Labour Friends of Iraq

Friday, January 20th, 2006
On the 15th of December 2005, Iraqis took to the polls for the third time in a year to vote for their first permanent National Assembly. After numerous complaints submitted to the Independent Iraqi Electoral Commission, the announcement of the results was delayed as the IECI and International Assessment Teams reviewed the voting process relating to these complaints. The ratified results were announced today.
Ali Latif, Chairman of the IPO, reacting to the results said “These elections are a milestone for Iraq’s democratisation because of the unprecedented high turnout from all groups in Iraq. It’s worth remembering that we only reached this stage because calls for the January elections last year to be postponed made by certain groups which were threatening to boycott the elections were not heeded – and they realised that the democratic process cannot be stalled or circumvented. Again, these same groups were aiming to undermine the democratic process by demanding re-runs of UN approved fair elections, and it seems that these calls are fortunately being ignored. We must show there is only one path available in the new Iraq, and that is the democratic one.”
http://www.iprospect.org.uk

Here are the initial results

Before Christmas, Robert Taylor argued for troops out of Iraq and his article included the following paragraph: “It will be argued an Anglo-American evacuation from Iraq could not be done overnight. But a strict timetable of June or July next year could be set for the process to end. There is a precedent, although admittedly not one that suggests such a departure would be trouble-free. The exit from India and that country’s partition in 1947 cost the lives of millions but it was a cruel necessity. The same can be said for Iraq.”
Tribune has published the following from Councillor Clive Furness.
Re the ‘Opinion’ article by Robert Taylor (Tribune 16th Dec). To regard the
potential death of a million Iraqis as an acceptable price to pay to have
UK/US troops home for the summer is quite simply breathtaking. To view the
British withdrawal from India as an acceptable model for withdrawal defies
belief, coming from someone who is supposedly on the Left and as such is one
who values human life.
In support of his position he prays in aid opinion polls showing that the
occupation is unpopular amongst Iraqis. He neglects to mention that when
Iraqis have been asked when the troops should leave that they have
consistently replied that it should be when the security situation is
resolved.Unlike Mr Taylor, Iraqis do not seem to relish the idea of civil
war.
Lastly Mr Taylor calls upon Iraqis to hold a referendum on the occupation,
and he does this before the votes in the general election have even been
counted.
Something like 70% of Iraqi adults have just voted, (with a choice of 231
parties and 7500 candidates). Perhaps Mr Taylor will now have the humility
to allow Iraqis and those that they have elected to decide about how and
when foreign troops leave Iraq.

The American journalist and frequent commentator on Iraqi labour movement matters David Bacon has a fascinating photodocumentary project which shows people at work on the rigs in the refineries and the ports, their unions and leaders, and their life at home with their families.

Former arts minister Mark Fisher writes in the Guardian that the cradle of civilisation is still being looted. He asks: How important is this? For the Iraqis, the damage strikes at the heart of their culture and history. Although the Iraq National Museum was founded only in 1923, it was an institution around which all Iraqis, regardless of religion, could attempt to create some shared national identity. There is also considerable significance for the rest of the world: in these sites are buried the roots of western civilisation. A line of influence (philosophical, scientific, artistic, aesthetic) runs from Mesopotamia through Greece to Rome and on to us. This is the birthplace of historiography in that it was here, in Babylonia, in southern Iraq, that writing was invented 5,000 years ago, when cuneiform, etched on clay tablets, allowed the transmission of ideas, of achievements, of records.

LFIQ Chair Dave Anderson MP has tabled a Commons motion in support of the
Books to Iraq Appeal with cross-party support from, so far, members of 4 parties. George Galloway is not one but we understand that he is otherwise engaged.
The Commons Motion reads: That this House believes that Iraq has given the world a great legacy of pharmaceutical and medical knowledge; notes that in addition to the recent conflict and continuing violence, two wars and 12 years of sanctions have had a crippling effect on Iraq’s pharmacy education and practice, severely affected access to information resources such as books and journals and imposed a total isolation from the international scientific community; and supports the new initiative Books to Iraq, www.bookstoiraq.org.uk which has been created by pharmacists who wish to contribute to rebuilding Iraqi schools of pharmacy by raising money to send them a range of medical and pharmaceutical textbooks because the safe supply of drugs and drug information is an essential tool of public health which will directly help Iraqi universities, academics and students and indirectly help the wider Iraqi population as well as help replenish the knowledge that Iraq held for humanity in the past.

