CPTnet
8 June 2005
IRAQ UPDATE: 28-31 May 2005
Saturday, 28 May 2005
In the morning, the CPT delegation visited an Iraqi human rights group
called Women's Will. In the afternoon they visited a group called Culture
for All. They heard about how Culture for All builds trust with other
grassroots Iraqi nongovernmental organizations (NGOs. ) The speakers told
the group that many Iraqi NGOs claim to be independent but are really
attached to government agendas.
Tom Fox and Joe Carr traveled to Fallujah to assess the situation there.
They had to wait for forty-five minutes to pass through the checkpoint into
the city. Once in Fallujah, the CPTers first met with a local Sunni cleric
to outline some ideas for monitoring checkpoints and getting information out
to international human rights groups and North American citizens.
They toured devastated areas in the western part of the city and then talked
with a shopkeeper. The shopkeeper said that with the new restrictions on
entry into the city he must now travel an hour to pickup produce to sell. It
then takes him up to four hours to return because of the long lines at the
checkpoint for truckers. He said Iraqi National Guard and U.S. troops often
overturn crates of produce as they search his truck. He fixes up the produce
and then at the next stage of the checkpoint it happens again. An owner of
a building supplies store said that the price of his supplies (cement and
bricks) has increased almost 100% since the U.S.- led attack last November.
Sunday, 29 May 2005
The delegation left for the city of Karbala in three cars at 7:00 a.m.. The
highway from Baghdad was closed because a two-mile long U.S. military convoy
was amassing on the highway outside a U.S. base. The delegation had to wait
an hour to turn around and find an alternate route. Along the way, the
delegation and CPTers noticed mile-long lineups for cars at the gas
stations.
The delegation arrived in Karbala at 11:00 a.m..
They met briefly with several members of Human Rights Watch Karbala. In the
evening, they met with a representative of the Hussein shrine and took a
tour. Hussein is the heir of the Prophet Mohammed and venerated in the Shi'a
faith. Even though the shrine's new library was closed, the shrine officials
allowed the delegation to enter and see the books.
In Baghdad, the Iraqi police force started "Operation Lightning." Their goal
was to surround Baghdad with checkpoints and look for insurgents. Fox
noticed an increase in Iraqi police activity but did not see any increase in
violence or the number of checkpoints.
Monday, 30 May 2005
At 8:30 a.m., the delegation went to the Lima Camp, a U.S. base outside
Karbala. They met with the Chaplain, and two majors. After talking about the
rebuilding the U.S. army is doing in Karbala and the process Iraqis must
follow to apply for help in reconstruction, the Chaplain and majors invited
the delegates to attend a Memorial Day service in the chapel.
The delegation spent the afternoon with Karbala Human Rights Watch and
learned about the mass graves in the Karbala governate.
In the evening, the delegation met with members of Muslim Peacemaker Teams
(MPT) and heard about the past MPT action in Fallujah and MPT's hopes for
the future.
The CPT apartment in Baghdad received only two hours of electricity from the
city grid. CPT's landlord told Fox that because of a shortage in
electricity, more people were running their generators. The line ups had
returned to the gas stations because the demand for gas had gone up due to
the electricity shortage.
Tuesday, 31 May 2005
The delegation left Karbala for Baghdad at 6:00 a.m.. The cars they traveled
in spent half an hour at a checkpoint to enter the Baghdad governate. The
delegation arrived at the CPT apartment at 9:30 a.m..
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