Expanded report on the situation in the province of Nineveh, since the control of the insurgents until July 10th. 2014
Since the first day the armed insurgents occupy the city of Mosul, Nineveh province has seen a new reality which was not calculated certainly in the context of possible variants. What happened was a shock and under this shock begun a torrent of surprises and losses in all that means this word of significance and index imposes.
To be clear in the presentation of what was and is going on I have to refer to the following facts:
The situation in Mosul:
The phenomenon of displacement:
This phenomenon has started since the day Jun.10th. 2014 and the first displaced were from the top military and government officials who escorted their panicked families with them in the process of unorganized escape decision in the middle of the first day, as well as the subsequent days began the exodus of civilians and especially families belonging to minorities (Christians, Yazidis, Shabacs and some Shiites and Sunni families.
The flow of displaced people was in more than one direction, some went to Erbil, but faced great difficulties in entering it in the beginning, and the majority of the displaced headed to the Nineveh Plain and others toward the province of Duhok and Sinjar. According to the information on the ground the estimated number of displaced is more than half a million displaced people. Has to be noted, the phenomenon of displacement is still continuing, although the pace is less. The most affected and damaged categories of the displacement are pregnant women, children and the disables.
The ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Sham) on the city of Mosul have imposed a new reality in line with their tendencies of fundamentalist Salafistes closed Islamist. The city has seen a campaign of arrests and detentions affected many residents also imposed on all men and young’s long beards and going to mosques during prayer times. Concerning Christians seeing atrocities of killing and kidnapping, they has closed all the monasteries and churches without exception, and also stopped the ritual prayer, which was performed every Sunday. The jeziya-(because you are not yet Muslim you have to pay for that)- is imposed as well as Islamic way of clothing on Christians of Mosul.
The gunmen have imposed a new reality for the functions of government departments, as installation of a responsible in charge of each department and prevented women as well as minority’s members from practicing their jobs, also stopped the courts and the properties departments. The level of medical performance has decreased, in both public and privet hospitals because the doctors are leaving the city. Also is stopped the work of civil society organizations and professional unions and associations in Mosul city.
The gunmen Use citizens from the city informants to deduce the houses left empty by the population. The gunmen have dominated primarily on houses of all civilian officials and military personnel of the Iraqi government.
A lot of milestones of everyday social life are stopped, as it is rare to see women on the streets without unless accompanied by a male relative of the family. Also is imposed the wearing of headscarves and (neeqab) burrow models to all women, as well as has declined the opportunities to walk around and enjoy the daily life and prevented all manifestations of innocent entertainment in cafes
The gunmen use coercive methods to force the population to provide loyalty to them through the so-called (repentance), where line up dozens and even hundreds a day in front of mosques or some places in order to make their Declaration of Repentance versus pardoned despite that many of them have nothing to do with government or military function in Iraqi State
Any manifestation of daily activities for youth and young boys has partly disappeared in some neighborhoods and entirely in the revival of the others, while the city was experiencing earlier competitions, especially in football game.
Badush prison was reopened and according to the available information, a section of the prison was allocated for women and according to some Information this section now has received four sisters, those were taken there after leaving their monastery, but fortunate they were released yesterday.
The situation in the Nineveh Plain:
More than half a million (500,000)thousands people, lives in this region, which includes a number of districts and towns and villages the majority are Christian and Izidies components, but also there are Shabacs, Turkmen and some Sunni and Sheas families. This region is fragile in terms of security and is threatened every day by insurgents and especially district of Al-Hamdanyia (Baghdida), which was bombarded with mortars, forcing a large number of the population to flee abroad. Now most of them had returned and the region generally is experiencing quieter but quieter careful and risks are daily exposure to the region from attacks. Nineveh Plain have seen biggest exodus of the city of Mosul after the control of insurgents terrorists over the city, and as a result the church halls were opened, schools and buildings that reconstruction had not been achieved yet, to house the displaced people. Many officials had Volunteered in providing aid and relief to the displaced people in which HHRO (Hammurabi Human Rights Organization), since the early days had taken the initiative in the provision of relief supplies and aid to most of the displaced people there, participate in collaboration and coordination with CSI( Christian Solidarity International), while I should point out that our organization (HHRO) was the first initiator to offer this volunteer service of emergency humanitarian.
