Up To 100 Emo, LGBT, "Vampire", & "Satanic" Youth Massacred In Iraq

[Merticus]

http://www.albayan.ae/one-world/arabs/2012-03-04-1.1604832

أحفاد دراكولا» يتحركون في بغداد
المصدر: بغداد ـ «البيان»
التاريخ: 04 مارس 2012

يبدو أن العجائب والغرائب لا تنتهي في «أرض الرافدين»، وفي آخر تقليعة غرائبية في العراق، ظهرت على نطاق محدود بين أوساط الشباب هناك ظاهرة غريبة عبر انتشار مجموعات ممن يعرفون بمنتسبي طائفة «الإيمو» ممن يوصفون بأحفاد دراكولا من «مصاصي الدماء»، وسط تأكيد لمسؤولين بأن هؤلاء الشباب يقومون بمص دمائه بعضهم عبر عض المعصم وينتهي الأمر إلى انتحار جماعي.

وكشف مسؤول عراقي في مدينة الكاظمية (شمال غربي بغداد) عن ورود معلومات أمنية مؤكدة، عن وجود أشخاص «مصاصي الدماء» في المدينة، تابعين لمجموعات الإيمو، فيما ذكرت وزارة الداخلية العراقية إلى أن ظاهرة «الإيمو» يقتصر وجودها على الملابس.

وقال رئيس اللجنة الأمنية في المجلس المحلي لمنطقة الكاظمية علي الشمري في تصريح صحافي إن «مفارز الأمن الوطني والشرطة المجتمعية في المنطقة أبلغتنا عن تحركات مريبة لأشخاص يقلدون ظاهرة الإيمو»، مبينا أن «تلك المعلومات تؤكد أن هؤلاء يقومون بامتصاص الدماء من معاصم بعضهم البعض»، لافتا إلى أن «أتباعها ينتهون بانتحار جماعي، بحسب ما اطلعنا من معلومات بشأنها في أميركا الجنوبية».

عبدة الشيطان

وبين الشمري أن «الجهات المختصة وجدت رسوما لجماجم في بعض المدارس وكتابات باللغة الانجليزية لا تعرف طبيعتها»، لافتا إلى أن المجلس المحلي في الكاظمية «يخشى من إمكانية تحول هؤلاء إلى عبدة للشيطان. مشيرا إلى «انتشار هذه الظاهرة في مناطق أخرى من بغداد كالكرادة وزيونة».

آثار سلبية

من جانبها، أكدت وزارة الداخلية العراقية أن سلبيات ظاهرة «الإيمو» غير موجودة في العراق «لاقتصارها على الملابس والاكسسوارات».

وقال مدير إعلام الشرطة المجتمعية مشتاق طالب إن «هذه الظاهرة فيها بعض السلبيات، مثل الشذوذ الجنسي ومحاولة إيذاء وجرح الجسم بالأدوات الجارحة مثل الشفرات»، إلا انه أشار إلى أن «هذه الآثار السلبية للظاهرة غير موجودة في العراق».

TRANSLATION:

Descendants of Dracula - Moving in Baghdad
Baghdad
Date: March 4, 2012

Seems to be Stranges And Uniques do not end in the «land of Mesopotamia», and in the last Tkulaiah exotic in Iraq, appeared on a limited scale among young people there is a strange phenomenon through the proliferation of groups who are known Bmnzbe range «IMO» who are described as descendents of Dracula from «vampires», the center of officials confirm that these young people who suck his blood across some of them biting the wrist and end up to collective suicide.

Revealed an Iraqi official in the city of Kadhimiya (north-west of Baghdad) on the receipt of information security firm, for the presence of persons «vampires» in the city, belonging to the groups of IMO, as according to the Ministry of Interior that the phenomenon of «IMO» confined to the clothing.

The head of the security committee of the local council for the Kadhimiya Ali Al-Shammari said in a statement that «the detachments of national security and community policing in the area told us about suspicious movements of people imitate the phenomenon of IMO», indicating that «this information confirms that those who absorb blood from the wrists to each other», He pointed out that «the mass suicide of followers they have finished, according to what we have read the information on them in South America».

