5112개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
Progressive parties fighting uphill battle
The Democratic Labor Party stunned the nation in 2004 when it became the nation's first leftist group to win seats in the National Assembly.
Four years later, these representatives' popularity is shrinking, and there is a split in their ranks. Their prospects in the parliamentary elections tomorrow are slim.
The DLP earlier this year disintegrated into two parties after factional feuding that was triggered by its meager showing in the December presidential election.
The DLP's candidate, Kwon Young-ghil, got 2.8 percent of the vote, far lower than the party's projection of 10 percent. He won 3.9 percent in the 2002 election.
The DLP and its splinter group, the New Progressive Party, are striving to reinvigorate the left wing in the upcoming elections.
The DLP fielded candidates for 103 constituencies and 10 proportional representation seats, while the NPP registered 34 candidates for directly elected seats and 11 for proportional ones.
But voters are increasingly uninterested in politics which stresses ideology, and this has led to what analysts see as a crisis for progressives.
In recent opinion polls, the DLP and the NPP ranked fifth and seventh, respectively, with approval ratings of about 3.8 and 1.9 percent.
The progressive duo has two major problems, according to the experts.
They have no regional strongholds, unlike the Grand National Party, with its major support in the southeastern Gyeongsang provinces, and the United Democratic Party, with its base in the southwestern Jeolla provinces.
The DLP and NPP candidates are not even doing well in their only home turf, Ulsan, according to recent surveys. In five constituencies of the industrial city, progressive candidates have gotten less than half the approval ratings of the leading candidates.
Compounding the problem for leftists is the fact that South Koreans have become fed-up with ideological conflict among political parties. Analysts say that this has much to do voters' having been disenchanted and even alienated by the policies of the Roh Moo-hyun administration.
Citizens are now more interested in a pragmatic agenda which stresses issues related to their livelihood. This sense of priorities is amplified by the deepening strains in the economy.
Workers, farmers and many lower-income voters sent 10 DLP members to the legislature in 2004, but the group's support has dwindled over the last four years.
Progressives attribute this to the party's dependence on the radical Korea Confederation of Trade Unions as its main support base. Additionally, there is the party's stubborn pro-North Korea stance.
In the wake of its utter defeat in the presidential election, members of the minority People's Democracy faction led by Reps. Sim Sang-jeong and Roh Hoe-chan sought to revamp the party. But they gave up their DLP membership after they failed to patch up their differences with the mainstream National Liberation group over the party's stance on radical labor groups and Pyongyang. The defectors formed the New Progressive Party on Feb. 16, and adopted moderate policies.
The progressive parties are emphasizing their trademark concerns: welfare for workers, farmers and the underprivileged. The DLP has also used the very specific slogan: "Half Tuition, Temps into Regular Workers." The promise is to improve working conditions for temporary workers and cut the skyrocketing university tuition to 1.5 million won ($1,500) per semester.
And the NPP decided to field the nation's first openly lesbian politician for a parliamentary seat.
In addition, they are seeking to improve their prospects by aligning with other liberal parties so as to derail the Lee Myung-bak administration's controversial cross-country canal plan.
But a party split will mean fewer parliamentary seats and a weaker voice for workers and farmers in the Assembly, analysts point out.
The progressive parties are focusing on a few politicians, in recognition of the fact that their fate largely depends on these individuals' success.
The DLP is concentrating its support on Kwon Young-ghil and Kang Ki-kab, who are running for in Changwon and Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, respectively.
Kwon, who is trying for a second term, is slightly ahead in recent opinion polls against his GNP rival. Kang is behind the GNP's Lee Bang-ho, but is doing his all to narrow the margin to 5.2 percent.
The NPP's co-chairman, Roh Hoe-chan, is fighting against Hong Jung-wook of the GNP. In the latest Munhwa Ilbo survey, Roh has 38.3 percent support, outperforming Hong by 7.5 percentage points.
Another co-chairman, Sim Sang-jeong of the progressive party, is running against the GNP candidate, Sohn Beom-kyu in Goyang-Deokyang, Gyeonggi Province. Sim lags behind by a margin of about 10 percentage points, but is hoping for better by integrating with the UDP candidate, Han Pyeong-seok.
