Security instability and the increasing number of terror victims in Iraq have pushed Iraqi intellectuals to take on new and unfamiliar roles. They have entered the political scene by organizing campaigns, cultural and social events to promote several objectives, gaining the support of citizens all over Iraq. Within a few months, the Iraqi public had started participating in these protests and marches, and sharing their activities over social media. The campaign organizers believe that their work gives hope to Iraqis by making the world aware of what they have been going through.
Hashd is one national movement to classify the crimes committed in Iraq as genocide by virtue of the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The Iraqi street seems to have welcomed these activities, since it has given up on politicians’ empty promises to improve the security situation. Iraqis from different social backgrounds have begun participating in the campaign events and talking about them on social media websites. This new mobilization indicates that the intellectuals might be able to play an effective role in changing Iraq.
The campaign’s spokesman, Ahmad al-Shamri of Baghdad, told Al-Monitor over the phone, “This campaign was launched because we are sensing that the Iraqi government is no longer capable of performing this role since it is too busy with its untreatable problems. What has been happening in Iraq for the past 10 years now is not a simple series of random terrorist acts. These are well organized operations, executed by groups supported by both internal and foreign parties.
“The Iraqi Hashd campaign possesses statistics of devastating numbers of terrorism victims in Iraq. This is proof that the crimes committed in Iraq are not ordinary. This is genocide,” Shamri continued.
The campaign involves collaboration with human rights organizations in Iraq and the Ministry of Human Rights and the Ministry of Health to gather statistics and other information.
According to Shamri, the campaign has sent delegates to sites of bombings and terror to gather information on the number of victims. This data will be sent to international organizations concerned with such matters, such as Human Rights Watch and the representative of the UN secretary-general in Iraq. The campaign also appointed a representative in the United Kingdom to introduce its activities and objectives there. Shamri said that the data available shows that the campaign has been able to reach countries outside of Iraq and gain the support of international organizations.
Another group of intellectuals and Iraqi university professors started a popular campaign under the slogan “Stop the Iraqi bloodshed.” This campaign has organized a number of marches and protests in Baghdad, the most recent of which took place Aug. 29 on Mutanabbi Street.
The organizer of the campaign, Ali Abboud, a philosophy professor at the University of Baghdad, told Al-Monitor over the phone, “We should not stay silent concerning the acts that are being committed in Iraq. All Iraqis are targeted now — Shiites, Sunnis, Christians and Yazidis. This bloodshed must end.”
This campaign differs from the Hashd one in that it holds the Iraqi government responsible for the corruption and the weakness of the political and military leaderships that contributed to the continuation of this bloodshed. Its demands aim to prosecute the politicians and soldiers that failed to fulfill their duties and caused the ongoing tragedies in Iraq.
Since the campaign’s demands are not limited to one sect, it is widely supported by the Iraqi public, said Abboud, adding, “People from all different sects in Iraq are supporting these campaigns. This encourages us to continue our work and multiply our efforts until our demands are met, even if it costs us to clash with the politicians who proved to be incompetent to defend the Iraqi people.”
*) Shukur Khilkhal is an Iraqi writer and media reporter. Specialized in Islamic culture and history, he worked in Iraqi journalism for several years. Khilkhal further worked in TV productions, writing and producing many television programs and documentaries
Source Al Monitor: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/iraq-campaigns-mass-genocide-terrorist.html
Posted September 3, 2014
Comment here