Satanists

Shammari and that «the competent authorities and today the skulls found in some schools and the writings of English do not know the nature», pointing out that the local council in Kadhimiya «fear of the possibility of turning to these worshipers of the devil. Referring to «spread of this phenomenon in other parts of Baghdad and Kalkradh Zayouna».

Negative effects

For its part, the Ministry of Interior that the negative aspects of the phenomenon of «IMO» does not exist in Iraq «to be limited to clothing and accessories».

The Director of Information Community Police Mushtaq demanded that «phenomenon where some of the negatives, such as homosexuality and try to hurt and wound the body of prey with tools such as blades», but he pointed out that «the negative effects of this phenomenon does not exist in Iraq».


Iraq's Emo killings: A horror story out of control?
By Rami Ruhayem BBC News, Baghdad
March 20, 2012

For several weeks, Iraq has been gripped by a most gruesome rumour.

Iraqi teenagers who dress in tight black clothes, the rumour goes, are being picked up by extremists who then crush their skulls with blocks of cement.

The victims are referred to as "emos", a term originally used in the West to describe youths who listen to a melodic style of rock music, and dress in alternative clothing.

But in Iraq, it has come to mean any man with long hair or a slightly feminine appearance. Emos have also been described alternatively as Satanists, vampires, gays, masons, or all of the above.

Some Iraqi media have said dozens of them, perhaps more than 70, have been killed recently.

Soon enough, almost every media organisation in the country was scrambling to put together its own report about the unexpected phenomenon, and the accompanying terror.

The only problem is that little of it has been verified.

According to the authorities, none of this has happened. A spokesman for Iraq's police said that some young people do dress "strangely", and they have been "dealt with" through peaceful guidance. Alaa Jassem said the media blew the whole thing out of proportion.

He mentioned the case of a "delicate" 17-year-old man named Saif who was killed, but added that it was "just a tribal killing" that had nothing to do with his appearance.
'Targeted intimidation'

The authorities certainly have a stake in dispelling any notion that extremists are on the loose in Baghdad, killing teenagers. But others are also treating the reports with caution.

The BBC contacted a spokesman for Unicef, the United Nations' child protection agency.

Jaya Murthy, who is in Baghdad, expressed concern, calling for a government investigation, and added Unicef has not been able to confirm a single case.

Later, a joint statement by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said there was a "targeted campaign of intimidation and violence against Iraqi youth seen as belonging to the non-conformist emo subculture".

The intimidation is clear for all to see. In Sadr City, a conservative neighbourhood in east Baghdad, leaflets were posted on main streets with lists of names of young men.

They are called "gay" And threatened with death unless they "change their ways" and stopped behaving "like the people of Lot".

And that was only the most visible form of intimidation. The BBC made several attempts to interview young men thought to be emos, and they all pulled out at the last minute. Their fear was very real.

But whether there was a targeted campaign of violence appears less certain.

A spokesman for Amnesty International said Amnesty could not get solid confirmation or names of victims.

Said Boumedouha said the only pictures of dead bodies were those circulated on the internet of Saif and "probably" another man.
Saif's story

Saif appeared to be the one man everyone was talking about. A friend of his told the BBC he was killed "towards the end of last month, or the beginning of this month", because of his hairstyle and clothes.

His body was found early one morning close to his home in east Baghdad. He was killed by a blow to the head.

Saif's friend also said there was another man who was killed the same way. He said he did not know him, but had seen his picture on Facebook.

Despite all the uncertainty, the Iraqi media were still reporting dozens of killings.

Iraqi MP Safia Seheil says there is an extremist agenda at work: "There are political and social forces that want all of Iraqi society to conform to their own world view."

She has called on the government to acknowledge the problem and protect the vulnerable. But she also says exaggeration is part of the problem.

"The exaggeration itself is an agenda too. All the cases point only to a limited number [of victims], but the rumours jump around from one area to another. Some Iraqi media seem to have adopted the cause, and perhaps inadvertently caused panic among the youth," said Safia Seheil.

Amid all the confusion, there is a glimmer of hope.

The joint statement by the human rights groups said that, unlike a spate of attacks in 2009 against gay Iraqis, "the recent campaign has generated strong condemnation within Iraq".

It pointed to a statement by Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most influential Iraqi cleric, which described the killings as un-Islamic acts of terrorism.

