ORDINARY Iraqis have become victims in their own country, according to ex-pats at a vigil for bomb blast victims yesterday.
More than 300 people are confirmed dead in a suicide bombing in Baghdad on Sunday which took place as people broke their daily Ramadan fast.
The incident happened in a shopping district as locals shopped for Eid celebrations.
Yesterday Scots-Iraqis at a vigil for victims in Glasgow said they were in mourning and could not celebrate the annual holiday.
Dr Abd Abdullah of the Scottish Iraqi Association told The National those at home and abroad are still struggling to comprehend terror attacks by Daesh and other groups. He said: “This is a new culture for us – we didn’t know that there is an organisation called Daesh or terrorists coming from outside the country to kill our people regardless of their race, their religion, their gender. It is indiscriminate.
“We have been victimised in our homeland.”
The vigil, which was attended by Transport Minister Humza Yousaf and Labour MSP Anas Sarwar, also drew Iraqi Consul General, Ambassador Zaid Noori.
He said Sunday’s bombing had happened at the “worst time” for Muslims, adding: “They are not celebrating. It is the worst crime in Baghdad since 2003, it is the biggest. It was the last days of Ramadan, the victims were breaking their fast and they were killed in cold blood.
“It is a crime against civilians. There is no festival in Iraq.”
The vigil was held the day after the publication of the Chilcot Report, which found resultant instability in Iraq could have been predicted before the UK and US invaded to topple Saddam Hussein.
It also criticised Tony Blair’s government for failing to plan for reconstruction and for underestimating the challenges the operation faced.
Hundreds of thousands of people died in the war.
While Noori declined to comment on Chilcot’s findings, Abdullah hit out at Blair’s claim that the world is a safer place without Hussein.
He said: “That is not true. There is no justice. The invasion of Iraq was not justified. It lead to the killing of hundreds of thousands of people.”
Dismissing Blair’s rebuttal of Chilcot criticisms, political activist and human rights defender Dr Fuad Alakbarov said: “The only time I will ever listen to Tony Blair is if he is in The Hague.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here