What are complaining about in Nineveh Plain now is the overcrowding large displaced and security concerns of the possibility of escalating violence in the neighborhood, as well as the lack of services where accumulate waste in the banner as well as the scarcity of household water and electricity services because of the control of the terrorist gunmen on the water project of Sallamya and Rashidiya and began to control these two projects, why that here is no solution to the water services in the area of the Nineveh plain unless the establishment of a project to sterilize the water and pumped to homes within the same area
Solutions
The beginning of a solution to the security problems and services in the Nineveh Plain can't be achieved unless the realization of what could be self-security; to participate in self-defense as a right and a duty of the inhabitant of Nineveh Plain. This comes by recruiting and preparing young people from minorities themselves. This has not to be in a militia’s way, but in providing all necessary equipment in a trained official army able to ensure the prevention and the defense of their population and their proprieties. But for that they have to be enabled, well trained in order to maintain the safety in very first lines of their villages. Because, unfortunately there is a matter of confidence. Iraqis don’t trust each other’s and especially I would like to mention some of the crimes while we are focusing on Christians. With All what Christians faces before and since 2008 genocide of Mosul, 2009 and 2010 the attack of students which was between two multi forces check points! The kidnap and murder of bishops and priests, the genocide in the church of Our Lady of Najat in the middle of Baghdad all this memory of a massacred , nation request international investigations and accountability. This is because Iraqi authorities didn't respond adequately to the question : who has been the real factor to commit and why were committed such crimes against Christians who pacific people had nothing to do with sectarianism between Shiites and Sunnites. Those and the ongoing crimes are the crimes against humanity . The only way to prevent the perpetuation of all those crimes is to provide new protection means on the ground. Although, the tools I suggested above could be only a part of the solution and not all the solution. Because, In this critical development of events in Iraq, it should be an international moral duty and obligation to be implemented according to the international texts of Human Rights protection, such as written in the universals as well as those specific to Minorities protection.
The problem of terror and terrorism in Iraq is not only Iraq Problem but it is an international problem as well. No country is exempt of terrorist's threats as long as those terrorists come from various countries and regions. So an international protection as peace keepers forces to Iraqi Christians and Izidies ,Mandeans,Turkuman, and the other disarmed people, is more than urgent to protect civilians lives, not only from terrorists attacks but also from irresponsibility of both politic groups and decision makers level in Iraqis central and regional authorities who, do leave people of Nineveh Plain in Baghdede (Hamdanya), Sinjar, and also Tozkhormato and many other Iraqi areas, being victimized through perpetuated genocides in the hands of divers Gunmen. Nonetheless, since 2003 it was supposed that democratic and free society has to be established with all what it request of efforts and new political vision... Unfortunately the bloody action is ongoing and till now people dies and no one is made accountable!
The duplication of governance in the Nineveh Plain adds a burden in their life, Because of deviation of the management. The governmental institutions are under the central government, while the security is managed by security institutions of the Kurdistan region. This contentious situation makes the unstable region. In light of the ongoing conflict between the federal Government and the KRG the security degradation has increased. Therefore, this matter must be resolved as soon as possible through the delivery departments and the security file commended by a real political solution. However, people of those areas have to be the first engaged in the issue of their own safety because they are the most capable to manage and protect their area. Especially those civilians are paying the price for the conflict results of the both influences of the central and the regional Governments who are not providing services not from the center and neither from the regional authorities. This is because those local solutions carrying the responsibility alone, without any international or regional cooperation. All tentative has failed and broth the innocent population to such a dangerous and inhuman situation. It is a situation of ongoing genocide on Christians ethnically knows as (Assyrians Syriac Chaldeans) in addition to the other minorities in Iraq.
I think it is time to deploy international efforts to bring international protection to Nineveh Plain and Sinjar's areas population? And while Kurds Sunits and Shiits are fighting for their own claims of more power gains, the atrocities are conferred to the remainder of Christians, Izidies and the other minorities who are unsupported while they are not a part of political game. Those innocent original Iraqi people are currently left to terrorists’ pity, with a very weak and a shaming official representation, less than to be a symbolic representation. The moral duty have to call everybody in decision making field, local, national, regional and international to make efforts for a better sense of responsibility regarding those innocents people.
We, Hammurabi Human Rights organization (HHRO), leaders, members and supporters we are seized by our humanitarian duty to shout louder to the humanitarian disastrous situation of those victims in Iraq. We urge The International Society (UN) to take immediate and serious action in the both realities of those minorities: 1- Humanitarian relief 2- international protection, similar that was done in 1991 in The North of Iraq. Anyhow, a solution has to be find for their complex situation.
The incapacity of this region at the present time to ensure it security, the lack of services, electricity power cuts and the scarcity of drinking water increase the number of internal and external displaced. Also in the presence of a lack of serious international aid programs, and the widespread unemployment and non distribution of salaries to employees and retirees and stop universities, schools and vital facilities, which were administered by the province of Nineveh, the military solution is not enough to redress issues to a normal level and maintaining the unity of the country. There is a need and obligation of comprehensive political reform based on political compatibility which inspires certain sense of common well, and public interests, guided by vital negotiations between Iraqis on both levels central and regional power, in which the personal and sectarian benefits will not be prioritized in order to find an end to the spread corruption and be able to protect Iraqi people..
Unfortunately, the fundamental problems that Iraqi politicians did not rise to the level of the challenges facing the country. We find that, as a member of United Nations, Iraq has to get to their effective support, to be helped in those huge challenges.
Hammurabi Human Rights Organization and since the early days of the crisis, we took initiatives in the field access to most of the population displaced from Mosul and from some areas of the Nineveh Plain and Provided assistance in kind and material which included more than 1600 families until the day of July 1o- 2014 in areas along the Nineveh Plain and the towns and villages of Dohuk province. Currently, the team of Hammurabi Human Rights Organization continues this program relief field to the end of the crisis. We request a direct contact to NGO WHO ARE DEALING WITH DISPLACED PEOPLE to achieve in a transparent way the goal of Humanitarian needs.
Thank you
Hammurabi Human Rights Organization
Congressional Human Rights Committee
Washington DC, July 15th 2014