And even as the Iraqi press was circulating unconfirmed reports of dozens of deaths, many columnists were also railing against extremism and calling on the government to protect freedom of expression.


http://paper-bird.net/2012/03/21/you-are-killing-the-nation-not-emos-more-from-iraq/

“You are killing the nation, not emos”: more from Iraq
By Scott Long - March 21, 2012

1. Rumor and responsibility

What do we know about the anti-emo campaign now?

For a start: Iraq’s Ministry of the Interior, you’ll recall, sent forth a statement on February 13 calling for “eliminating” the “phenomenon” of emo youth in Iraq. This offered an official imprimatur, and arguably incitement, to vigilante violence against “deviance.”  One result of the uproar against the killings, and against the Ministry’s weird words, came about this week. The incriminating statement vanished from the police website.

You could argue this is an attempt to quiet the fears their warnings roused. Or you could say, more plausibly, they’re trying to cover their tracks. I feel mildly prescient for having imagined they’d do this; I screensaved the original proclamation. You can find it here.

Even if you take into account the impromptu comments of  government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh, last week –that “there is no prosecution for belonging to the emo phenomenon  in the country … The security agencies are obliged to protect freedoms” — it doesn’t particularly sound as if the state is backing away from its anti-emo rhetoric. The Ministry of Interior’s February 29 statement, accusing emos of “destructive effects on the structure of communities,” is still up there on the Web. And this week the Ministry of Education stepped up its actions. Those bureaucrats, as I’ve noted, were responsible for a still-secret memo I’ve seen dating all the way back in August 2011: it urged prompt action “in response to the Emo phenomenon insinuating itself into our society”:

        Deterrent legal and administrative measures should be taken against students who engage in this deviancy inside schools.
        Cooperation and coordination are necessary between school administrations and the Interior Ministry’s social police, by reporting these cases to eliminate them and take legal measures against the perpetrators.

Last week, according to Al-Shaafaq News, the Ministry of Education followed up with a circular urging schools to impose uniforms “of gray and yellow colors” for all students, because those hues  ”please the eye” according to a Quranic verse (found in Sura al-Baqara, for the curious). This should protect kids from “exotic trends.”  Killing them also helps, as we now know.

The army also got into the act — with a message exploiting Iraq’s sectarian divide. Lieutenant General Hassan Baydhani, Chief of Staff of Baghdad Operations Command, told Al-Sumariya News that “unconfirmed intelligence information” suggested that the reports of murdered emos were not just lies but a Sunni plot. Claiming that “security forces have not recorded any cases of killings of these young people,” he accused the President of the Association of Muslim Scholars, Harith al-Dhari, “in coordination with al Qaeda,” of spreading these rumors. Their motive?  ”To confuse the security situation in Baghdad prior to the Arab summit.”

Let’s unpack this for a moment. Harith al-Dhari is one of Iraqi Sunnis’ most respected religious figures; his family has a long history of leading insurgencies against British imperialism. The post-Saddam Shi’ite governments have repeatedly accused him of collaborating with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia (he’s denied it, claiming the group killed four dozen of his relatives).  At month’s end, Iraq is hosting an Arab League summit for the first time in two decades, a considerable source of national pride. Al-Dhari has urged the region’s leaders not to lend legitimacy to the increasingly repressive Shi’ite leadership now in power. The general’s slightly paranoid story suggests the government is exploiting the emo reports as a handy chisel to chip away at al-Dhari’s credibility before the summit starts.

Curiously, Dan Littauer and his unreliable website Gay Middle East have spread the exact mirror version of the same rumor, which they got from an (equally sectarian) anti-Shi’ite blogger outside Iraq. According to that side of the story, the killings are really happening, but it’s all the extreme Shi’ites fault: Moqtada al-Sadr, head of the Mahdi Army militia, “wants to embarrass Prime Minister Al-Maliki [by] exposing him and his party’s Bard organization, as unable to protect their own people in front of the Arab League.” (He means the Badr Organization, associated with both the government and Shi’ite religious leader Ayatollah Sistani.) So the Sadrists are murdering emos to make the government look bad in front of other Arab leaders.

