| Iraqis demand urgent end to US occupation |
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| Written by Harris Badar | |
| Saturday, 21 March 2009 | |
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src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> According to the suit filed in federal court in San Diego, California, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, “on Christmas eve 2006, a highly intoxicated and heavily armed Xe-Blackwater employee named Andrew Moonen, shot and killed a man named Raheem Khalaf Sa’adoon, for no reason.” “Although Xe-Blackwater has learned of their employee’s crime short after it occurred, Xe-Blackwater acted, and continues to act, in conspiracy with Moonen to evade any accountability whatsoever,” the suit charges. The lawsuit also alleges the company rushed to get the agent out of Iraq, and destroyed documents in the case. WASHINGTON/BAGHGDAD: The widow of a 32-year-old Iraqi has filed suit in a federal court against private security firm Xe, formerly Blackwater, for allegedly trying to hide that her husband was killed by one of its security agents who was drunk. According to the suit filed in federal court in San Diego, California, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, “on Christmas eve 2006, a highly intoxicated and heavily armed Xe-Blackwater employee named Andrew Moonen, shot and killed a man named Raheem Khalaf Sa’adoon, for no reason.” “Although Xe-Blackwater has learned of their employee’s crime short after it occurred, Xe-Blackwater acted, and continues to act, in conspiracy with Moonen to evade any accountability whatsoever,” the suit charges. The lawsuit also alleges the company rushed to get the agent out of Iraq, and destroyed documents in the case. It also charges that Xe, which until recently was a contractor for the Department of State in Iraq, does not punish employees found guilty of wrongdoing, but “instead, Xe- Blackwater continued to rehire and deploy mercenaries known to have killed innocents.” The company, which made hundreds of millions of dollars protecting State Department officials in war zones, was banned from working in Iraq two months ago because of a 2007 incident in which 17 civilians were killed by Blackwater guards. An Iraqi investigation found that 17 civilians were killed and 20 wounded when Blackwater guards opened fire with automatic weapons in Baghdad while escorting an American diplomatic convoy. US prosecutors say 14 civilians were killed in the incident. Five former Blackwater guards pleaded not guilty in January to manslaughter charges. “From Mr. Sa’adoon’s death to the litany of other civilian shootings by Xe-Blackwater personnel, the company has created, fostered and refused to curb a culture of lawlessness and unaccountability,” said a statement from Susan Burke, an attorney for Sa’adoon’s widow. Meanwhile, thousands of followers of Moqtada al-Sadr called for an end to US occupation of Iraq on Friday, but the government ignored the sixth anniversary of the invasion. Death tolls have tumbled since Iraq’s deadliest days in late 2007, and in just three months time American forces are to withdraw from major cities and towns in a prelude to a total pullout in 2011. Neither the Iraqi authorities nor the US military marked the March 20, 2003 invasion that toppled President Saddam Hussein and his totalitarian Baath party from power. But Sadr’s devotees used Friday prayers to call for an end to the American presence. “We reject occupation... occupiers out,” the faithful chanted, fists raised, in Sadr City, an impoverished district of northeast Baghdad, as a US flag was set ablaze. Sheikh Haidar al-Jaberi, a member of Sadr’s politburo, called for a major demonstration on April 9, anniversary of the fall of Saddam’s Sunni regime. “March 20 should be a festival, but after what the Americans have done, it’s a sad day,” Jaberi said, referring to the start of spring. “They never kept their promises,” added Qassem Zamel, who came to pray. “The Americans came to liberate us from a dictator but they have destroyed the country,” said Zamel, who is in his 60s. He said his three sons were arrested in March 2003 and were still in jail, although he did not know why. The campaign that ousted Saddam was supposed to bring democracy and a better life, but most Iraqis were caught in the maelstrom of violence that swept the country. Meanwhile in Tokyo, about 500 Japanese demonstrated to call for an early withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, as well as from Afghanistan. They carried banners that read: “Weapons can’t solve the Iraqi and Afghan wars.” “If we remain silent, I don’t think the troops will withdraw” from Iraq and Afghanistan, said organiser Ken Takada. A report released on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the invasion underscored the plight of Iraqis. “Millions of civilians are still facing hardship every day,” said International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Jakob Kellenberger. “Indiscriminate attacks continue to leave dozens of people killed or injured on a daily basis despite improvements in the security situation in many parts of Iraq.” |
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