Second day of demonstrations (was: Re: Baghdad demo against occupation

["LouPaulsen" <LouPaulsen@xxxxxxxxx>]

> (Long article, worth reading.  Naturally the demonstration, referred to in
a
> single paragraph in the middle of the article, won't get 1/10000 the press
> of "vehicle pulls down statue".  But it obviously opens a new phase of the
> struggle against the U.S. occupation.)

Baghdad Protesters Decry Lack of Power, Water
2 hours, 11 minutes ago  Add World - Reuters to My Yahoo!

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Scores of Iraqis protested in Baghdad on Sunday,
accusing U.S. forces of being concerned only with oil and not with helping
Iraq (news - web sites) get back on its feet.

American soldiers erected a barbed wire barricade to separate protesters
from the central Palestine Hotel where most of the international media is
based in the Iraqi capital.

Protesters yelled that U.S. troops were doing nothing to help restore power,
water and communications, or quell the looting which has hit parts of the
city.

"They have operated some of the oil facilities, but they are not operating
the power and water systems because they are just after the oil," said
42-year-old civil servant Ali Zuhair.

Mazen Mohammed, 39, a taxi driver, said Baghdad residents just wanted to
live in peace now that U.S.-led forces had toppled Saddam Hussein (news -
web sites).

"Where is the electricity? Where is the water? Why is there all this mess?
It would have been better if Saddam had stayed in power," he said.

The demonstration took place as hundreds of Iraqi police and other civil
servants responded to U.S. calls broadcast by radio to meet in central
Baghdad as part of efforts to resume order and key services to the capital.

Protesters shouted slogans in praise of Iraq, denouncing Saddam and warning
against any attempt to set up a military or "foreign" government.

"You are our beloved country, Iraq, your sun will not set," some chanted.

One professor claimed he had witnessed some American soldiers openly
encouraging people to loot.

"I saw for myself how the American troops encouraged Iraqis to loot and burn
the University of Technology," said 49-=year-old professor, Shakir Aziz.