From the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)
This document is provided as a service by UNAMI. The material is drawn from non-UN sources and does not reflect the opinions of the United Nations, nor can the UN vouch for its accuracy
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
HEADLINES, Click to follow link
Suicide car bombers target US base in Samarra
Two soldiers killed in Samarra mortar attack
Power plant announced for Al-Amarah
Seven dies of rabies in Maysan
Assembly studies Sunni role in drafting of constitution
IRAQI PRESS HEADLINES, 23 May 05
Baghdad [Baghdad, daily newspaper in Arabic]
Al-Bayan [Baghdad, daily newspaper in Arabic]
Al-Mada [Baghdad, daily, independent newspaper]
Al-Manar al-Yawm [Baghdad, daily]
Al-Zaman [daily, independent, Baghdad edition]
IRAQI PRESS QOUTES & EDITORIALS, 23 May 05
“The Yardstick for A Government's Success”- Al-Dustur
“Iraq will witness new experience in political process”- Al-Mada
IRAQI PRESS & BROADCAST MEDIA, 23 May 05
Al-Sharqiyah TV news 23 May 05
FROM THE KURDISH MEDIA, 23 May 05
Aso, issued 3 times a week in Kirkuk by Xandan Publishing House
Xebat, daily newspaper issued in Erbil by the KDP
Kurdistani Nwe, daily newspaper issued in Sulaymanya by the PUK
IRAQI NEWS, 23 May 05
Suicide car bombers target US base in Samarra
One person was killed and 16 wounded when two suicide bombers using car bombs attacked the US base in Samarra on 23rd. Eyewitnesses said one bomber destroyed the base's concrete barricade and then a second exploded inside the base, which is headquartered in the education directorate. (Al-Sharqiyah, Baghdad , in Arabic 23 May 05)
The US military said three US soldiers were wounded in the attacks, which included a third bomber who arrived at the scene on foot. The military said two car bombs were detonated at the perimeter of the base while the third bomber was shot by soldiers and then "detonated his explosive vest, killing himself" but causing no other injury or damage. (AFP)
Two soldiers killed in Samarra mortar attack
Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and another wounded when mortars landed on a joint base of the Iraqi Army and police in Samarra on 23rd. Gunmen also blew up a centre in Al-Dubbat al-Ula area in eastern Samarra . (Al-Sharqiyah, Baghdad , in Arabic 23 May 05)
Power plant announced for Al-Amarah
The Maysan Advisory Council has decided to construct a 100-megawatt power generating plant in southern city of Al-Amarah. Abid al-Zubaydi, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in the governorate, said the Electricity Ministry had approved the construction of a gas-operated power plant. He noted that the financial and technical requirements for the project are available but did not mention when work on the project would begin, how long it would last, or the cost of the project. (Al-Zaman, Baghdad , in Arabic 22 May 05)
Seven dies of rabies in Maysan
The Maysan Health Directorate has announced that seven people died and 16 others were hospitalized as a result of rabies infections, which have been spreading in the governorate, the Iraqi independent newspaper Al-Zaman reported. Maysan Health Director Zamil Shayya' al-Uraybi said some 400 people, mostly children, had been infected. He said hospitals in the governorate lack the proper vaccines. (Al-Zaman, Baghdad , in Arabic 22 May 05)
Assembly studies Sunni role in drafting of constitution
The dispute over what representation to give Iraq's Sunnis on the committee charged with drafting a new constitution is "nearly resolved", the Iraqi independent newspaper Al-Zaman quoted "independent political sources" as saying on 22 May They sources said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had, during her visit to Iraq last week, presented a proposal to the Iraqi government giving Sunnis a level of representation corresponding to their population, and increasing the number of Sunni members from 55 to 75.