A group of progressive intellectuals and lawyers have joined the campaigns for progressive candidates, along with dozens of celebrities, including people in the film industry.
END THE EXPLOITATION!
That's the main slogan of thousands of workers in the Romanian town Pitesi where they were producing the Dacia, Europe's cheapest car. But now, since almost two weeks, nothing is going on anymore because 9,500 workers are in strike.
While Dacia, a part of the French Renault Group, makes every year massive profits (in 2007: 150 Million Euro), the workers and their families must struggle to survive with only 160 to 280 Euro per month. But the price for the average monthly live in Romania is at least 300 Euro.. and the prices are increasing monthly!
That's the reason why the Dacia workers are striking. They are demanding an increase of 550 lei (€150) per month (the management is offering only 67 Euro), a share of company profits, higher bonuses at Christmas and a discount on cars produced at the factory.
The management of Dacia/Renault is offering now 67 Euro more per month. But for the striking workers - of course - that's just a provocation...
But while the Dacia workers are in strike - and many people in Romania call it a small revolution (the strike is the first main walkout in Romania since 20 years) Dacia has nothing better to do as to broadcast following strange advertisement in the TV:
"Revolution - The New Dacia Logan.."
Related:
☞ Video: Dacia Strike, Demo in Pitesti (EuroNews, 3.27)
☞ Strike at Dacia Renault factory ("socialist" world, 3.29)
☞ Auf der Aufholspur (Tagesspiegel, 4.05)
이명박정권이 들어서면서 가속도가 붙은 개발로 인해
가난한 노동자들이 길바닥으로 내쫒겨나는 일이 더욱 비일비재해진
현시점에서 "용산4철거민대책위원회"는
"투쟁만이 살길이다! 투쟁으로 주거생존권 쟁취하자"는 결의로
..4월 3일 용산4구역내에서 시민들에게 알려내는
거리행진과 선전전을 시작으로 주거의 권리와 생존의 권리를 위해
투쟁을 선포하는 현판식을 진행하였습니다.
함께 해주신 전국빈민연합, 이랜드 일반노조, 이주노조,
들꽃, 지민주, 고대 돌개바람동지 등 많은 연대단위동지들과
전국의 철거민동지들께 감사드립니다.
반드시 개발악법 박살내고 민중주거생존권쟁취를 위해
끝까지 투쟁하겠습니다. 투쟁!!
-투쟁하는 철거민이 철거에서 해방된다!!
-투쟁없이 쟁취없다 투쟁으로 쟁취하자!!
-용산4철대위 선봉투쟁 전철연 연대투쟁 자본가정권 박살내자!!
용산4철거민대책위
Related contributions:
☞ 용산4철대위 현판식을 시작으로 강고한 투쟁 결의 (전철연)
☞ 전철연 용산4가 철대위 발대식에서 (이주노조)
Here's just a short summary about the latest developments on the Korean Peninsula (to keep "peace and mutual understanding":
Two Koreas argue over warships (al-Jazeera, 4.04)
North Korea has accused South Korean warships of infiltrating its territorial waters, warning of "unpredictable countermeasures" amid increasing hostility on the peninsula.
The North's navy command late on Thursday said three warships had entered its waters in a "serious military provocation", claims dismissed by South Korea's defence ministry.
Pyongyang has made a string of hostile gestures since Lee Myung-bak, the South Korean president, took office in February pledging to take a harder line with the North.
The charges came as a US general nominated to head the allied forces in South Korea said Seoul was lacking in missile defences.
North Korea has announced the suspension of all dialogue and the closing of its border to South Korean officials as both sides continued to trade barbs.
Earlier this week, the South Korean president was labelled a "conservative political charlatan", "traitor" and US "sycophant" for his tougher policies on the North, which includes linking aid to nuclear disarmament.
Aside from the rhetoric, Pyongyang has test-fired missiles in the past few days and, last week, accused South Korean ships of breaching a disputed sea border.
Analysts say the North may stage more missile tests, or naval manoeuvres near the disputed Yellow Sea border – the scene of bloody clashes in 1999 and 2002.
