Iraqi interim regime implements further police state measures

[IndianaGreen]

Iraqi interim regime implements further police state measures
By Peter Symonds
10 August 2004

The US-installed interim Iraqi government is abandoning any pretence of democracy and openly implementing police state measures in a bid to crush widespread armed resistance to the occupation of the country.

Prime Minister Ayad Allawi signalled a further toughening of his regime’s stance during a visit on Sunday to Najaf, where US and Iraqi forces are battling the Madhi Army militia of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Following a meeting with US Marine commanders, he declared: “All Mahdi Army fighters should abandon their weapons and leave the city... There will be absolutely no negotiations and no truce.”

Allawi’s visit has set the stage for a bloody showdown in the city centre. Al Sadr has responded by insisting he will remain in Najaf and continue to fight “until the last drop of my blood has been spilled.” According to the British-based Independent, local officials have now given the green light for US military operations “in and around” the Imam Ali shrine and other places regarded as holy by Shiites.

Such an offensive can only intensify opposition to the US occupation and the Allawi regime. Lacking any significant social base, Allawi’s only response is repression. On the same day that the prime minister was being ferried into Najaf by a US Black Hawk helicopter, his government announced the reintroduction of the death penalty for a wide range of crimes.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/aug2004/alla-a10.shtml