" No To
occupation":Iraqis March
By Baghdad Burning
10 April, 2005
Baghdad Burning
Thousands
were demonstrating today all over the country. Many areas in Baghdad
were cut off today for security reasons and to accomodate the demonstrators,
I suppose. There were some Sunni demonstrations but the large majority
of demonstrators were actually Shia and followers of Al Sadr. They came
from all over Baghdad and met up in Firdaws Square- the supposed square
of liberation. They were in the thousands. None of the news channels
were actually covering it. Jazeera showed fragments of the protests
in the afternoon but everyone else seemed to busy with some other news
story. Thanks to E. for sending me this link. Check
out the protest here.
BBC and EuroNews
were busily covering the wedding between Prince Charles and the dreadful
Camilla. CNN was showing the Pope's funeral. No one bothered with the
demonstrations in Baghdad, Mosul, Anbar and the south. There were hundreds
of thousands of Shia screaming "No to America. No to terrorism.
No to occupation. No to the devil. No to Israel." The numbers were
amazing and a little bit frightening too.
Ever since Jalal
Talbani was named president, there have been many angry Shia. It's useless
explaining that the presidential chair is only symbolic- it doesn't
mean anything. "La izayid we la inaqis." As we say in Iraq.
"It doesn't increase anything, nor does it decrease anything."
People have the sense that all the positions are 'symbolic'- hence,
why shouldn't the Shia get the head symbol? The disturbing thing is
how the Kurds could agree to have someone with so much blood on his
hands. Talbani is known for his dealings with Turkey, Britain, America
and other and his feuds with Barazani have led to the deaths of thousands
of Kurds.
The weather is warm
now. We often turn on the ceiling fan (or panka) in an attempt to move
around the muggy air. April is a month of fresh beginnings all over
the world but in Iraq, April is not the best of months. April is a month
of muggy warmth and air thick with dust and sand- and now of occupation.
We opened the month with a dust storm that left the furniture in our
houses sand-colored with an opaque layer of dust. We breathed dust,
ate dust and drank dust for a few days. The air is clearer now but everything
is looking a little bit diminished and dirty. It suits the mood.
Two years and this
is Occupation Day once more. One wonders what has changed in this last
year. The same faces of April 2004, but now they have differing positions
in April 2005. The chess pieces were moved around and adjusted and every
one is getting tired of the game.
Who was it that
said April was a cruel month? They knew what they were talking about...