Iraqis stand against violence

Shortly before The Guardian went to press it was 
announced that the first step in the hand-over of power to an 
Iraqi Government had taken place in Baghdad on June 28 — two 
days earlier than scheduled. But Iraq and its people continue to 
suffer the consequences of military invasion and occupation and a 
terror campaign launched by the remnants of the Saddam Hussein 
regime and outside terrorist forces. The mass media tends to 
present these attacks as popular acts of resistance to the 
occupation forces. A closer examination shows that while some US 
soldiers have been killed, the majority of deaths are Iraqis.

An editorial in the weekly newspaper of the Iraqi Communist 
Party, Tareeq Al-Shaab, in its issue of June 19, denounced 
these acts of violence, often on civilian targets, in the 
strongest terms. The editorial said that defeating terror is an 
urgent patriotic task. The editorial continued:

"The country has recently witnessed an escalation of violence, 
acts of sabotage and terror, including car bombings that have 
killed scores of innocent Iraqis and foreigners.

"Such murders and intentional harm have exposed the true nature 
and designs of those who carry them out and those who stand 
behind them. The fig leaf that the terrorists sought to take 
cover behind has fallen. All attempts to give their crimes the 
semblance of credible resistance have failed.

"The butchering of Iraqis will only provide additional pretext 
for those, inside and outside the country, who want to keep Iraq 
bleeding in order to achieve their sinister self-interested 
designs.

"The message, deeds and aims of the terrorists are obvious to any 
objective observer regardless of the glorifying and drum-beating 
in some of the media which relish nothing more than scenes of 
destruction, bloodletting, scorched corpses and scattered human 
limbs.

March of the people

"However, the march of our people proceeds, albeit painfully, 
with optimism towards their desired goal — regaining full 
sovereignty and advancing the political process to its final 
objective of building a democratic Iraq.

"It is imperative to tackle the difficulties exploited by the 
enemies of our people, especially the delay in transferring the 
responsibility for handling security to the Iraqis.

"We stress the need for a comprehensive approach to the security 
issue. It is too complicated to be tackled solely by military 
means. There is urgent need for further measures and steps in all 
fields, including economic, political, media and mass work, and 
tackling unemployment and providing essential public services.

"In the current conditions, it is imperative for political 
parties and the people to take the initiative in order to foil 
the schemes of terrorists and saboteurs. Regardless of different 
opinions and views, it is patriotic duty and our country's fate 
that dictate the need for co- operation and co-ordination of 
efforts to defeat terror and crime.

"These are two grave dangers that obstruct achieving the aims of 
the transitional period, ending foreign occupation in all forms, 
eliminating the legacy of the dictatorial regime and advancing on 
the path of reconstruction, development, and building a unified 
federal democratic Iraq."