Iraq: Anti-US protests growing

2003-04-15 20:53

Baghdad - Anti-American protests intensified here and in southern Iraq on Tuesday, as US forces struggled with the complex task of rebuilding the country after toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Exasperated US military officials tried to hamper the media from covering new demonstrations in Baghdad while some 20 000 people in the Shiite Muslim bastion of Nasiriyah railed against a US-staged meeting on Iraq's future.

The protests came as the Americans delivered a first progress report in their effort to restore Iraq to normalcy and head off a chorus of criticism over continued lawlessness and a lack of basic services.

Some 200 to 300 Iraqis gathered on Tuesday outside the Palestine Hotel, where the US marines have set up an operations base, for a third straight day of protests against the US occupation.

For the first time, visibly angered US military officials sought to distance the media from the protest, moving reporters and cameras about 30m from the barbed-wired entrance to the hotel.

"We want you to pull back to the back of the hotel because they (the Iraqis) are only performing because the media are here," said a marine colonel who wore the name Zarcone but would not give his first name or title.

Won't tolerate occupation

The crowd later moved to the nearby square where the statue of Saddam was toppled on Wednesday to signal the end of the regime. As three of the marines' armoured amphibious vehicles passed by, they chanted: "No, no, USA."

Meanwhile, demonstrators marched to the centre of the predominantly Shi'ite southern city of Nasiriyah, chanting "Yes to freedom... Yes to Islam... No to America, No to Saddam."

They were protesting a meeting of Iraqi opposition groups convened at a nearby military base in an initial attempt by the United States to plot out a political future for the post-Saddam Iraq.

"We want the American and British forces to go. They have freed us from Saddam and their job is finished," said Ihsan Mohammad, an official with the regional federation of engineers.

"If they intend to occupy us, we will oppose that. We ask them to leave us free to decide our future and not to impose people on us."

Although US officials have all but declared their military campaign over, tensions with the civilian population persist over a lack of police protection, water, electricity and other basic services.

As the Iraqi protest grew more vocal outside the hotel, a marine corporal was holding an impromptu briefing for a few reporters on the progress made.

Corporal John Hoellwarth said the US forces planned to boost joint police patrols, bring more hospitals back into service and have power restored to parts of Baghdad within 72 hours.

He said 50 electrical engineers were brought in to assess the damage to the power system of the capital which went down on April 4 amid massive US bombings and repairs began on Monday.

Water, power

"We expect power to be restored to parts of Baghdad in the next 48 to 72 hours," he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said separately that water should be restored to much of eastern Baghdad on Wednesday as its staff repaired the Qanat pumping station.

"Our engineers worked for 12 years to get these pumping stations working. They know them like the back of their hand," said ICRC spokesperson Roland Huguenin-Benjamin.

He said the power outages were also preventing the distrubtion of water.

With Baghdad's hospital system in a virtual state of collapse after widespread pillage, Hoellwarth said 14 of the city's 33 facilities were secure and operational. He could not say when the others would reopen.

Hoellworth said that joint Iraqi-US police patrols began on Monday with five Iraqi cars going out accompanied by marines in all-terrain Humvees, and "today many more patrols are running".

He said that US forces put out a call for 150 Iraqi policemen on Monday and had between 700 and 1 000 reporting for duty.

"They are progressing steadily and we are also working out neighbourhood watch programmes," Hoellwarth said.

- AFX