The North's hostile reaction came after Seoul refused to apologise for recent remarks by its military commander which the North interpreted as authorising a pre-emptive military strike.
Lee's predecessors had practiced a "sunshine" policy of engagement, under which aid and investment worth billions of dollars flowed into the North.
On Thursday, Lieutenant-General Walter Sharp told senators in Washington that South Korea lacked adequate anti-missile defences to counter a missile threat from the North.
Sharp, in a written response to the Senate Armed Services committee, said Pyongyang had 13,000 artillery systems and 800 missiles.
North Korea had 250 long-range artillery systems capable of reaching Seoul, he said.
"North Korea still has the capacity to inflict major destruction and significant military and civilian casualties in South Korea with little to no warning," he wrote.
South Korea's defence ministry had said the North was deliberately misinterpreting Seoul's objectives and remarks by its officials and told Pyongyang to stop its verbal attacks on Lee.
But Pyongyang continued with its rhetoric, accusing Seoul of driving inter-Korean relations to "catastrophe".
Lee has said that South Korean aid to the impoverished North will no longer be given unconditionally.
In a marked change from previous administrations he has also said that his government will not shy away from criticising Pyongyang's human-rights abuses.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BDD069B6-55D3-4231-A319-8D78D6B65C21.htm
Related stuff:
"North Korea said yesterday it would take 'military countermeasures' against what it called belligerent remarks by South Korea." (Korea Herald, 4.04)
☞ Criticizing President Lee, What is Its Tactic? (DailyNK, 4.04)
☞ Renewed urgency to rein in North Korea (Asia Times, 4.04)
☞ 《남조선당국이 반북대결로 얻을것은 파멸뿐이다》-리명박《정권》 (로동신문, 4.01)
"Like we did in the past, we can survive without south Korea!!" (Rodong Shinmun wrote before y'day in connection to the current N-S trouble)
Yeah, exactly, as we can see it here:
Preparing the spring farming season 2008 ("collective farm" in Hamgyeong buk-do)
Well, likely we missed something: Possibly some days ago Kim Jong-il introduced the N.K. style GLASNOST, the KWP was liquidated and Rodong Shinmun, the former KWP central newspaper, turned into a satirical magazine.. or whatever..^^
About two weeks ago (3.16) the New "Progressive" Party (NPP/진보신당) was officially established in SK. Here you can read the first articles about the new party:
NPP's Manifesto on N.K. Human Rights (DailyNK, 3.31)
New Progressive Party (NPP), which is a South Korea's new party and separated themselves from Democratic Labor Party over “pro-North Korean attitude (or pro-Kim Jong Ii),” released its manifesto on North Korean human rights policy, which includes “humanitarian solution of abductees and POWs held in North Korea” and “establishment of inter-Korean human rights negotiation channel.” The movement marks a great leap forward compared to Democratic Labor Party’s stance on North Korean human rights.
The core of NPP’s North Korean policy also includes an “inter-Korean agreement on labor condition,” construction of silver town for the divided families in tourist zones” and “regular reunion of the divided families”
NPP added, in statement, that “in contrast with the DLP, which showed only ignorance and silence to North Korean human rights violation, the NPP declares commitment to improve North Korea’s human rights condition”, and “the new progressive movement will start with criticizing North Korea if necessary.”
An NPP official told Daily NK, on condition of anonymity, that “The new manifesto doesn’t contain any new policy. But, we need to reaffirm our North Korean policy because of recent developments in inter-Korean relations (North Korea Silkworm missile launch and etc.).”
When asked why having been silent on North Korea human rights violation while a member of DLP, the NPP official argued for necessity of the unified Left at that time.
“Democratic Labor Party elected ten National Assembly legislators in 2004 for the first time ever, and then experienced a surge of party membership. The surge, however, was due to mass application of membership by pro-North Korea National Liberation faction or its sympathizers. And it caused alienation of the party leadership from public opinion,” said the official.
Nevertheless, he criticized the Lee Myung Bak Administration’s and the United States’ “North Korean human rights policy, which emphasizes strategic concern rather than practical human rights improvement in North Korea.”
