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Iraq's Ex-soldiers Take to Streets
BBC News-UK http://www.bbc.co.uk/ June 2, 2003
Hundreds of former Iraqi soldiers have staged a protest in Baghdad demanding pay following the disbanding of the army. Demonstrators in civilian clothes massed outside the offices of the US-led administration currently running Iraq, complaining of financial hardships. The administration last month abolished the 400,000-strong armed forces and defence ministry. Monday saw it announce that recruitment for a new army would begin before the end of June.
The former ruling Baath party has also been dissolved amid US efforts to set up an alternative power structure in the country. But a US official's suggestion that a planned national conference to elect an interim administration might be scrapped has provoked more suspicion among Iraqis. The latest proposals would establish a political council and appoint Iraqi advisors to help the administration run government ministries. The BBC's Richard Miron in Baghdad says the vagueness of the new ideas and the lack of concrete deadlines have convinced some Iraqis that this is a delaying tactic by the Americans to strengthen their hold on the country and extend their stay indefinitely. Attack threat Monday's protest in Baghdad by former military officials was largely peaceful although a number of demonstrators were reported to have been arrested. Many of those present claimed they could no longer feed their families. "The Americans should know that at least five people depend on every Iraqi soldier and they need a source of income," one ex-general told the French news agency AFP. Another ex-officer said that a foreign occupying force did not have the right to dissolve the Iraqi army. And others even threatened suicide attacks against US forces attacks unless they were paid. The protest, which at its peak was estimated to have been attended by more than 3,000 angry soldiers, broke up after coalition officials reportedly promised that the demands would be discussed. However, they stressed that no promises over pay had been made. US officials are said to be planning a new Iraqi army of about 40,00-50,000 men. "We expect to begin recruiting members of the New Iraqi Corps before the end of this month," the US civilian administrator Paul Bremer said on Monday. "We are looking at other ways to stimulate the economy."
Direct Link: --http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/2956638.stm
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