MERIP
Media Resource List, February 27, 2006
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS on the following topics:
- Iraq's sectarian divides
- HR 4681, Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, in the
House [Senate bill also sanctioning the Palestinian Authority
expected this week]
SAMI ZUBAIDA
Sami Zubaida is professor emeritus of politics and sociology,
Birkbeck College, University of London. His research and writing
focus on religion, law and nationalism in the culture and
politics of the Middle East, including politics and society
in Iraq in the twentieth century. He commented today: "Sectarian
divisions in Iraq have become dominant because all other bases
for solidarity and action have been weakened if not destroyed
-- first by the Baathist regime, then by the logic of 'dividing
the spoils' instituted after the US invasion. Decades of repression,
wars and sanctions have driven most Iraqis to the protection
of their local communities, which tend to be communalist,
tribal and religious. The forces of civil society, the secular
middle classes, were coopted into the ruling Baath party and
lost their organization with its demise. Those who were against
the regime were imprisoned, killed or exiled. After the 2003
invasion, religious leaders emerged, returning secular politicians
found they have no constituency, and the remaining professionals
and intellectuals have been driven out or silenced -- hundreds
of university professors have been assassinated. The provisions
in the constitution for a federal structure, which will give
Shi'ite leaders of religious parties considerable autonomy
and control over oil resources, have only increased the sectarian
divide."
JOOST HILTERMANN
Joost Hiltermann is Middle East Project Director at the International
Crisis Group, which conducts research and writes policy-focused
reports on armed conflict. ICG released a new report today:
The
Next Iraqi War? Sectarianism and Civil Conflict . "The
bombing of the al-Askariya shrine in Samara and the subsequent
reprisals are but the latest, most serious signs that efforts
to hold Iraq together verge on collapse. There is still a
little time to stop the slide into civil war if Iraqi leaders
and the international community act urgently but the winners
of the December 2005 elections must not only strongly condemn
sectarian-inspired attacks and urge restraint. They must also
establish a government of genuine national unity with popular
credibility and Sunni Arab leaders in more than token positions;
address Iraqis' top concerns -- safety and basic amenities;
begin to disband the sectarian militias; and revise the constitution's
provisions on federalism and oil. The US, the EU and regional
players must push for these crucial steps, or risk Iraq's
disintegration and the Middle East's destabilization."
JOSH RUEBNER
Josh Ruebner is the Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator with the
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a national coalition
working to change US policy toward Israel/Palestine to support
human rights and international law. Ruebner has worked as
a Middle East analyst for Congressional Research Service.
The US Campaign has organized a sign-on letter endorsed by
more than 200 organizations opposing HR 4681, the Palestinian
Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006. According to Ruebner, the letter
"sends a clear message to Congress that a broad and diverse
cross-section of people in the United States do not want to
punish the Palestinian people for voting. HR 4681 would do
so by imposing draconian economic and diplomatic measures
against the Palestinian people." HR 4681 would restrict US
humanitarian aid, designate Palestinian territory a "terrorist
sanctuary," prohibit official Palestinian diplomacy in the
United States and deny Palestinians assistance through international
financial institutions.
Background :
+ International Crisis Group report released today: "The Next
Iraqi War? Sectarianism and Civil Conflict"
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=3980
+ H.R. 4681, Text of the House bill, Palestinian Anti-Terrorism
Act of 2006
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h109-4681
+ US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation letter opposing
HR 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, with
all the endorsing organizations http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1188
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