“For example,” he added “inter-Korean Labor Convention symbolizes NPP’s principle that signifies ‘North and South Korean people and laborers,’ rather than the reigning governments of both.”
http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=3461
Progressives launch new party (Hankyoreh, 3.17)
With less than a month to go before the National Assembly election, the New Progressive Party was officially launched yesterday, as it promised to “redirect the vales of the 21st century toward the progressive bloc.” The members of the newly-formed party bolted from the Democratic Labor Party after the presidential election following an internal feud. Political observers wonder whether the party’s candidates will have enough time to campaign and how the newly-created party will fare in the April 9 elections.
In addition to announcing its formation, the NPP also released its list of candidates for seats up for grabs under the system of proportional representation. The first and second seats were given to Park Kim Young-hee, an activist who advocates for the rights of physically challenged women, and Lee Nam-shin, a former leader of E-Land’s labor union. Also included on the list were Pi Woo-jin, a former lieutenant colonel who is in the process of fighting a legal battle against the government, alleging that she was fired due to her breast cancer surgery, and Kim Seok-joon, a professor and the co-chairman of the NPP. The party is also fielding candidates with diverse backgrounds that include lawyers, civic and labor activists.
Sim Sang-jeong, the director of the NPP, said, “People want us to set up a progressive opposition party that can act as a strong and trusted counterbalance against the Lee Myung-bak administration, which has devastated people’s livelihoods. We will establish a party that can win the parliamentary election this time and give renewed hope to workers and ordinary people."
The new party’s objectives include building peace, a social coalition and a green nation. It is also pushing for the establishment of stability on the Korean Peninsula, assisting small- and medium-sized businesses and the resolution of many other issues related to the welfare of workers and socially-underprivileged people.
As it braces for the upcoming elections, the NPP seems to be trying to differentiate itself from the Democratic Labor Party, from which it broke last month. The feud between the party’s two main factions pitted the National Liberty faction, which places more emphasis on North Korea issues, against the People’s Democracy faction, which was more concerned with labor and other social issues and which has now become the NPP.
At the forefront of the NPP’s leadership are Sim Sang-jeong and Roh Hoe-chan, two high-profile former lawmakers who are expected to wage a fierce battle against the candidates of the ruling Grand National Party in the Seoul metropolitan area. Such popular figures as actress Kim Bu-soen, and cultural critic Chin Jung-kwon, will take up the work of promoting the party, while 12 of those running for proportional representation seats will appeal to voters.
Still, political observers have cast doubt over the NPP’s ability to gain a “meaningful number of seats in the election.” With the election just 20 days away, they worry that the party does not have an enough time to get its message across and appeal to voters. The number of candidates who will campaign in districts across the country was also reduced to 30, from the originally-planned 50. Even party insiders say that they are facing one of the worst situations ever.
A key party official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “In the end, the NPP should compete in the elections by appealing to voters with two such high-profile former lawmakers as Sim and Roh. If voters in Seoul give more weight to the balance factor, the two could likely win.” The official’s comments refer to what many see as the primary platform of the opposition United Democratic Party, which currently has the majority of seats in the National Assembly. The UDP says that its candidates, if elected will serve as a means of balancing government authority by keeping the president and his party, the GNP, in check. The GNP, meanwhile, is hoping that the idea of maintaining government stability via the election of its candidates will be what brings voters to its side.
The party official added, “Whatever it may cost, we will produce winners, making it a starting point for establishing a real progressive party.”
Related stuff:
In ancient East Asia almost every new ruler had his own motto for the period of his governance. The motto of the current Lee Myung-bak gov't in S. Korea must - likely - be called: "Achieve the intensified bourgeois (i.e. capitalist) dictatorship!!"
Police to toughen protest rules (Korea Herald, 3.31)
The police agency is seeking to ban demonstrators from carrying steel pipes, bamboo spears and other items that can be used to attack policemen.
They are also looking to prohibit demonstrators from wearing facial masks and to restrict the level of noise made at protests.
The National Police Agency said yesterday it will submit a revised bill on illegal street protests to the National Assembly after the April 9 elections.
