tables and chairs. And then those who were guarding the entrance started beating the people who were trying to leave with sticks and their rifle butts.”

http://www.niqash.org/articles/?id=3122

Witch-hunt in Iraq

BBC reports (September 12^th): In post-Saddam Iraq, gay men and women have been systematically targeted for death by extra-judicial militias - with the co-operation of the democratically elected government, says Ali Hilli, founder of the London-based group, Iraqi LGBT.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19525137

Ex-minister slams Iraq PM for tolerating graft

AFP reports (September 15^th): The first minister to quit Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki's unity government criticized the prime minister for turning a blind eye to worsening corruption among his loyalists, in an interview with AFP.

Former communications minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, who resigned on August 27, added he was holding documents pointing to graft within the government, but declined to give details, insisting instead they would be released at an unspecified future date.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iN6sjsj70FmocIuIs7m74RLQlpuw?docId=CNG.a99026c3455803d7421133e213c566d2.221