However, Al-Zaman also quoted United Iraqi Alliance deputy Maraym al-Rayyis as saying on 22 May that "there is such a proposal", while adding that "the feasibility of the proposal is being studied and no final decision has yet been taken in this regard". In a press release, Al-Rayyis said: "The participation and good representation of Arab Sunnis in the Constitutional Committee has been our demand in the United Iraqi Alliance and is not related to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit." She noted that the UIA had formed a committee to negotiate with the Sunnis on their role in the committee as advisers without voting rights or as a separate committee. (Al-Zaman, Baghdad , in Arabic 23 May)
IRAQI PRESS HEADLINES, 23 May 05
Baghdad [ Baghdad , daily newspaper in Arabic]
Baghdad [ Baghdad , daily newspaper in Arabic published by the Iraqi National Accord Movement] 23 May:
- Allawi appeals to Iraqis for restraint, adherence to national unity, calls for independent investigative committee
- Demands for Sunni clarification on attacks against Iraqi security forces
- Twenty-seven Iraqis martyred, wounded in Baghdad
- [Foreign Minister] Zebari shakes hands with Israeli infrastructure minister (AFP quoted)
- Briton may stand trial for crime committed in Iraq (news agencies quoted)
- Seven billion dollars of Iraq revenues disappear
- Trade Ministry official: Tea not mixed with filings
- Al-Sadr teaching hospital rehabilitated in Al-Najaf
- Two car bombs explode in Al-Sha'b, Al-Adamiyah [ Baghdad ]
- Iraqis injured in roadside bomb explosions
- Italian forces find 130 rockets, one tonne of explosives in Suq-al-Shuyukh [south]
- Huge fire engulfs fuel stations in Al-Nasiriyah.
Al-Bayan [ Baghdad , daily newspaper in Arabic]
Al-Bayan [ Baghdad , daily newspaper in Arabic published by the Islamic Al-Da'wah Party] 23 May:
- National Assembly calls for smothering sectarian tension
- Criminal court issues life sentences against two Syrian terrorists
- Talks to transfer prison file to Iraqi authorities
- Defence minister: We will not allow turning mosques into military barracks (news agencies quoted)
- Serious attempts to contain crisis; Sunni forces agree to take part in political process, denounce terrorism; Badr Organization secretary-general voices readiness for dialogue (news agencies quoted)
- Zebari: All Iraqis should be involved in constitution-drafting mechanisms
- Yemeni opposition confirms: Military camps in Yemen to train terrorists, send them to Iraq (news agencies quoted)
- Minister of state for national security denies release of former regime official
- Japan offers 55m-dollar grant for Baghdad municipality projects
- Central Bank governor: Inflation drops to 20 per cent
- Environment sensing site to be established in marshlands Iraq oil revenues estimated at 7bn dollars in four months
- Iraqi organization formed to monitor violence during election.
- .
Al-Jaridah [ Baghdad , daily]
Al-Jaridah [ Baghdad , daily published by the Arab Socialist Movement thrice weekly] 23 May:
- Political Sunni bloc formed in Iraq (Reuters quoted)
- Trade Ministry official assassinated; More bodies found in Al-Latifiyah (AFP quoted)
- Iraq violence obstructs 21bn-dollar reconstruction funds
- Unified National Action issues statement on writing permanent constitution
- Test operation of Al-Samawah refinery to begin next month
- Iraq signs international agreements to develop industrial projects.
Al-Mada [ Baghdad , daily, independent newspaper]
Al-Mada [ Baghdad , daily, independent newspaper published by Al-Mada Media, Culture and Arts Corporation] 23 May:
- Gunmen in Mosul , Bayji, Samarra coordinate plans to target army,
- Interior Ministry forces; Al-Ra'd [thunder] Brigade arrests 12 gunmen, seizes four car bombs in Talla'far
- Iraqi-Turkish talks to increase water flow into Euphrates
- Three Iraqis killed, among them Trade Ministry official, 20 others wounded in separate attacks (AFP quoted)
- Allawi urges Iraqi national unity, warns against sectarian strife
- [Suspected terrorist] Isma'il al-Ubaydi captured in Ba'qubah; One-million-dollar reward to whoever presents information leading to arrest of former Ba'th Party official
- One civilian killed, another wounded in roadside bomb blast in Kirkuk
- Four air bases built; No plans to keep US troops in Iraq (The Washington Post quoted)
- Madaeans celebrate feast Justice Ministry builds new courts, prisons
- Al-Muthanna customs office director arrested for receiving money in return for staff appointments
- Cabinet confirms universities' independence.
