Taliban-type actions in Basra

Peter Tatchell has asked us to post this letter concerning the fight back by Basra students against religious extremists who attacked a picnic party because it was comprised of male and female students.

The letter says that it holds British troops responsible. We do not yet know if this is a fair charge and note the very fair point made on Harry’s Place that “British troops are in and around Basra but are not supposed to be involved in policing work unless asked to by local authorities. Which raises a question - While the transition process involves restoring power to domestic Iraqi institutions should not British troops be asked to defend basic human rights in the city they are based in? A supplementary question - should we demanding that they do so?”

LFIQ has posted on this before (see link to IFTU site a few posts below) and will be raising this question with the British Government at the earliest possible opportunity because secular, free and democratic civil society in Iraq needs protection from these brutal wannabe Taliban forces and that there should, of course, be no tolerance of armed militias.

Gary Kent

Campaign to support the courageous demonstrations by students at Basra
University in Iraq!

Join our campaign to strengthen the protest movement of Basra students!

Since March 15th there have been massive and courageous student
demonstrations in the southern Iraqi city of Basra against the Islamist
militants led by Moqtada al-Sadr.

The students anger and outrage are a direct response to the a brutal attack
on students from the Engineering Faculty of Basra University, in which
al-Sadr's thugs, aided by Iranian agents, started beating up the students
and destroying their belongings, as well as ripping off the clothes of
female students and singling out in particular one young Christian woman.
The students fought back and, when a male student tried to defend his female
friend, he was shot dead. The authorities, meanwhile, have turned a blind
eye.

As a result, the students of this faculty have been joined by many other
faculties and high schools and thousands of other Basra citizens on the
streets. Despite the threats of al-Sadr and tribal groups in the environs of
the city demanding that the students issue an apology for insulting Islam or
face bombardment of their university, the protest is growing and has
generated a lot of support among the people, particularly young people.
Since the war, Basra has been dominated by Islamist groups backed by the
Iranian regime. By demonstrating against al-Sadr's repression, the students
are taking a lead in fighting back against the Islamists for freedom and
democratic rights.

-We call on all student groups, workers organizations and progressive
campaigners to join our campaign to defend the student movement in Iraq and its fight for freedom, equality and secularism. The Basra students need
international solidarity urgently to win this battle.

-We demand separation of religion from the state and from education

-We demand unconditional freedom of speech, association and protest for
students-and for all Iraqis.

-We want the Islamist criminals to be brought to justice.

-We hold the British troops responsible ignoring the barbarisms of political
Islamists in Basra.

-We demand that armed militias of political parties are banned from
university campuses.

-We hold the "so called" Iraqi police responsible for ignoring this Islamist
repression.

We urge you to show solidarity add your name and the name of your
organization to this appeal.

Campaign Co-ordinators:

Houzan Mahmoud (Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq- UK Representative)
E-mail: houzan73@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 079 56 88 3001

Alan Clarke (UK National Union of Students national executive member)
E-mail: alan.clarke@nus.org.uk Tel: 07976 000 940

Dashti Jamal (Head of UK organization of Worker Communist Party of Iraq)
E-mail: d.jamal@ntlworld.com Tel: 077 34 704742

Members of the campaign:

Daniel Randall (Alliance for Workers liberty) Mick Duncan (No Sweat
Campaign) Peter Tatchell (Human right activist) Claire Bilby & Louise Gold
(National Union of Student- women's committee) OutRage! (the gay human
rights campaign!)