Are you following all this? Lord, I hope not. It’s all speculative and slightly ridiculous. It’s highly unlikely the anti-emo campaign was meant to embarrass the government: if it were, the killers would have worked much harder to get publicity from the start. (Instead, it was pretty much quiet bloodshed until the end of February.) Any militia wanting to expose the fragile security situation could do so far more spectacularly and with greater economy of means than by slaughtering some obscure kids. For instance: they could embark on the monstrous bombings in 20 towns and cities across the countries yesterday, terror attacks that killed dozens. (Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia has apparently claimed responsibility.)   But the way these twin rumors, precise inverses of one another, appeal to credulous people inside and outside Iraq indicates both the matching fears that fester on either side of the Sunni-Shi’ite divide — and the tenuous state of truth in an uncertain country where hard facts are hard to attain.

2.  Voices of opposition to murder

In Najaf on March 12, Ayatollah Bashir Najafi (one of the highest Shi’ite leaders) joined Moqtada al-Sadr and Ayatollah Sistani in condemning the killings. In a fatwa issued by a spokesman, he said that the “proper position” toward the young is “advice and guidance, and religious institutions and the ministries of education and culture carry full responsibility in this regard…. The position toward emo is not to murder them, but to support our youth through reformation and direction.”  There is “no permission for this spilling of blood.”

The controversy over emos continued in Iraqi media all week — though driven from the headlines today, to be sure, by the bloodbath of bombings yesterday.  And the public, political indignation over the pattern of killings has been the only hopeful thing about the whole horror.

MP Khalid Shwani spoke in Parliament, claiming that 53 emos had been killed across the country, including 13 in Baghdad, and repeated demands for an investigation. A spokesperson for the Iraqi List — a party mainly representing secular Shi’ites — accused “unnamed actors of sponsoring campaigns to  to intimidate young people. She declared that “the children of Iraq are not demons or taking directions or instructions from Israel or other countries,” and demanded that “we respect and value the youth population”:

    We should look at the big dreams they hold in their heads, the  aspirations and faith and courage in their hearts, and give care and support for their future.

In the press, one commentator drew on Wikipedia to answer the question “What is the difference between emo and Satanists?” — finding that there was one, at least.  Even in addressing less sensational concerns, though, a certain sociological disdain continued to media approaches to the issue. As in most moral panics — such as 1950s fears in the US about comic books, or 1960s paranoias about mods and rockers in the UK — a consensus persists among liberal thinkers in Iraq that the kids in question are a Problem, and even if violence is not the answer, some kind of professional intervention is. Some emos were given space to speak in the media: but their words were filtered through a heavy layer of Concern.  One emo girl “denied that the emo phenomenon was linked to worshipping Satan,” but “members of the group confirmed a tendency to commit suicide as a result of chronic depression, which eventually leads to psychological disorders and perhaps to an inclination to abuse drugs.”

There are three voices I want to echo, though. Writing with both sympathy and sophistication, Nazmi Kamal Fares, an academic and researcher, tried in Al Rafidayn to place the “emo stigma” in a larger context — that of the “chronic Iraqi fear of freedom.”

    The emo crisis today alerts us again to the need for sustained determination to raise the issue of civil liberties in Iraq, specifically the question of the relationship of the majority to the minority …  Once again, there has been made clear the inability of the majority to structurally absorb the freedom of the minority, and the failure to establish a humanitarian perspective toward the difference of others.

And in the columns of Al-Seyassah in neighboring Kuwait, an Iraqi writer issued a j’accuse: “You are killing the nation, not emos.”

Finally, with all this going on around him, a seventeen-year old emo boy opened a page on Facebook.  The defiant darkness of what he wrote on it in English has its own kind of stylized courage:

    ♥ Put On Your Armour ♥
    ♥ Ragged After Fights ♥
    ♥ Hold Up Yours Sword ♥
    ♥ Your Leaving The Light ♥
    ♥ Make Your Self Ready ♥
    ♥ For The Lords Of The Dark ♥
    ♥ They’ll Watch Yor Way ♥
    ♥ So Be Cautious,Quit And Hark ♥
    ♥.♥ A Thousand Years Gone By ♥.♥
    ♥.♥ Too Late To Wonder Why ♥.♥
    ♥.♥ I’m Here Alone ♥.♥
    ♥.♥ If In My Darkest Hour ♥.♥

