[Muanet] US raids on union offices in Iraq

[Chris Latham]

5 March statement of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine 
and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), condemning the military raids on union
offices in Iraq

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Military Raids, Arrest at Iraqi Union Office Demands Action

The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General
Workers' Unions (ICEM), the global union federation for oil workers, is
calling for “strong condemnation” of the two recent US and Iraqi
military raids on union offices in Baghdad. The raids, during which one
worker was arrested, and computers and fax machines at the central
office of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) confiscated,
occurred on 23 and 25 February.

The ICEM, with affiliates in 125 countries, is calling on trade unions
worldwide to directly protest this unprovoked attack on a trade union
federation that stands for nation building and bettering the living
conditions inside Iraq.

ICEM is calling on trade unions and others to write to Iraqi embassies
in their home countries, as well as to send messages of solidarity to
GFIW leaders that their efforts to build strong trade unions in Iraq
will succeed and with it, fair and just reconstruction for all Iraqi
people.

Trade unions are asked to register a protest with the Iraqi embassy or
consulate in their country by visiting:
http://www.mofa.gov.iq/index.aspx. They are also being strongly urged to
write GFIW leaders in Baghdad to tell them they protest these forceful
and menacing acts.

Messages can be sent to these principal addresses:
abdullahmuhsin at iraqitradeunions.org
<mailto:abdullahmuhsin at iraqitradeunions.org>
adnalsaffar at yahoo.com <mailto:adnalsaffar at yahoo.com>

The ICEM notes that the pair of raids on the GFIW offices represents
disturbing and counter-productive acts inside Iraq. On 19 February, a
raid also occurred at the offices of the Iraq Syndicate of Journalists,
and American troops confiscated computers and membership records.

“These attacks are a clear violation of fundamental human and trade
union rights,” wrote ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda to Iraq’s
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. “They are also a cynical attempt to not
only harass the trade union movement of your country, but to limit their
ability to communicate with both their members and their international
contacts.

“This is appalling, particularly at the present time. Genuine and
democratic trade unions are a cornerstone of democracy and at the same
time are a force for reconciliation, peace and stability in a society,”
said Warda.


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