The Iraqi economy has been severely affected by decades of sanctions, wars and occupation. The Iraqi trade unions and federations believe in the capacity of the country with all its oil and mineral resources to provide a decent living standard for Iraqis.
The federations and unions consider that the wars and occupation have caused a dramatic decrease in the living and social standards of Iraqis and especially of workers.
The federations and unions stress the importance of complete sovereignty for Iraq over its petroleum and natural resources so as to develop them in a way that assures a complete reconstruction of the country. We wish to stress the following points in regard to the policies of the IMF and World Bank in Iraq:
1) Increasing transparency and additional representation for Iraq in the decision-making structures of the IFIs.
2) To stop imposing structural adjustment conditions for loans.
3) Agreeing to provide funding for public services and state-owned
enterprises without demanding their privatization.
4) Canceling debts owed by Iraq that have resulted from the policies of the former regime.
5) Rejecting the reduction of spending on social services especially the elimination of government support for the food distribution system or the reduction of the number of items covered.
6) Strongly rejecting the privatization of publicly owned entities and especially of the oil, education, health, electricity, transportation and construction sectors.
7) Rejecting the increase in the price of petroleum products, considering the negative impact of the increase on the living standards of Iraqis.
8) Adopting a new labor law and a pension and social security law that assure workers’ rights and are in conformity with international labor standards and human rights conventions. The World Bank and the IMF must also respect these standards.
The unions and federations that have signed this statement announce the formation of a permanent coordinating committee that will make its positions known to the Iraqi Government and to the IFIs. They also demand that the IFIs engage in dialogue, discussion and negotiations with the trade union federations regarding their policies in Iraq.
Finally, they request the assistance of international trade union organizations to provide all possible support to the above-mentioned demands.
(Signed)
General Federation of Iraqi Workers
Oil Unions Federation in Iraq / Basra
Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq
Kurdistan General Workers Syndicate Union / Erbil
Iraqi Kurdistan Workers Syndicate Union
Amman, 16 January 2006

Learning from Precedent: the prospects for democratic consolidation in Iraq, lessons from other cases
Saturday 7th January 2006 (1pm-6pm please note revised start time)
The Board Room
Town House 102
Kingston University
Penrhyn Road Campus
Kingston Upon Thames
(Directions at bottom of this email)
In the aftermath of the Iraqi election the debate on the prospects for democratic consolidation in Iraq will be more intense than ever. The Helen Bamber Centre, the Labour Friends of Iraq, the UK Iraqi Community Association and the Centre for Federal Studies,University of Kent, have combined to arrange an afternoons discussion on theme of democratic consolidation on Saturday 7th January 2006 at Kingston University. Our object is to develop the seminar held in the summer on the theme of Learning from Precedent and explore the extent to which other cases of post-conflict transition to democracy hold clues and provide blueprints/lessons for the prospects for democratic consolidation in Iraq. The event is primarily designed for Iraqis involved in building democracy in Iraq and the aim is one of capacity building through exchange and discussion.
1.00-2.30: Opening Plenary:
Democratic Consolidation: An overview
Professor Gerard Alexander, Univeristy of Virginia, author of the highly acclaimed, The Sources of Democratic Consolidation (Cornell University Press, 2002)
3.00-5.00: Panel discussion
Dr. Joan Maholloy LSE, Professor Michael Burgess, Kent, Abdullah Muhsin, Philip Spencer, Kingston
5.00-6.00: Conclusing discussion
Travel Directions
How to get to Penrhyn Road – detailed travel directions
By train and bus
By car
By train and bus
Train from London Waterloo to Surbiton
Exit railway station to left
Cross mini roundabout to Lloyds TSB bank in Claremont Road
Bus stop is in front of Waitrose. The following buses are routed via Penrhyn Road: 71, 281, 406, 465, 479, K2, K3
Ask bus driver for correct stop.
By car
NB: There is very limited parking at Penrhyn Road, you are advised to use a public car park. The nearest one is in The Bittoms, just off Penrhyn Road (see map).
From the North:
M1 to junction 6a (M25)
M25 to junction 13 (A30)
A30 to A308
A308 to Hampton Court roundabout
Turn right, signposted ‘Guildford, A3, A309’ – this route avoids Kingston one way system
A309 to second roundabout (Scilly Isles). First turn on left (A307)
A307 (Portsmouth Road, High Street) to Kingston. River appears on left
At mini roundabout turn right (Kingston Hall Rd)
Right at next (College) roundabout, signposted ‘University – Penrhyn Rd’
Penrhyn Road campus is about half a mile on left along road.
From the South:
M25 to junction 9 (A243)
A243 to junction with A3 at Hook roundabout
Straight over roundabout (Hook Road)
Hook Road until mini roundabout
Straight over roundabout (Upper Brighton Rd)
At T junction, turn right (Portsmouth Rd), river on left
At mini roundabout turn right (Kingston Hall Rd)
Right at next (College) roundabout, signposted ‘University – Penrhyn Rd’
Penrhyn Road campus is about half a mile on left along road.
From London:
A3 from London to Tolworth roundabout
Third exit, signposted ‘A240’
A240 (Ewell Road, Surbiton Hill Road, Penrhyn Road) for about two miles
Penrhyn Road campus is on right of Penrhyn Road (A240), opposite County Hall.