Al-Manar al-Yawm [ Baghdad , daily]
Al-Manar al-Yawm [ Baghdad , daily published by Al-Manar al-Yawm Press and Publishing House] 23 May:
- Interior minister: Ready to cooperate with devil to combat terrorism
- US army faces difficulty in recruiting youth (news agencies quoted)
- New political Sunni bloc announced Kurdistan mosques did not abide by closure
- Al-Jafari's cabinet demands Saddam Husayn be tried for Iraq-Iran war crimes (news agencies quoted)
- [Saddam's daughter] Raghad cried to see father in underwear; Bush confirms Saddam photos not to inflame insurgency.
Al-Zaman [daily, independent, Baghdad edition]
Al-Zaman [daily, independent, Baghdad edition of London-based Al-Zaman] 23 May:
- Twenty-two fall victims to armed attacks in Baghdad , Kirkuk , Tikrit, Mosul ;
- Unidentified men assassinate Trade Ministry audit director with his driver
- Iraqi army commander escapes assassination attempt in Al-Fathah
- [ Kirkuk ] Badr Organization, Muslim scholars association welcome Al-Sadr mediation
- First death penalty against three gunmen in Wasit; Criminal court: Life sentence handed to two Syrian infiltrators
- National Assembly considers US proposal to increase constitution-drafting committee members to 75
- Government spokesman: Al-Ja'fari's Ankara visit was a success
- US official: Armed attacks hamper reconstruction, raise its cost; Over 300 contractors killed since April 2004 (Reuters quoted)
- Military parade paralyses life in Ba'qubah
- Security officer found dead in his room at Health Ministry; Police detain ten suspects in Kirkuk , Al-Msayyab
- National Assembly members criticize integrity commission decisions
- Armed group releases three Romanian journalists kidnapped in Iraq
- Zebari: Our participation in forum important to clear confusion over situation in Iraq
- Al-Mahmudiyah not to delay final exams after receiving Defence Ministry assurances
- Former minister's complaints about new government instructions to reduce bodyguards from 30 to 10.
IRAQI PRESS QOUTES & EDITORIALS, 23 May 05
“The Yardstick for A Government's Success”- Al-Dustur
Al-Dustur [ Baghdad , daily published by Al-Dustur Press, Publishing and Distribution House] 23 May: [From commentary by Hakim Samawi al-Juburi]
"It is well-known in all the countries in the world that the yardstick for a government's success or failure depends on the extent of interaction of that government with people and the role it plays to make its voice heard in all sections of society. Dr Ibrahim al-Ja'fari is believed to possess the leading capability, honourable history and broad popular base, being the first prime minister elected by people. Therefore, his ability to control security, defeat terrorism and Ba'th Party remnants and combat corruption is a duty he should carry out. Thus, no excuses will be accepted from him, especially when it comes to imposing security, and no security can be established without rooting out terrorism in the country. This, no doubt, depends on striking terrorism and all its advocates with an iron fist that fears no media."
“ Iraq will witness new experience in political process”- Al-Mada
Al-Mada [ Baghdad , daily, independent newspaper published by Al-Mada Media, Culture and Arts Corporation] 23 May: [From commentary by Jamal Karim]
"In the next few months, Iraq will witness a new experience in the political process that has started after 9 April 2003 The coming months will see the declaration of the constitution that will define the form and mechanism of the new political system in Iraq It will be a stage through which we can take our first steps towards our forthcoming constitutional life, to be followed by other stages complementing the image of the nation's future in building a new state, whose power is derived from the law rather than the parties What the Iraqi popular will aspires to after the fall of the one-party rule and the collapse of its totalitarian, racial and subversive programmes is a state with power established on a basis of an all-inclusive national constitution that expresses the will of all and protects their rights without discrimination."