He headed it:
 ►►►┼ BE CAREFULL YOU ENTER MY ZONE OF DEATH ┼◄◄◄

[Merticus]

http://www.shafaaq.com/en/interviews/41-interviews/2464-kamil-amin-killing-an-effeminate-catamite-in-sadr-city-created-a-crisis-and-emo-youth-are-talented-and-smart-.html

Kamil Amin: Killing an effeminate catamite in Sadr City, created a crisis and Emo youth are talented and smart
Shafaq News - Thursday, 22 March 2012 09:18

We carried all our questions related to that youth phenomenon, and concern of families about their sons and daughters, because of the threats, and we went to the Ministry of Human Rights, hoping to reach the answers thoroughly. We have met the Director General of the Department of monitoring performance and protection of rights in the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry, Kamil Amin, who opened the doors to our questions.

In answering to our question about what the Ministry of Human Rights did for the phenomenon of Emo, Amin said, "unfortunately partial Media and rumor succeeded in the intimidation of citizens, and was a violation of  human rights and at the same  , this issue was exploited , by some radical groups, and gave them the green light to terrorize citizens ".


http://rainbowiraq.wordpress.com/2012/03/23/liar-liar/

Liar, liar
By Bissam - rainbowiraq on March 23, 2012

For how long will the Iraqi government and authorities keep lying? They should be hospitalized because their noses are 10m long now. Reading the statement of Kamil Amin who has a very long title, the Director General of the Department of monitoring performance and protection of rights in the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry, Is so frustrating and stressing. I was speechless with anger because he was lying and giving proof of his lies. But what can I say? We are proudly a country that has a human rights and migration and migrants ministries. People like Amin, the minister of education and the minister of interior, should be prosecuted for sharing the crimes, lying and stupidity.

Let’s read Kamil Amin’s interview on shafaq.com, but before that let’s remember that he denies that there was any killing case has been registered or there is any knowledge of victims or contact with any of the effected families. You can read the article here http://www.shafaaq.com.

Kamil replied as an answer for the question about what the Ministry of Human Rights did for the phenomenon of Emo,

“Unfortunately partial Media and rumor succeeded in the intimidation of citizens, and was a violation of human rights and at the same, this issue was exploited, by some radical groups, and gave them the green light to terrorize citizens “.

So there was intimidation, violation of human rights and terrorism by some radical groups on citizens.

And he says,

“We in the Ministry of Human Rights to have information on Emo since June 2011 and worked with the Ministry of Education and we are convinced it is not widespread and is a condition experienced by adolescents between the ages of 12-17 years and the young man at the age of 18-19 years would  leave it.”

So what was that “work” between them and the Ministry of Education? And why are they so concerned about the Emo to keep following it as a highly important case for a year? Is that so dangerous to cover on all the crisies that Iraqis are suffering? What about the people who had to leave Iraq and got no support from the human rights ministry? And what about the jobless youths who graduated and had no work and no financial support from the government which spends billions of dollars on stupid things instead of helping these people to get even a simple life?

The whole education system is corrupt and in its lowest level, they even canceled the art and sport classes and replaced them with shiiat rituals ones.

Then he says, “The Emo may get used to physical contact, or the promotion of drugs”

What kind of “physical contact” he is talking about? And is the Iraqi community clear of using drugs? He knows that this is not true, they don’t suck each other’s blood and they don’t use drugs.

This guy needs to suck some blood because there isn’t any in his veins to feel ashamed of what is he saying. Because next he proves he is saying garbage,

“there was no spread of the phenomenon of Emo in Iraq, but they are individual cases and most of them just do not go beyond fashion imitating, which is not aggressive on the contrary, we found that a lot of Emo have a talent for example, of poetry, drawing and some of them are superior and they imitate Emo only in terms of dress, accessories, and even that most of them do not know the meaning of this culture. We asked the Ministry of Education to activate the role of social and psychological investigator. “

He just said “The Emo may get used to physical contact, or the promotion of drugs” and then he says “most of them just do not go beyond fashion imitating’ ‘we found that a lot of Emo have a talent’ ‘they imitate Emo only in terms of dress, accessories, and even that most of them do not know the meaning of this culture”

Is he serious or drunk? Maybe He used some drugs before this interview so he doesn’t know what is he talking about.

Then to make this more ridiculous he says, “Emo is a phenomenon to be between the ages of 12-17 years, and if it continues with the teenager after this age, it will be a medical condition and the parents should send their children to doctors, psychologists to avoid its continuation.”

