From the Iraq Freedom Congress, March 6:

Iraq Freedom Congress supports the Teachers Strike in Althawra (Sadr City)
A strike by education staff of more than 21 high schools that began last week continues into its second week. School staff, concerned about safety, wages and inflation, have raised their demands to the Ministry of Education.

The government responded to the demands by imposing a media blackout on the strike and has prevented political parties and organizations from entering the schools. The government also sent its representatives to force the strikers to end the strike. A principle of one of the schools told an IFC delegation in the area that an envoy of the Ministry of Education arrived at the school and told them: “The time to comply with your demands is over; we will finish whomever stands against us.”

The Almaliki government has failed miserably to meet the peoples’ needs and continues to oppress the society by taking advantage of the chaos that has been created by the U.S.-led occupation and the Almaliki government.

IFC supports the demands of the teachers and has offered all of its media resources to the strikers, and condemns the government’s actions against the teachers.

IFC calls upon all affiliate organizations inside and out of Iraq to support the strike until their demands are met.

See our last post on Iraq and the civil resistance. See our last report on labor struggles in Iraq.