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Home > After Saddam > Article | Tuesday April 15, 2003 |
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"It has been 25 days and it is all promises," said one Iraqi man who stood up at the town meeting, which was attended by the British officers responsible for this region. "You promise water, you promise electricity, you promise us safety, and yet you don't do anything for us."
The unrest has also spread to the neighbouring POW camp, where anger over slow food lines and disputes between ethnic groups has led to riots. American officials said clashes broke out on Sunday when some prisoners opposed an Iraqi general's call for a hunger strike.
In Umm Qasr the price of vegetables has soared, with a potato now costing 1000 Iraqi dinars more than before the war. A big reason for the rise is a shortage of fuel to transport goods.
A British commander at the town meeting, Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Jones, tried to address concerns by appealing to the people's pride. "The world is looking at Umm Qasr as the example for free Iraq," he said, adding that after waiting more than 30 years for freedom, people should recognise that the war only began one month ago.
British soldiers have also started recruiting for a new police force. One policeman returning to work, Jihad Abdul Sian, said so far 20 candidates had been chosen, only two of which were on the old squad.
"They want to be sure who they are hiring," he said. In his case, his family's bitter history with the regime is proof of where his loyalties lie. His brother, Amad, was tortured and spent seven years in a Baghdad prison.
Mr Sian's story highlighted another difficulty for the coalition. He said the judge who tried his brother was loyal to Saddam's regime. People say all the judges are now hiding. Nearly everyone who had a position of authority had some connection to Saddam's government.
The New York Times
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