God bless your soul Freud it is good that you died before reading this otherwise it would have killed you.

In an explanation for the names that hung on the walls in some areas of the capital Baghdad, he says, “we asked the interior to follow-up these bodies and to know their sources and motives”. But why did they aske that? Let him answer you with another bombing answer, “Because the presence of such cases leads to weaken the government”

So it’s for the government’s sakes not to protect innocent people.

But that wasn’t the last joke. He says,

“The sites of anti-Iraq, the views of media and the Internet succeeded in deluding the officials by some information that is away from the facts.”

Who are these anti-Iraq? And what does that term mean anyway?

The entire world is talking about what is happening. And the pictures and videos of these horrific actions are everywhere, but he still impudently says, “There are not any cases of murder and this was confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior. Through ministry teams that exist in various areas of Baghdad, we wanted to monitor a single case to get to the people or the deceased’s family or someone who was killed for being an Emo, but we have not found any case. “

Go to google man, it’s free and full of facts or don’t you know how to use the computer? Go ask the education ministry for help. Oh no, they have so corrupted and untrustworthy system. Sorry man you are just in trouble because you have to ask one of these talented Emo to help you in your search.

People who lead Iraq now, need a medical help desperately. First, an Ophthalmologist, because they are so blind. Second, a psychiatrist because they are so mentally sick. And third, someone to deal with their noses which they are growing long from their lies.

[Merticus]

'Emo' Youth Targeted In Iraq
Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on March 22, 2012

Rights groups criticise government for not investigating alleged killings.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/vPxrvCTXY0Q" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/vPxrvCTXY0Q</a>


Iraq’s Interior Ministry Labels “Emo” as “Satanism”, 90 Students Killed
Finding Justice Podcast #335
Posted by Finding Justice on March 25, 2012

As Iraq’s Interior Ministry has labeled the “Emo” look as “Satanism”.

http://ihrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/2-088.mp3

[Merticus]

http://www.almadapaper.net/news.php?action=view&id=62592

العدد : 2435
بتاريخ : الجمعة 23-03-2012 06:45 صباحا
مصدر لـ( المدى ): المتشددون يستعدون لملاحقة فتيات "الايمو"

 بغداد/ المدى
حذرت مصادر مطلعة من أن الأيام المقبلة ستشهد استهداف للفتيات بذريعة الانتماء إلى (الايمو)، مبينة ان الجماعات المتشددة التي تنفذ هذه العمليات تنتظر انتهاء القمة العربية المزمع عقدها في بغداد من اجل معاودة نشاطاتها.

