Campaign to support the Basra students protest against Islamist repression

March 26th 2005
On March 16th, students in Basra began a strike in protest at an attack carried out on students from Basra’s University’s engineering faculty by Moqtada al-Seder’s Army of the Mahdi, in which several people were injured and one killed. The strike ended on March 22nd, but the students’ campaign against Islamist violence continues and needs international support and solidarity.

Al-Sadr’s gang and the city’s tribal elders had threatened to bombard the university if the students did not issue an apology for their “blasphemous” slogans against political Islam. Such was the Islamists’ determination to end the strike that they even threatened to kill Bus and taxi drivers who transported students to the demonstrations at the university. However, the students’ determination and the support they have received from freedom-loving people in Basra have now forced the Mahdi Army’s representative Asad al-Basri into giving an apology to the students! This apology has been published in the well-known Basra newspaper Al-Manara al-Basriya.



The Basra Student Working Committee, which was founded in December last year and represents students in the city’s university and high schools, commented: “Recent events in our city show that Iraqi workers and students are determined to resist political Islam, and can win if they are united. The Student Working Committee will continue to work for the creation of a progressive student movement in Iraq.”



We will continue to support the Basra students’ campaign:

- To bring al-Sadr’s assassins to justice.

- Compensation for the victims of the attack.

- For the expulsion of Islamist militias’ headquarters from Iraqi universities.

- Separation of religion from the state and the education system.

- For the creation of a united progressive student movement in Basra and other cities.
Please send messages of solidarity to the (Students Working
Committee)
On this e-mail address studentvoice@basrahstudent.4t.com and send copies to us.

Campaign coordinators:
Houzan Mahmoud (Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq- UK Representative)
E-mail: houzan73@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 079 56 88 3001
Alan Clarke (UK National Union of Students national executive
member)
E-mail: alan.clarke@nus.org.uk Tel: 07976 000 940
Dashti Jamal (Head of UK organization of Worker communist party of Iraq)
E-mail: d.jamal@ntlworld.com Tel: 077 34 704742

supporters of the campaign:
Nadia Mahmood (No to Afghanisation of Iraq campaign) UKPauline Bradley (Convenor Iraq Union Solidarity) UKMuayad Ahmed (Editor in chief of Worker Communism paper) UKDaniel Randall (Alliance for Workers liberty) UKMick Duncan (No Sweat Campaign) UKKalliroi Nicolis (Social Aid of Hellas) Greece Aso Jabbar (Abroad representative of Federation of workers councils and unions n Iraq) SwitzerlandJosh Robinson, Cambridge University People & Planet UKRobin Sivapalan, Education Not for Sale candidate for NUS VP (Education) UKJodi Garrod, Women's Officer, SOAS student union UKSam Keyes, Education Officer, Leeds University Union UKJames Bull, Equal Opportunities Officer, Salford University student Union UKCoral Harding, Women's Officer, University of East London student union UKWill Wiles, National Union of Students steering committee UKFaz Velmi, National Union of Students LGB committee UKLaura Schwartz, Wadham College student union UKEmma Norris, president-elect, Oxford University student union UKFran Robinson, Hackney Community College UKHugh Grant-Peterkin, Bristol University UKMaria Exall, Communication Workers' Union national executive UKJohn Moloney, Public & Commercial Services Union national executive UKKate Ahrens, UNISON national executive UKPeter Tatchell (Human rights activist) UKClaire Bielby & Louise gold (National Union of Student- women’s committee) UKOutRage! (the gay human rights campaign) UKRaja bin Salama (Tunisian University) Tunisia