The British forces occupying southern Iraq felt increasingly pleased, maybe even smug, about their successes compared with the problems facing coalition forces elsewhere in Iraq.
The British think themselves better able to cope with the threat of civil disorder, not least because of their long experience combating the UK’s very own uprising in Northern Ireland. However on Friday this confidence was shaken when a confrontation with an angry crowd led to the deaths of six demonstrators, two probably shot by British troops and four by Iraqi policemen. An official investigation is in progress.
The British allege that one man who was shot was about to throw a grenade. It may be that this was a peaceful demonstration, hijacked by political dissidents.
Unfortunately many Iraqis are going to take some convincing. Nine months after Saddam’s overthrow, safe drinking water and reliable power supplies have still only been restored in some areas. Worse, many people, especially government employees, are still without work and pay. In the early stages of the British occupation, when hopes were high for rapid change, this was not generally a problem. People had modest savings and their extended families to turn to for help. But as the first anniversary of the British arrival draws near, many are taking stock of what has not happened. Frustration is rising. The British have hopefully registered the fact that Ammara was a place that initially welcomed their presence and last June, when six British soldiers were murdered by an angry mob in the nearby town of Majar Al-Kabir, the people of Ammara demonstrated in protest at the crime.
In the chaos of the invasion, after Saddam had cynically emptied the prisons of criminals, there was a swathe of destruction and looting which left institutions such as Basra Southern University’s Bab Al-Zubayr complex plundered and wrecked. Many Iraqis still do not have functioning work places to return to.
The task of rebuilding is immense but it is not proceeding fast enough, partly because of a lack of funds and partly from a lack of resources. The obvious answer is to ensure that while they are forced to wait to resume work, the breadwinners of Iraqi families should be paid their salaries. It is no good the British saying that Iraqis in their care should make themselves responsible for good order unless the British, as the occupying force, show more clearly that they are responsive to the needs of the people. What is growing here is a devil’s brew of discontent, sure to be exploited by the forces of disorder that have been so successful elsewhere in the country. Perhaps the events in Ammara have shaken British complacency and will cause the coalition authorities to speed up the reconstruction effort in southern Iraq.
