BY ARTHUR CHRENKOFF
Monday, May 23, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
You may remember Dhia Muhsin, a carpenter from the working-class Baghdad neighborhood of al-Dora, who became a celebrity of sorts back in March, when he stood up to insurgents who terrorized his area. In a firefight lasting half an hour Mushin and his nephews killed three of them and forced the rest to retreat.
Well, two months on, Muhsin is still ready to take on any intruders: "I expect them [the insurgents] to come back and I'm ready to face them," says the 33-year old who seems to have inspired his neighbors:
Al-Dora residents had been too scared to face down the insurgents but after seeing Muhsin's bravery, some, it seems, have decided to fight back.
"We are ready to confront any terrorist and the people in the area, after they saw what I did, have become more daring and strong," said Muhsin.
Mudher Khudher, 42, a bakery owner, said he is proud of Muhsin['s] actions and he and others have decided to follow his example, "Dhia taught us that the terrorists are cowards and they can't face all Iraqis." Saleem Barakat, 32, a student, called Muhsin a hero and noted that their street in al-Dora has been quiet since the insurgents were killed.
Al-Dora has not been violence-free since that day in March, but Mushin's example is a very important one for the Iraqi people. Insurgents and terrorists thrive on fear and passivity. They can't win when society turns against them.
This is a lesson that increasing numbers of Iraqis seem to be learning, and it is important more than ever, now that the past two weeks have passed under the shadow of a bloody suicide bombing campaign. This carnage around Iraq has dominated the media coverage, and once again it managed to overshadow most of the positive developments taking place around the country, in security and other areas of life. Below are some of these stories that you might have missed.
• Society. The selection of the new government finally reaches completion:
The Iraqi parliament has approved appointments for six cabinet vacancies, handing four more positions to the Sunni Arab minority. . . .
Less than half of the National Assembly, 112 of the 155 legislators present, approved Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's six nominations on Sunday, including Shia Arab Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum as oil minister and Sunni military man Saadoun al-Duleimi as defence minister. The other four designated ministers were Hashim Abdul-Rahman al-Shibli, a Sunni, as human rights minister; Mihsin Shlash, a Shia, as electricity minister; Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni, as industry minister; and Abed Mutlak al-Jiburi, a Sunni, as a deputy prime minister.
Reflecting an encouraging sentiment, Al-Shibili declined the nomination as Human Rights Minister, saying that "concentrating on sectarian identities leads to divisions in the society and state." As it stands:
The new government, most of which was sworn in last week, includes 17 Shia ministers, eight Kurds, six Sunnis and a Christian. Three deputy premiers have also been named, one each for the Shia, Sunnis and Kurds. A fourth deputy premiership remains vacant; al-Jaafari has said he hopes to appoint a woman to the position.
Here's a list of all the positions.
The main task ahead of the National Assembly is drafting Iraq's new constitution. The Assembly has already set up a 55-member committee to draft the document. In the meantime, Japan has volunteered to invite Iraqi experts to assist with them with the tasks ahead. And the U.S. Agency for International Development (PDF) is contributing:
In support of Iraq's transition to an autonomous democracy, USAID is funding work with Iraqi civil society organizations (CSOs) that will improve their ability to provide input into the constitutional drafting process and the formation of the subsequent government.
Over the past month, one of USAID's partners in the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) has conducted several activities. Including assessment trips to monitor the progress of the Regional Democracy Center, work with student organizations, women's groups and nine civic organizations from the mid-Euphrates region establish advocacy campaigns and workshops.
They Initiated the organization of a conference entitled "Gender Equality in the New Iraqi Constitution." Prominent Iraqi women and foreign trainers will hold the conference. They also worked with a women's CSO to develop a detailed three months plan for their involvement with the constitution development process.
More recently (PDF):
USAIDs [sic] partner providing support to the [Transitional National Assembly] officially awarded 20 micro-grants to civil society organizations (CSOs) from South and South Central Iraq. The grants finance projects focused on promoting public awareness in the constitutional process.