The move comes amid President Lee Myung-bak's vow to crack down on illegal collective action, include militant labor activities.
Lee had personally asked Commissioner General Eo Cheong-soo to look into the issue, according to local reports.
To stem violence from walkouts and strikes, the police are looking to legally punish and arrest demonstrators who carry or use weapons during collective action.
The police have also proposed tougher jail sentences and fines for anyone participating in illegal labor activities despite police warnings. The current penalty is a maximum sentence of two years, or a maximum fine of 2 million won ($2,019).
The new bill will call for an agreement to be signed between demonstration organizers and local police when notice of a rally is filed, police said.
Prosecutors recently indicted 60 workers from Koscom, an electronic stock information provider, for participating in an illegal demonstration, and asked the court to impose a 1 million won fine on each party.
Government-hired security personnel raided their nearly 200-day sit-in near the company's building in Yeouido earlier last month. The unionized workers were demanding regular working status for some unionized members.
Related:
☞ Megaphone Use in Rally Faces Restrictions (K. Times, 3.31)
☞ Professors Protest `Political Censorship' (3.31)
Last week the conservative daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported that..
Seoul Has Plans to Attack N. Korean Nuclear Sites (*)
"The South Korean military is prepared to launch a pre-emptive attack on North Korea’s nuclear installations if they become a military threat, Gen. Kim Tae-young, the newly designated chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a hearing yesterday.
It was the first time the military has confirmed contingency plans for a pre-emptive attack on Pyongyang’s nuclear facilities and comes as Seoul’s new conservative government is being closely watched for signs of how it will approach North Korea."
Now Yonhap yesterday reported that..
North Korea's military said Saturday that South Korea should retract its top military official's remark about an attack on the communist nation and apologize for it, threatening to suspend all inter-Korean dialogues and contacts.
On Wednesday, Gen. Kim Tae-young, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the South would strike the North's nuclear sites if the communist country attacks the South with nuclear weapons.
"These outbursts are the gravest challenge ever in the history of the inter-Korean relations and a reckless provocation little short of a war declaration against us," the North's military said in a notice sent to the South's chief delegate to inter-Korean general-level military talks, according to the (North) Korean Central News Agency.
"We will counter any slightest move of the South side for 'preemptive attack' with more rapid and more powerful preemptive attack of its own mode," it said.
The communist state's military went on to say that if the South does not retract the call for a "preemptive attack" and apologize, it will lead to the suspension of all inter-Korean dialogues and contacts...
And Korea Herald wrote yesterday that..
..The ministry plans to decide by Tuesday whether to make an official reply to the North's demand.
"We don't know how to react to the North's claim now because we haven't decided yet whether to send a reply to the North. If we reply, it would contain our position that the North's claim is not true. We may express regret over the North's falsified argument," a ministry official said...
And the same newpaper reported today: Despite burgeoning tension on the Korean peninsula from North Korea's escalating threats, South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak and his ministers appear calm, if not nonchalant.
On Sunday when North Korea's military warned of a preemptive strike in retaliation of South Korea's alleged provocations, Lee stopped over at Cheong Wa Dae's press room after playing a few games of tennis, and mainly discussed his plans for overseas visits.
Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong reportedly went to church (well, that's really important!!!) before coming into office later in the afternoon to have consultations over the latest development. Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, in the meantime, was busy tending to his foreign guests, playing a round of golf with visiting former Florida governor Jeb Bush, brother of U.S. President George W. Bush... (oops~ I think there in no further comment neccessary!!^^)
The low-key moves by Lee and his team appeared to be clearly in line with the South Korean government's new policy goal to drastically change the dialogue pattern with North Korea...
At the same time, yesterday (Sunday), the rulers in NK were not playing a round of golf, were not praying in the church! Instead they published a new (not really^^) "promise", according to KCNA: "They (likely they mean the LeeMB gang) should bear in mind that once the more powerful preemptive strike of our own mode be launched, it will not merely plunge everything into flames but reduce it to ashes" (harrharr~ like usual: empty blabla.. - hopefully!!)
