Iraqi praises solidarity of firefighters
(Friday 13 May 2005)
by LOUISE NASTRATPOUR in Southport
IRAQI Federation of Trade Unions spokesman Abdullah Muhsin praised Britain's firefighters yesterday for their "magnificent show of solidarity" with the Iraqi people in their struggle against war and occupation.
The trade unions' international representative told conference of the "brutal and systematic" torture and murder of his comrades at the hands of Saddam Hussein. But he stressed that Iraqi people never wanted the US-led war and occupation.
"The principled position that the FBU took against the war and occupation of Iraq and your call for the return of the full sovereignty of that country is highly appreciated by the people," he said.
"The IFTU was against the war from the outset because we knew that the victims would be innocent civilians, not the regime.
"We knew that Saddam had no support among the masses and could be overthrown by the Iraqis. But our cry for genuine international help was ignored."
Mr Muhsin called for Iraq's "crippling" debt to be cancelled and condemned the US-led occupation's "squandering" of the country's oil wealth.
"The country's oil wells were looted by the regime for arms, wars and personal enrichment. And today, that wealth is squandered to pay for the occupation," he noted.
He explained that the Iraqi trade unionists' priorities are now to "keep Iraq intact" - as the risk of Iraq decending into a civil war is still very real - and to include free and democratic trade union laws in the new constitution.
"We accept nothing less than a strong and democratic trade union movement and a fully sovereign Iraq," the speaker declared.
Mr Muhsin gave a dark and horrific account of the fate of Iraqi trade unionists under Saddam's regime, noting that, like many others, he was forced to flee the country in 1978, as the regime launched a merciless campaign against the progressive elements in the country - in particular, trade unionists, communists, students and women's organisations.
"Saddam's regime initiated a campaign of terror, where most of the union activists were imprisoned, tortured, executed or disappeared," he said.
"For many Iraqi people, the term union became associated with oppression and terror. Their response to joining a union was 'keep away from us. We want to live in peace.'."
As a result, an underground movement was established in 1980 and this helped to organise strikes around the country. Many of those strikes were "brutally crushed."
Mr Muhsin blamed the high unemployment for the recent explosion of violent attacks in the country and condemned the insurgents as "a sinister and reactionary coalition" of religious fundamentalist who exploit the popular anti-US sentiment in the country.
"The foreign troops must leave in order to isolate the cynical and the anti-social forces that indiscriminately bomb and kill innocent people," he insisted.
Mr Muhsin went on to highlight the Iraq election in January, branding it a "historic breakthrough." He said that 60 per cent - 8.5 million - Iraqis had gone to the polls, despite the constant bomb attacks on voters.
"As lines of voters were being blown up by suicide bombers, they cast their ballots. These are the martyrs of the new Iraqi democracy," he added.
Posted at May 13, 2005 02:31 PM