IRAQI PRESS & BROADCAST MEDIA, 23 May 05
Al-Iraqiyah TV news 23 May
- Security chief killed in Baghdad
- Report on suicide bombing near Baghdad restaurant
- Deputy Prime Minister Rozh Nuri Shawes accuses non-Iraqis of fuelling sectarian strife
- Insurgents arrested in Abu-Ghraib; weapons, explosives found
- Three insurgents sentenced to death; two Syrians sentenced to prison
- National Assembly member says committee to be set up to solve Sunni-Shi'i crisis; committee consists of members from Association of Muslim Scholars, Badr Organization and representatives of Muqtada al-Sadr; report covers Muqtada al-Sadr mediation efforts, MP hailing Sunni-Shi'i talks
- National Assembly names members of committees
- Forum on role of minorities in writing of constitution
- Report on training of Maghawir Brigade (Interior Ministry special commandos
- Report on training sessions of special police force in Diwaniyah
- Australia pledges to get its Iraq hostage freed
- Business bulletin: Hospital for cancer patients under construction in Basra
- Iraq share market report... Report on infrastructure projects in Arbil
- Multinational force allocates 156m dollars for reconstruction projects in Diyala
- Report on booming trade in security equipment
Al-Sharqiyah TV news 23 May 05
- Dozens killed and wounded in a car bombing at noon today in front of a restaurant in Al-Talibiyah district in eastern Baghdad
- US military column hit roadside landmine in western Baghdad , no US casualties reported, Iraqi injured
- Iraqi government says Wa'il al-Rubay'i, who was assassinated this morning by unidentified gunmen. works as head of operations room in Ministry of State for National Security
- The US Army in cooperation with Iraqi forces and the Interior Ministry has arrested about 300 suspects in the past 24 hours in the Baghdad area; Iraqi police forces stormed Abu-Ghurayb general hospital last night, assaulted staff
- Baha al-A'raji, National Assembly member from the Al-Sadr trend, announces the formation of a joint committee with the aim of healing the rift between Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) and Badr Organization
- Shi'i cleric Muqtada al-Sadr confirmed today that he was mediating between the Badr Organization and the AMS
- The Iraqi police says a car bomb blast targeted a convoy of Kurdish official in town of Tuz Khurmatu , five killed, 18 wounded, including the Kurdish official
- Four people were killed, 25 others and four US soldiers wounded in two suicide car bombings targeted this morning US base in northern Samarra
- Two Iraqi soldiers killed, one wounded this morning in mortar attack on joint Iraqi Army and police base in Samarra
- People in Baghdad suffer from shortage of drinking water
- The Education Ministry is to take touch measures against schools that receive tips for exam results
- Joint Iraqi-Polish troops arrested 184 persons in a hunt in Al-Suriyah in Al-Diwaniyah on 19 May
- US troops will remove checkpoints around Al-Ramadi as of 25 May
- US Army statement says three US soldiers killed in two separate attacks in Mosul yesterday
- Three Romanian journalists kidnapped in Iraq on 28 March arrive back home in Romania ...
FROM THE KURDISH MEDIA, 23 May 05
All Kurdish media outlets reported that a court in the Iraqi southern city of Kut articulated capital sentence for three members of the Ansar-ul-Sunna terrorists group for their involvement in 20 terrorist operations against civilians and members of the Iraqi National Guard. The three terrorists were screened confessing their crimes on an Iraqi TV broadcast last month. Their execution is expected in ten days.
nawxo.org
- In the Sunni-Shiite struggle of Iraqi Arabs, whom should the Kurds support – Shiites, Sunnis or stay impartial? 92% of participants in the online poll said that the Kurds should be impartial while 8% preferred supporting the Sunnis. None of the participants voted for backing the Shiites.