Related articles:
☞ North Steps Up Criticism of South (K. Times, 3.30)
☞ N. Korea 'will turn South to ash' (al-Jazeera, 3.31)
☞ Continuing Threat from NK... What Is Next? (DailyNK, 3.31)
* But, as it is well known, NK's nuklear sites (except Yongbyeon) are located deep in the (north-eastern) mountains.. And to strike against this sites/targets in NK the S. Korean military must have very "advanced", "sophisticated" weapons - powerful bombs very near to small nuclear bombs..
"People have reached a point that they will sell their refrigerator to buy a rocket launcher to kill Americans."
Under siege in Baghdad's Mahdi army stronghold
(The Observer/UK, 3.30)
The violence that began in Basra and spread to the capital continues as fears of a new civil war grow
The gunfire built to a steady rhythm. American soldiers in a Stryker armoured vehicle fired from one end of the block. At the other end, two groups of Shia militiamen pounded back with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. US helicopters circled above in the blue afternoon sky.
As a barrage erupted outside his parents' house, Abu Mustafa al-Thahabi, adviser to the Mahdi army of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, rushed through the gate to take shelter. He had just spoken with a fighter by mobile phone. 'I told him not to use that weapon. It's not effective,' he said, talking of the rocket-propelled grenade. 'I told him to use the IED, the Iranian one,' he added, referring to an improvised explosive device. 'This is more effective.'
After nearly a year of relative calm, US troops and Shia militia engaged in pitched battles last week, underscoring how quickly order can give way to chaos in Iraq. On this block in Sadr City, the cleric's sprawling stronghold, armed men and boys came out from nearly every house to fight. From Thursday afternoon to Friday morning, this correspondent spent 19 hours here, at times trapped by intense crossfire inside the house of Thahabi's parents. Fighters engaged US forces for seven hours. They lost a comrade. They launched rockets into the Green Zone. Around the same time, rockets killed a US government employee, the second American killed there last week.
Between battles, fighters spoke about politics and war. There was no sign of grief or fear. Death was a short cut to some divine place. As the two sides exchanged fire, Thahabi's mother, Um Falah, clutched a Koran and began to pray to Imam Ali, Shia Islam's most revered saint. Her eldest son, Abu Hassan, is a Mahdi army commander.
Earlier that morning, Sadr City had been eerily quiet. Cars moved slowly. Residents ferried food and water, preparing for the worst. Rubbish littered the charred streets. On one road, two green Stryker vehicles were parked.
Outside Um Falah's house, Mahdi fighters gathered, standing against the walls, peering down the street. Clashes were unfolding on an adjacent road. One group joined the fighting, but the others remained in place. Their job was to protect their end of the block. Um Falah continued her chores: 'I have got used to war, to all the battles in our lives.' It was not the first time her son had gone to fight US troops and in her heart, she said, she knew it would not be the last. 'I have sent my son on the right path,' she said.
In their living room, her husband and Abu Mustafa sat on red carpets set with colourful pillows. The room was prepared for battle, with plastic windowpanes and drawn curtains. On the wall hung tapestries depicting Imam Ali and other saints.
Thahabi, slim and gaunt-faced, said the Mahdi were not fighting only the Americans but also their Shia rivals - the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and the ruling Dawa party. Thahabi believes the government launched an offensive in Basra last Monday to weaken the Sadrist forces ahead of provincial elections scheduled for this year. He thought Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who leads the Dawa party, was taking advantage of a ceasefire imposed by Sadr last August.
Iraq's government said it began the offensive to wipe out Basra's Shia militias and criminal gangs. 'They know the Sadrists will win the elections,' Thahabi said. 'So they are using the Americans against the Mahdi army. People have reached a point that they will sell their refrigerator to buy a rocket launcher to kill Americans.'
At around 2pm, three solemn-faced fighters entered the room, fresh from battle. 'Akeel, son of Riad, just got killed,' said Abu Zainab al-Kabi. The room fell silent. Kabi, 34, said Akeel had been planting a roadside bomb when he was shot several times by a US soldier. Akeel was 22 and had followed his father and uncle into the Mahdi army when he was 17. The fighters took his body to the hospital mortuary. If they could break away from the battle, they planned to carry it on Friday to the southern holy city of Najaf, where the Mahdi has built a cemetery for their dead, their martyrs.
