Political unrest in Iraq threatens civilians

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Iraqis are still living in a climate of fear, seven years after the US-led invasion. That’s the conclusion of a new report out by Amnesty International. The human rights group says more than 100 civilians died in the first week of April alone. The World’s Katy Clark reports. (Photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

• Amnesty report (pdf)
• BBC coverage

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MARCO WERMAN:  I’m Marco Werman, this is The World.  On the surface it would seem that things are improving in Iraq.  Violence is down from previous years and elections were held on schedule recently.  That means plans for a U.S. troop withdrawal next year proceed on schedule.  But below that surface there are problems.  Iraq’s recent elections did not produce a clear winner.  That’s created an ongoing political vacuum in Baghdad.  And according to a new report out today, Iraqi civilians are dying in large numbers.  Here’s more on that from The World’s Katy Clark.

KATY CLARK:  A report released today by Amnesty International describes how hundreds of Iraqi civilians are still being killed and injured each month.  It warns that the political impasse in Iraq is exacerbating the situation.  The human rights group notes that more than 100 Iraqi civilians were killed in the first week of April alone.  Carsten Jurgensen is one of the authors of the Amnesty report.  He says the victims of violence come from all walks of life.

CARSTEN JURGENSEN:  In our report we focused on groups who are particularly targeted.  Chiefly from groups like Al Qaeda, militias, some people are also attacked and at risk from government authorities or by their own relatives.

CLARK: Jurgensen says anyone who draws attention to themselves in Iraq these days is putting him or herself in extreme danger.  That includes human rights defenders, journalists and political activists.

JURGENSEN: We’ve spoken to a number of political activists.  Some had been attacked in the context of the upcoming elections they were standing for a seat in Parliament.  So as I’ve said, people who are speaking out are at risk.

CLARK: The Amnesty report also paints a pretty bleak picture for religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq or homosexuals and for Iraqi refugees who are forced to return home.

JURGENSEN: For instance, only a few weeks ago the Dutch authorities returned a group of about 35 people back to Baghdad.  One young man who is from a very dangerous city close to Mosul, he is a member of the Turkmen Shiite community.  He told me that he can’t go back there.  He’s not even in contact with his family.  He’s now stranded in Baghdad and depends on other people supporting him he doesn’t even know.

CLARK: Iraqi Dhiaa Al-Asadi generally agrees with the basic points of the Amnesty report.  Al-Asadi is currently living in England with his wife and children while working on his Ph.D.  He recently returned to Iraq for a brief visit and says he didn’t like what he saw there.

DHIAA AL-ASADI:  You can be attacked at any moment if there are no security forces in the streets, especially when you are a particular person who works in politics or human rights and you’ve got different opinions that do not necessarily agree with the influential people.

CLARK: Amnesty’s Carsten Jurgensen says his group has been raising concerns about the lack of security in Iraq for years with various Iraqi leaders.  He describes their responses and mixed.  It’s especially bad now that politicians occupy their time fighting over power.

JURGENSEN: For us it is important that the incoming government takes urgent steps to improve the security situation.  In fact, if the process of forming government takes longer, it’s not something which can wait.

CLARK: But it may have to wait.  No one expects the political impasse in Iraq will be resolved any time soon.  For The World, this is Katy Clark.

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