The following letter appears in the Guardian.
As a London-based Iraqi currently visiting family and friends all over Iraq, I cannot help but notice the sense of hope surging through this devastated country. The Iraqi people have been summoned to the ballot three times within one year and on all three occasions have responded in their masses, all eager to have a say in the new democratic Iraq. It’s a shame, therefore, that despite the optimism within Iraq, the western media continues to portray the situation in Iraq in a negative light – particularly the recent elections.
We should not forget that the concept of democracy is new to the people of Iraq, who have had to endure more than two decades of brutal dictatorship. So the fact many voted on sectarian lines is hardly surprising, nor was it unexpected. The allegations of fraud have also been overblown. The UN representative in Iraq has described the elections as one of the most transparent to be held in the Middle East. Even with the votes under scrutiny for fraud, the final results will remain unaffected.
After three defeats at the ballot box, the Sunnis must now realise that the era when the minority ruled over the majority has passed. That the United Iraqi Alliance, the clear victor of this election, is already beginning negotiations to form a government of national unity that will include Arab Sunnis, Kurds and Turkoman is another positive sign: in the new democratic Iraq, all will share in the building of a bright future.
With every vote cast, Iraqis continue to defy the terrorists who fear a democratic Iraq. Try as they might, the terrorists will not win over the resilience of the Iraqi people as a whole.
Ahmed Alaskary
London

Blaydon MP Dave Anderson chaired a briefing in the Commons, on Tuesday, on the new unified Iraqi TUC – the Iraqi Workers Federation – with senior trade union leaders, party activists and Foreign Office and Iraqi officials.
These included Kevin Curran from the International Foodworkers’ Union, Tim Lezard, President of the NUJ and Joni McDougall, the International Secretary of the GMB.
The meeting was addressed by the Iraqi labour movement’s international representative Abdullah Muhsin who stressed the importance of the free unions as part of Iraq’s new non-sectarian civil society.
Dave Anderson, who is Chair of the Labour Friends of Iraq group, said: “People took different views on the invasion of Iraq but we should now do all we can to back Iraqi democrats and the new unions in particular which are trying to bring peace and democracy to their country.The recent elections in Iraq and the development of a genuinely independent trade union movement point to real progress on the road to democracy. At this time of year our thoughts should be with the people of Iraq and our troops on the ground. I intend to continue to work with the Itaqi people to help them in any way that I can to rebuild their lives.”
Dave Anderson is also helping to publicise the new Books to Iraq initiative which aims to raise money for medical textbooks to help rebuild Iraq’s public health education system. The biggest union in the country, Unison, has agreed to encourage its members to help with the appeal.
Dave Anderson will raise this issue in the Commons in the new year with the following Commons motion:
That this House believes that Iraq has given the world a great legacy of pharmaceutical and medical knowledge; further notes that in addition to the recent conflict and continuing violence two wars and twelve years of sanctions have had a crippling effect on Iraq’s pharmacy education and practice, severely affected access to information resources such as books and journals and imposed a total isolation from the international scientific community; and supports the new initiative Books to Iraq – www.bookstoiraq.org.uk – which has been created by pharmacists who wish to contribute to rebuilding Iraqi Schools of Pharmacy by raising money to send them a range of medical and pharmaceutical textbooks because the safe supply of drugs, and drug information is an essential tool of public health which will directly help Iraqi Universities, academics and students and indirectly help the wider Iraqi population as well as help replenish the knowledge that Iraq held for humanity in the past.