'We are proud that he died,' said Abu Moussa al-Sadr, 31. 'Whenever one of us dies, it raises our morale.'
'It intensifies our fighting. If we defeat them, we win,' Kabi said. 'If we die, we win.'
Signs of sorrow for Akeel soon vanished; they wanted to eat lunch. Over a spartan meal of bread, tomato paste and vegetables, they said they had woken before dawn to make sure all their fighters were in position. They ordered their men to check all the IEDs they had set and shared intelligence with commanders in other sections of Sadr City. Suddenly, they heard mortar rounds being launched outside with a boom like the sound of a wrecking ball.
'This is to the Green Zone,' said Kabi. 'These are gifts to Maliki's government.' He and Abu Moussa al-Sadr both work for Iraq's Ministry of Interior, which runs the police and is viewed as infiltrated by the Mahdi army. They said many police officers had defected and were now fighting with the Mahdi army.
The fighters also said they received neither support nor training from Iran, as American military commanders allege. Their Iranian weapons, they said, were bought from smugglers. They said they had been fighting only Americans and had not engaged with any Iraqi forces and insisted they were still obeying Sadr's cease-fire and would stop fighting if he gave the order. 'We are allowed to defend ourselves,' said fighter Abu Nargis.
Around 3pm, it was time to leave. 'We're going to the hospital to see Akeel's body,' Abu Moussa al-Sadr said. 'Then we are going back to fight.' An hour later, another group were fighting US troops. Militiamen jumped into the street, then quickly vanished. The quick movements were a tactic. Outside his parents' house, Thahabi explained that fighters would direct a barrage of bullets at the Stryker to distract the soldiers while another group tried to slip a bomb under the vehicle.
A father of four who studied psychology in college, Thahabi looked more like a professor than a militia adviser. He clutched three mobile phones, each using a different network. When the Americans drive by, they jam the signals of the main network provider to neutralise the use of phones as detonators.
The fighters' larger strategy, Thahabi said, was to draw pressure away from the Mahdi army in Basra. Many Iraqi soldiers fighting in Basra had families in Sadr City. 'They will be worried for their families. They will fear what will happen to them. It's about reducing morale.'
Thahabi received a phone call. 'The whole block has been surrounded by the Americans,' he said.
Targeting the Green Zone, at 5.25pm, the Mahdi army fired at least 10 rockets from near the house. Within 20 minutes, four more were launched. The rocket launches were followed by heavy gunfire at the Stryker.
'We have to keep the Americans nervous, on their edge,' Thahabi said. 'We can't make it easy for them.'
Someone told him that there was a sniper on a nearby roof. After a silent pause, fighters sprayed a burst of gunfire at a roof; bullets tore into the wall. Then silence again. A few minutes later, gunfire was returned in the direction of the fighters. The Americans were still around.
'They are facing heavy resistance," said Abu Nargis. He carried his baby daughter. 'They will raid the area tonight.' By 7pm, the Stryker had left.
At 9.05pm, Abu Nargis received a phone call. He said he had been told that a police commander with 500 men would stop working with the government and join the Mahdi.
At 9.09pm, screams tore through the street. A woman in a black abaya was walking toward the hospital wailing: 'My mother! My mother!' Her house had been hit, it was not clear by whom. Ambulances and police vehicles drove past the house as an unmanned US drone flew by. The vehicles drove back, carrying dead and injured.
At 10:35pm, Abu Nargis received another phone call. 'The Americans are gone. Even the snipers,' he said. 'I have to go and check on my daughter. She's afraid of the gunfire.'
Next morning, Kabi was standing on a nearby street with a group of fighters, including two boys who looked no older than 13. They were getting instructions from an older fighter, who clutched an AK-47 assault rifle. They looked weary.
At the edge of Sadr City, four Strykers rolled by. A white car waited patiently for the convoy to pass, then drove out, a wooden coffin strapped to the top.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/30/iraq2
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