Iraqi blogger Mohammed is noticing increasing number of announcements posted on the walls of Sunni mosques in Baghdad, encouraging the faithful to participate in the next election, scheduled for January 2005. Mohammed also reports this:
For the fourth week in a line, the "department of Sunni property" which is an official entity that takes care of Sunni mosques and Sunni heritage has been distributing inquiry forms to the people who attend the Friday prayers as such prayers are usually attended by more people than other week days. The inquiry (or poll) includes four questions:
1-would you like to have a role in drafting the constitution?
2-would you like to participate in the next round of elections?
3-would you prefer to see a unified committee for the Sunni?
4-Are you with the call for joining the Iraqi army and police?
*You can submit any suggestions you have.
The results I could take a look at in Baghdad were as follows:
In "Ghaffar Al-Thunoob" mosque in A'adhamiyah, 273 people filled the forms and 96% of them answered the 4 questions with "yes."
In "Al-Yakeen" mosque in Al-Sha'ab quarter I wasn't able to get the exact number of the people who took the poll but the percentage of those who answered the 4 questions with "yes" was 92%. In "Haj Ahmed Ra'oof" mosque in Al-Baladiyat quarter south east of Baghdad, 95% of those who took the poll answered all the questions with "yes."
In a related development:
The
Iraqi Islamic Party, headed by Muhsin Abdul Hameed, has said it regards all acts of violence aimed at Iraqis as crimes of the utmost gravity. The party, which boycotted the January elections, has denounced all kinds of violence, regardless of whether the targets are Sunni, Shia, police, or National Guardsmen. The party called for dialogue instead of violence.
Meanwhile, in the former No. 1 hot spot:The first democratically-elected city council of Fallujah held its inaugural meeting . . . at the Civil-Military Operations Center in Fallujah. The 20-member council met for approximately two hours, during which time they elected the chairman, vice chairman and secretary of the council. Imams, sheiks, engineers, lawyers, educators, administrators and businessmen are among those who make up the council.
In another USAID effort:[The] Election Violence Education Resolution (EVER) Project is making some inroads into the Sunni-dominated areas north and west of Baghdad. In late March, the project's office in Arbil held trainings for all new Civil Society Organization (CSO) partners, including four from Mosul, four from Tikrit and two from Kirkuk. The Salah ad Din representative of the Independent Election Commission of Iraq (IECI) also attended. In total, 17 people were trained. This represents tremendous progress; in January, Tikrit had no participating CSOs, Kirkuk had only one and Mosul had only two. During the training, all program officers from these locations were present and now feel very united in purpose and comfortable with this northern partnership.
Postliberation Iraq offers unparalleled opportunities for Iraqi media and the arts:
After decades of government censorship and a two-year U.S. occupation, actors, filmmakers and television producers are embracing new artistic freedom to tell stories about Iraqis for an increasingly housebound audience. A dozen new private TV channels are pumping out soap operas, sitcoms, reality shows and dramas. For the first time, Iraqi television is tackling issues of social injustice, government corruption and, on occasion, life under Saddam Hussein.
Another thing unthinkable under Saddam--freedom on the airwaves:
When the host of a radio talk show asked which government department provides the best services in Iraq, an irate listener spoke with frankness unthinkable under Saddam Hussein.
"There are no best services. They are all lousy," she told Uday al-Itawi, host of the popular Good Morning Orange City programme, one of Iraq's few call-in radio shows.
After two years of bloody chaos, some Iraqis are turning to talk radio to let off steam.
There is plenty to complain about, especially in towns like Baquba, a battleground between guerrillas and government and U.S. forces about 50 km (35 miles) north of Baghdad.
The on-air attempt to get official responses to grievances would have been unthinkable before a U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
"The most important thing about this programme is that people can be on the air live, and they can talk directly with officials," Wissam al-Obade, the FM station's manager, told Reuters. While people call radio chat shows around the world, it is a rare freedom for Iraqis who endured years of human rights abuses under Saddam's iron-fisted rule.
This article was shortened because of the 15000 character limit on OB. For the full article go to http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110006724
Iraq clearly has a very long way to go before it reaches peace and normalcy, but throughout the country countless individual Iraqis assisted by the coalition troops and civilians are trying to do their best, often against great odds and in dangerous conditions, to make sure that Iraq gets there. If they succeed, a little monument to Dhia Muhsin might not be a bad idea.
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