An eye witness to the demonstration reported the following:
The demonstration started at 9:00 am Basra time and was in front of the governorate office at 10:00 am. Hundreds of demonstrators carried signs protesting
the oil law, government dictated hikes in oil and gas prices paid
by Iraqis, demanding workers rights, and that the minister of oil
resign. It was a peaceful demonstration. They carried a black coffin
on which they wrote "Democracy is Dead, No Freedom." A statement from
the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions was read by Farj Rbat, the media
officer, in the presence on the governorate officials who also read a
statement supporting the demands of the demonstrators. Accordingly, a
letter will be sent to the prime minister supported with another
letter form the governor of Basra. At the same time
similar demonstrations took place in Amara and Nassiryya . The
demonstration lasted for two hours.
U.S. LABOR AGAINST THE WAR & OIL CHANGE INTERNATIONAL
MEDIA ADVISORY: Release July 16, 2007
Contact: For information on the Iraq Oil Law: Antonia Juhasz, Oil Change International (415) 846-5447
For information on the Oil Workers Union and Protest in Basra: Denice
Lombard, U.S. Labor Against the War (202) 320-5588
IRAQIS PROTEST OIL LAW
Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions Draws Line in the Sand
Opposition to Law Garners Growing International Support
Basra, Iraq Today hundreds of Iraqis, led by the Iraqi Federation
of
Oil Unions (IFOU), took to the streets of Basra to demand that the
Iraqi Parliament reject the proposed Oil Law. [1] Simultaneous
demonstrations took place in Amara and Nassiryya. Local governate
officials made statements in support of the demonstration and, along
with the governor of Basra, have committed to sending letters to the
Minister of Oil supporting the Union's demands.
Hassan Juma'a Awad al Assadi, President of the IFOU, charges that the
proposed Oil Law surrenders Iraq's economic sovereignty to
multinational oil companies: "'We will lose control over Iraqi oil.
Therefore, the social progress in Iraq will be curtailed
substantially, because the oil companies want huge profits; they are
not concerned about the environment, wages, or living conditions..."
The IFOU calls for immediate and complete withdrawal of all foreign
forces from Iraq. The union represents 26,000 members in 10 state
oil
and gas companies across four governorates in the south of Iraq.
The Union was moved to public protest after initiating a strike on
June 4, 2007 over a range of workplace issues and in opposition to
the
proposed Oil Law. IFOU leaders have said their members are prepared
to strike again in defense of their nationalized oil industry.
Iraq's
oil has been in the public sector since the 1970s.
The call to demonstrate was also sparked by increased pressure by the
Bush Administration on the Iraqi Parliament to pass the Oil Law which
would open two thirds of Iraq's oil to foreign control through
contracts that could last as long as 30 years. Adoption of the law
is
one the benchmarks imposed on Iraq by the U.S. as a condition of
continued reconstruction aid and support for the Maliki
government.
Unions, other organizations and individuals around the world are
calling on their elected representatives to demand that the U.S.
government stop pressuring the Iraqis to pass the Oil Law. In the
U.S., the labor and anti-war movements are calling on members of
Congress who say they're against the war to drop the Oil Law
benchmark
and cease all U.S. pressure on the Iraqis to transform their oil
industry for the benefit of multinational oil corporations. The
activists will also focus on the International Oil Companies who have
helped draft that Oil Law, have applied their own pressure on the
Iraqis to pass the law, and seek to now profit from the invasion and
occupation of Iraq.
For video of the demonstration use this link:
[1] Demands from the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions to Parliament
include to: (1) reject the proposed oil law; (2) expel the current
Oil
Minister; (3) abolish the recently announced hike in oil and gas
prices in Iraq; and (4) pass a law to establish labor rights and
legalize trade unions.
A commercial media account follows.
 07.16.07, 5:23 AM ET
BASRA (Thomson Financial) - About 300 oil industry workers gathered
in
Iraq's main oil port of Basra today to protest a draft law that they
said would allow foreigners to pillage the country's wealth.
'To compensate for the military and political failure of the US
administration in Iraq, this administration is trying to control the
country's wealth,' the organisers said in a statement distributed to
reporters.
'If this is endorsed by the parliament it would abolish sovereignty
and hand over the wealth of this generation and the generations to
come as a gift to the occupier,' the statement said.
The protesters, employees of the Oil Pipelines Company, wore black
surgical masks over their faces and carried banners and black coffins
with the word 'freedom' written on the sides.
At issue is a clause in the draft hydrocarbon law allowing for
production-sharing agreements with foreign oil companies, which many
Iraqis see as a throwback to an earlier era of colonial
exploitation.
'This law, in fact destroys the achievements of the Iraqi masses and
especially the Law number 80 of 1961 and the nationalisation of
1973,'
the statement said.
The law from 1961, part of a bundle of socialist reforms issued by
then-Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim, sharply limited foreign
involvement in the oil sector.
US officials see the passing of the draft hydrocarbon law -- aimed at
equitably distributing Iraq's oil proceeds -- as a crucial benchmark
of the country's political process and a key component of national
reconciliation.
tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com
slj
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