Page 7 - Al-Rashed Newsletter Oct 19

IRAQ MUSINGS
IRAQ NEWS

ICTSI launches two new container berths at Umm Qasr
International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has inaugurated two new
berths in the port of Umm Qasr, Iraq’s main dry cargo port, reports Seatrade
Maritime.The inauguration also marked the completion of ICTSI’s $250m investment
programme at its Basra Gateway Terminal (BGT) making the port capable of
receiving box ships of up 14,000 teu.Located in Umm Qasr’s North Port, BGT
operates a high-capacity-container terminal together with specialised facilities for
the handling of general cargo, ro-ro, dry bulk and project cargo for the oil and gas
sector.
Three new STS cranes, each with an outreach of 56m and able to handle up to 21
rows of containers, are installed on the quayside completed with seven new, six-
high-stacking RTGs and three existing units bringing the total fleet to 10 RTGs.

Iraq on edge after al-Sadr calls for removal of prime minister
One of Iraq's leading Shiite clerics and powerful politicians has called on other
parties to back him in removing Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi after weeks of
protests.
Muqtada al-Sadr, who leads the largest political block in parliament, invited Iraq's
second largest party on Tuesday to cooperate with him in "immediately" holding a
vote of no confidence in Mahdi.In a letter addressed to the prime minister.
IRAQ PROTESTS: WHAT'S BEHIND

THE ANGER?

There has been an upsurge of violence in Iraq as anti-government protests enter a
fifth day, amid reports of bloodshed in the holy city of Karbala. Reports say up to 18
people were shot dead by security forces there. However, officials denied anyone
was killed.In the capital, Baghdad, thousands of protesters have defied a curfew to
"NO ONE CAN MAKE demand jobs, better public services and an end to corruption.
Iraqis are not simply calling for the downfall of a leader or political party. Instead,
YOU FEEL INFERIOR
they are calling for the end of a political system which has existed since the US-led
WITHOUT YOUR invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003 - a system which, they argue, has failed

CONSENT." them.
They specifically point to the way government appointments are made on the basis
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT of sectarian or ethnic quotas (a system known as muhassasa), rather than on merit.

In the past, protests have usually erupted during the summer, when scorching heat
and the government's inability to provide basic services - such as electricity or water
- reaches a boiling point and Iraqis hit the streets.Ironically, this year, services have
slightly improved, owed partly to heavy rainfall and a less intense summer. But
reforms to the system remain a distant reality.
Last weekend's demotion of Staff Lieutenant General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, who
has become a legendary figure who led the fight against the Islamic State (IS)
group, angered many Iraqis.They believed the national hero lost his job because of
his efforts to fight corruption and the political class within his counter-terrorism
service (CTS). And to them, if the hero who fought IS can't fight corruption and the
political class, then who can?

Source: Logistics Middle East, CNN, BBC