By virtue of an invitation from the Iraqi Solidarity Dashty Jamal from Federation of Workers’ Council and Unions in Iraq was invited to attend series of meetings, seminars, and interviews with trade unions, leftwing parties and Iraqi refugees in France between 12 and 21 of May 2005. In this tour tens of figures, organisations and progressive people of France supported the workers’ struggle, the FWCUI, the egalitarian movement of women, students, teachers, and Iraqi Freedom Congress. The aim of the tour was to convey the news and reactions of the workers’, students, teachers’ protest and to familiarize those present about the recent activities of the FWCUI, Iraqi Freedom Congress, Organisation of Women’s Freedom and the human front of freedom and progress in Iraq to put an end to the occupation and political Islam. 

 

 

This is an extract of Dashty Jamal’s speech in Paris, Lille, Moulins, Lyon, Grenoble,and Besancon.

 

 

 

The U.S war and the occupation of Iraq have subjected the Iraqi society to a complicated situation and resulted in disintegration of all civil society’s elements and all the social services, and economic infrastructure gone to pieces. A dark scenario is now being carried out in Iraq.

 

The whole society is encountering hunger, and unemployment. The people of Iraq are deprived of the basic daily needs such as security, employment, medicine, and secular administration to protect the lives and rights of the people.

 

The people are in grave danger of the political Islamic actions, the US military reactions, explosions, terrorist reactionary conflicts, militarizing the people’s work living and working place, kidnapping journalists, and foreign workers, and beheading them in a most cruel and unprecedented  way in human’s history.

 

All these are the out comes of the US occupation, and the terrorist conflict and struggle between the United States and political Islam which is unusual in contemporary history.

 

I was in Iraq recently and I saw what the occupation means in every day living of Iraqi people, there is a presence of occupying forces and are in huge convoy’s ready to shot at people at any time.

 

There is lack of state to provide the simplest standards of security to people, let alone the basic services in Baghdad the electricity runs only for 5 hours a day.

 

 

 

The so called Iraqi parliament is a puppet and has no impact in improving the lives of Iraqi people; they have a lot of conflict inside their so called parliament. The society have been left alone and the Islamic terrorists are using the occupation as a pretext to behead, kill, and kidnap people, to veil women, and deprive them from their most basic rights.

 

The Iraqi people are very fed up with the occupation and so called Islamic

“Resistance “they do not see any of them as liberators they see them as terrorists who are fighting to impose their rules over Iraqi masses.  They commit beheading of women and children and dump it into the rivers of Baghdad. The explosions, and suicide bombing are been carried out every day many times.

 

But among this chaos and terrorism workers and women of Iraq have been organising and mobilising themselves to fight for their rights and shape the future politics of Iraq.

 

Just after the collapse of Saddam’s regime and the start of occupation the Union of unemployed have been established in May 2003 to defend the rights of many unemployed women and men who have lost all their jobs due to war and occupation of Iraq.

The UUI have carried out 45 day sit in on august 2003 in front of occupation authorities to demand jobs or unemployment benefit. UUI have been trying to achieve job opportunities for unemployed workers, to also organise demonstrations in other cities.

 

Then the organisation of women’s freedom in Iraq was founded in June 2003 to defend the rights and freedoms of women in Iraq who have been victimised by both USA and Political Islamists.

 

This organisation have carried out many demonstrations, conferences, campaigns and seminars to raise the women’s question and fight both against the occupation as well as Islamists.

 

In May 2003 many preparatory committees of workers councils have been established through out Iraq for those workers who were still at work in some factories that survived the war.

 

Then in the beginning of December 2003 the first workers conference have been organised in Baghdad to create a federation of workers councils and unions across Iraq.

Our federation have been active and gaining momentum since then. We have branches in many cities in Iraq such as Baghdad, Nasriyah, Basra, Kut, Miqdadiyah, Kerkuk, etc.

 

Many workers union have joined us and are still joining us due to our progressive and non compromising stands to defend workers rights.

 We have been organising many strikes in the working places such as in Nasriaah electricity power station, Basra, Kut and Baghdad.

 

FWCUI have managed to hold two major conferences one in Basra and one in Baghdad.

 

I have taken part in the recent Baghdad conference on 8 April 2005 of workers in which more than 200 workers delegate have attended. The thyme of the conference was (the power of the working class is in its unity and organisation).

 

In this conference women have had a good presence and many important issues were discussed such, the role of worker in determining the fate of society, a modern labour code, activation of working women’s role in our federation as well as electing a new executive committee in which have of it are women.

 

These initiatives and activities by workers and women of Iraq are very important in our struggle to end the occupation of Iraq and provide our own alternative which is a secular progressive one.

Therefore the Iraq Freedom Congress IFC have been founded by workers and women in Iraq to end the occupation of Iraq, establish civil society and end the dark rule of political Islam.

 

IFC is a broad organisation committed to establishing a free, secular and non-ethnic government in Iraq – a government based on direct sovereignty of people of Iraq, and committed to guarantying their right to freely and consciously determine the system of governance in Iraq.  

 

IFC is independent, democratic, non-religious and non-ethnic.

The reality is that in Iraq workers and women have come to the forefront to be able to defeat the US hegemony and to end the dark rule of Islamists. We want to have our own secular progressive alternative to save the society from chaos and more destruction.

Today more then ever we need international solidarity to strengthen our ranks and empower the working class in Iraq.

Iraqi people are living under a nightmare and a dark scenario. The escalation of your struggle and pressure on America to end its occupation is a necessity to end this catastrophic situation to eradicate the political Islam.

The workers movement is looking forward to hear from your support. I am calling upon you to support FWCUI and IFC & OWFI financially as far as possible.

Dashty Jamal

FWCUI –Rep. in UK

22. May 2005

The address of the FWCUI in Baghdad:

Bab Al-Sharki, Al Rasheed St,
Old Labor Union Bldg. Baghdad, Iraq

E-MAIL:d.jamal@ntlworld.com

www.uuiraq.org

Bank Account:

Lloyds TSB

 (UUI)

SORT CODE: 309451

BANK ACCOUNT: 11610268

UK CONTACT:

POBOX1575

ILFORD IG1 3BZ

LONDON_UK

TEL: 004407734704742