Aso, issued 3 times a week in Kirkuk by Xandan Publishing House
- Will the Kurdistani agitated parliamentarians be able to force the KDP and PUK to allow the inaugural session of the parliament? 104 surfers answered the question online poll and the results showed the following: 67% said NO and 32% answered YES while the remaining 1% said they could not give a clear-cut answer.
- The KRG-Sulaymanya Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research issued a directive that bans students and university civil servants from participating in strikes and demonstrations and threatens to punish those who participate in them. A source from the Sulaymanya University said that the banning decision was taken by the Council of Ministers and relayed to the university by the Higher Education Minister in a recent meeting. The dean in charge if students’ affairs at the university said that students were informed that they would not be allowed to demonstrate or go on strike unless they get an advance license and present “legitimate demands”. Justifying the ministry decision for banning strikes and demonstrations, the dean said the move aimed at regulating demonstrations for the benefit of the public and preserving stability. He denied claims that the directive was violation to human rights.
- A young couple coming from Mosul to Erbil have been in the custody of the security in Khabat town since last week for “traveling together in a car without being married.” The couple has said during the investigation that they were in love and going to Erbil to register their marriage there. The judged decided to jail the girl, who happens to be a lawyer, according Article 240 of the Iraqi Criminal Code [which is related to suspicion], in addition to having her undergo a [virginity] medical test while the boy is jailed in accordance to Article 421 [that deals with abduction].
Xebat, daily newspaper issued in Erbil by the KDP
- KDP leader Massoud Barzani met in his Salahuddin HQ on Sunday with the command of the KDP-led Kurdistan [Peshmarga] Army and congratulated comrades promoted to command membership recently. Protecting the higher interests and achievements of Kurdistan people is the main task of Kurdistan Peshmarga in the new federal Iraq , Barzani said.
- A police source from Tuzkhurmatu town south to Kirkuk announced the capture of a terrorist band that used to abduct Kurds on the highway linking the town to Baghdad . The band was trapped in a joint hunt of the police with the MNFI early Sunday morning.
- Our alliance with the Kurds is only for this transitional phase and it will be annulled after, the Shiite deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament Hussein al-Shahristani said. The constitutional battle expected between the Iraqi ethnicities and groups seems to have started already. Soon after The Sunni speaker Hajim al-Hassani’s has said in a statement that 70% of the Iraqi permanent constitution to be written will be based on the temporary constitution known as TAL but Shahristani immediately replied that the new constitution would be totally different from the laws adopted in the Governing Council era. He further said that the permanent constitution might not be written with Shiite-Kurd consensus adding that the Shiite alliance with the Kurds would be abolished with the end of the transitional period in Iraq .
Kurdistani Nwe, daily newspaper issued in Sulaymanya by the PUK
- KRG-Sulaymanya Deputy PM Emad Ahmed announced the allocation of $180 million for the ministry of municipalities and tourism to be spent on service projects.
- The final communiqué of the World Economy Forum that ended its sessions in Jordan on Sunday called on the Arab states to speed up political and economic reforms.
- During an inspection visit to the KRG-Sulaymanya Ministry of Education, PM Omer Fattah demanded accelerating modernizing the curricula. Fattah also OK’ed a proposal by Education Minister Shawnim Abdulqadir for construction of more schools and expansion of the old ones.
- Turkey expressed willingness to participate in Iraq reconstruction, Iraq Trade Minster Abdulbasit Kareem Mawlood said. Mawlood was a member in the Iraqi senior delegation that visited Turkey recently.
***
NB: This is not an official document. The information contained therein was compiled by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq , Information Office. If you have any questions/suggestions, please contact us at (+ 962 550 -4631/4632 or Cell. + 962 77 619 731 jarrar@un.org or alsokhni@un.org
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