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Huge march in Baghdad against US occupation
From Le Figaro
On the occasion of the second anniversary of the
fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, tens of thousands of demonstrators expressed
their scorn for America in Baghdad, while 30 Iraqis, 16 of them soldiers, were
killed in rebel attacks.
The crows gathered at Firdos Square, where on April 9 2003, Iraqis helped by
American soldiers toppled a statue of the former dictator, signifying the end of
his grip on Iraq.
The demonstration, called by the radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, also
attracted Sunnis, who have seen their influence decline in Iraq with the fall of
the old regime and the electoral victory of the majority Shiites.
During the
demonstration, the largest that has been organized in Baghdad in two years, the
crowd chanted: "No, no to America, no, no to occupation."
To avoid excesses, the police blocked the main streets in central Baghdad and
closed two bridges over the Tigris.
Demonstrators carried portraits of American President George W. Bush and British
Prime Minister Tony Blair with bloody teeth and the words: "International
terrorists."
"Our unity shuts up those who repeat that the end of the occupation will lead to
civil war," said Moqtada al-Sadr, in a speech read by one of his aides, Nasser
al-Saaidi.
He was alluding to the call issued Friday by radical Sunni imams to participate
in the march and the presence of some of them.
"God, break their neck like they are break ours and terrorize us," he added,
stating that "there will be neither peace nor security in Iraq until the end of
the occupation."
Moqtada Sadr sharply upbraided President Bush: "You said that America has become
more secure... Perhaps... but the rest of the world has become more dangerous,"
he said.
"Why do you seize weapons of the resistance and let Israel keep its nuclear
arsenal?" said the radical leader, continuing: "Why does the United States make
Syria leave Lebanon, a fraternal nation, while the
American aggressor remains in Iraq?"
Another of his aides, Moayad al-Khazraji, articulated several of his movement's
demands, the first being "the opening of a transparent trial of Saddam Hussein."
"We want the withdrawal of occupation forces and not to hear as a pretext that
our security forces aren't ready," he declared in a direct criticism of the new
Iraqi executive.
"We want the government to free all prisoners immediately," the sheikh insisted,
referring to the 6,504 detainees, only 2,573 of whom have been sentenced.
He also demanded that "the resistance should not be kept out of the political
process and the resistance should be differentiated from terrorism," and the
crowd greeted each request by chanting: "That's what we want."
In Ramadi, capital of the rebel Sunni province of al-Anbar, 60 miles west of
Baghdad, hundreds of students also demonstrated in response to a call from their
religious leaders, asking that "the occupation be ended and foreign forces be
driven out."
Violence, attributed to the Sunni rebellion, saw an upturn on this anniversary
day, leaving 27 dead in a period of several hours.
Twenty-five Iraqis, fifteen of them soldiers, died in a series of attacks in the
rebel zone south of Baghdad known as the "triangle of death," according to
security sources.
In Mosul, northern Iraq's large city, a civilian and a policeman were killed and
fourteen other persons wounded, eleven of them policemen, in a suicide attack.
Three other persons, including an Iraqi soldier and a civilian, were killed by
an explosive device at Machahda (18 miles north of Baghdad).
-------------------------
Translated by Mark K. Jensen
Associate Professor of French
Department of Languages and Literatures
Pacific Lutheran University
April 2005
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