Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Ministry of Interior to carry out population census
Government
(Azzaman) - The Ministry of Interior is to carry out a count of the population in violence-stricken areas including the capital Baghdad. The aim, according to the ministry, is to have a reliable register of those permanently residing in these areas and those staying for short periods of time. “It is important to draw a line between permanent inhabitants and the newcomers,” Brigadier Qassem Atta said.
He said each citizen in Baghdad and other restive areas will be given an identity card indicating the area they permanently reside in. In Baghdad, home to more than 6 million people, 50 police stations as well as the city’s municipal councils will be involved in the count, Atta added. The term, ‘restive areas’, normally refers to towns and villages in central and northern parts of the country – a region where Sunni Muslims are the majority.
Atta said the count was part of the U.S.-led campaign to pacify Baghdad. However, he did not say whether such large-scale count will be without risks in some places including certain quarters of Baghdad where the government practically has no authority. Atta said the government will slap curfews in areas and districts that will be covered by the census. He did not say when the count will start in earnest and which cities or areas will be the first to cover.
He said each citizen in Baghdad and other restive areas will be given an identity card indicating the area they permanently reside in. In Baghdad, home to more than 6 million people, 50 police stations as well as the city’s municipal councils will be involved in the count, Atta added. The term, ‘restive areas’, normally refers to towns and villages in central and northern parts of the country – a region where Sunni Muslims are the majority.
Atta said the count was part of the U.S.-led campaign to pacify Baghdad. However, he did not say whether such large-scale count will be without risks in some places including certain quarters of Baghdad where the government practically has no authority. Atta said the government will slap curfews in areas and districts that will be covered by the census. He did not say when the count will start in earnest and which cities or areas will be the first to cover.
Labels: Brigaier Qassem Atta, census, ID cards, Iraq, Ministry of Interior
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Special IDs to be issued to Baghdad residents
Security
(IRIN) - In a bid to reduce sectarian violence, the Iraqi authorities have decided to issue special IDs to Baghdad residents to make it easy to identify militants, a senior military officer said. "The aim is to easily differentiate between true residents of Baghdad and strangers and militants who come from other provinces to carry out terrorist attacks," Brig Qassim al-Mousawi, spokesman of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, said.
"Nine security centres will be opened in Baghdad soon to issue these IDs, five on the western side and four on the eastern side, and these centres will be run by the US army, Iraqi security forces and local officials in each neighbourhood," al-Mousawi said. He did not specify when the authorities would issue these new IDs, which would bear a person’s full name and address.
However, a former senior army official criticised the plan. "The Iraqi government and US army are skirting around the problem instead of getting to the bottom of it," said retired Brig Fadhil Salman Abdul-Muhaimen, who served nearly 30 years in the former Iraqi army. "Terrorists, militants, insurgents or whatever they call them not only come from outside Baghdad, they are also residents of Baghdad," Abdul-Muhaimen said.
There have been reports of Sunnis carrying fake IDs with Shia names and Shias carrying fake IDs with Sunni names in case insurgents or militias stop people to find out their possible sectarian affiliation. “Sitting ducks” For Baghdad resident Ghazwan Amin Jaafar, having such an ID will "make us sitting ducks for those who are looking for people to kidnap and kill”. "With these IDs, we can't trick the militants any more, as our real names and addresses will be revealed. I hope the government will think carefully before it kicks this off because it will put us in danger all the time," said 33-year-old Jaafar.
Abdul-Muhaimen urged the government to deal with the essence of the problem. “Why are these militants entering Baghdad and carrying out attacks? It [the government] should do more on reconciliation, and bring back as many former army officers, members of the Saddam-era security services and Baath party members as possible," he said.
Labels: Baath Party, Baghdad residents, Brig Fadhil Salman Abdul-Muhaimen, Brig Qassim al-Mousawi, former security forces, ID cards
Thursday, April 26, 2007
U.S. forces issue special ID cards to Ramadi residents
Security
(VOI) – U.S forces started issuing special identification cards to residents of Ramadi, 110 km west of Baghdad, a security source in Anbar province said on Wednesday."U.S. forces started this morning issuing identification cards to residents of Ramadi city after taking local residents’ finger prints and making cornea scans to isolate wanted persons and to prevent anyone from entering the city without an ID," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) by phone. "U.S. marines established centres in the city with special equipment to issue these IDs, which will be given only to Ramadi's residents," he added. Anbar is a province with a large area. It stretches just west of Baghdad to the borders with Jordan. It is a Sunni province. Its main cities are Falluja, Ramadi, Haditha, Hit, Aana, and Rutbah.
Labels: ID cards, Ramadi, U.S. forces