وقال مصدر امني مطلع لـ(المدى) أمس "ان الجماعات المتشددة خففت من عمليتها ضد شباب الايمو في هذه الفترة بالتزامن مع قرب انعقاد القمة العربية في بغداد نهاية الشهر الحالي"، مشددة على أنها "تنتظر الانتهاء من القمة ومن بعدها ستشن حملة جديدة"، كاشفا "أن هذه المجاميع وحسب المعلومات المتوفرة ستلاحق الفتيات المقلدات لظاهرة الايمو بعد أن شنت عددا من العمليات ضد الشباب".
ولم يستبعد المصدر "تورط بعض العناصر الأمنية بعمليات استهداف الايمو"، متوقعا "أن تبدأ حملة هذه المجاميع الجديدة في شهر أيار المقبل".
وكانت إحصائيات نشرتها عدد من منظمات المجتمع المدني تؤكد سقوط أكثر من 100 ضحية من شباب المقلدين للايمو خلال الشهر الماضي، لكن الجهات الامنية قللت من أهمية هذا الرقم نافية وجود حالات لقتلهم.
من جانبها اتهمت وزارة حقوق الإنسان، وسائل إعلام وصفتها بالمغرضة، بالترويج لاستهداف الايمو، مبينة ان الأمر استغلته الجماعات المتشددة في ترويع المواطنين.
وقال المتحدث باسم الوزارة كامل امين في تصريحات صحفية أمس"للأسف الشديد نجح الإعلام المغرض، في ترويع المواطن، وهذا انتهاك، لحقوق الانسان وبالوقت نفسه، استغل هذا الموضوع من قبل بعض المجاميع المتشددة وأعطاهم الضوء الأخضر لترويع المواطنين".
واضاف "نحن في وزارة حقوق الإنسان لدينا معلومات عن الايمو منذ حزيران 2011، وعملنا مع وزارة التربية وحصلنا على قناعة تامة بأنها غير منتشرة و هي حالة يمر بها المراهقون بين أعمار 12-17 سنة ويغادرها الشاب في عمر 18-19 سنة".
ونفى وجود حالات قتل لشباب الايمو، وقال "لا توجد اي حالة قتل وهذا ما تم تأكيده من قبل وزارة الداخلية، اليوم اذا يقتل شاب او مراهق في العراق من الايمو ستتوفر معلومات حقيقية عن مقتله، وان الحالة التي تم اللغط فيها وتداولها حدثت في مدينة الصدر لشاب تم اختطافه وكان يتهم بانه مثلي او مخنث وتم قتله هناك وتحقيق وزارة الداخلية اثبت بانها حالة جنائية". وأردف "من خلال فرق الوزارة التي تتواجد في شتى مناطق بغداد أردنا ان نرصد حالة واحدة لنصل إلى ذوي او عائلة القتيل او شخص قتل لكونه ايمو لكننا لم نعثر على أي حالة".
وتابع امين أن السبب يتمثل في "عدم التعامل المبكر من قبل وزارة الداخلية مع تلك الحالة، والذي حصل هو ان بعض الافراد سعوا الى تخويف الشباب، لكنها تصرفات فردية وصدرت تعليمات من وزارة الداخلية تمنع التعرض للايمو، وبرغم كون الظاهرة دخيلة على مجتمعنا، لكن يمكن التصرف بروية و ذلك من خلال لاتصال بالأهالي".
واضاف "الايمو قد يستغل لحصول الاتصال الجسدي او الترويج للمخدرات، ولكن علينا توخي الحذر بالتعامل مع الظاهرة من خلال توعيتهم، على ان لا يكون هناك اختراق للخصوصية او انتهاك الحريات الشخصية".

TRANSLATION:

Number: 2435
On: Friday 3/23/2012 6:45
Source for (long): militants were preparing to go after girls, "emo"
Baghdad / term

Informed sources have warned that the coming days will see the targeting of girls under the pretext of belonging to (IMO), indicating that the militant groups that carry out these processes waiting for the end of the Arab Summit to be held in Baghdad in order to resume their activities.

A security source said early (range) yesterday, "that the militant groups softened their operation against the young emo in this period in conjunction with the proximity of the Arab summit in Baghdad at the end of this month," emphasizing that it "waiting for the completion of the summit and then will launch a new campaign," revealing that "these totals, according to information available to hunt down girls Almqldat emo phenomenon after a number of operations carried out against young people."

The source did not rule out "the involvement of some elements of security operations targeting emo," expected "to start the new campaign these totals in the month of May next."

The statistics published by a number of civil society organizations confirmed killed more than 100 victims of young imitators of Emo in the past month, but the security authorities played down the significance of this figure, denying the existence of cases to kill them.

For its part, accused the Ministry of Human Rights and the media have described Bamoredh, to promote the targeting of emo, indicating that it exploited by militant groups to terrorize citizens.

A spokesman for the ministry full secretary in a press statement yesterday, "unfortunately succeeded Media disinterested, terrorizing the citizens, and this violation, human rights and the time himself, took advantage of this issue by some groups, radical and gave them the green light to terrorize the citizens."

"We in the Ministry of Human Rights to have information on emo since June 2011, and worked with the Ministry of Education and we are convinced that it is not widespread and is a condition experienced by adolescents between the ages of 12-17 years and leave the young man at the age of 18-19 years."

He denied the existence of cases of killings of young emo and said, "there are not any cases of murder and this was confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior, today if it kills young man or teenager in Iraq from the IMO will be available real information about his death, and that the situation has been confusion, circulation took place in Sadr City of a young man was kidnapped and was accused of being a homosexual or effeminate were killed there and the achievement of the Ministry of Interior has proved the case as a criminal. " And added, "through the ministry teams that exist in various areas of Baghdad, we want to monitor a single case to get to the people or the deceased's family or someone was killed for being emo, but we have not found any case."

He said Secretary that the reason is "not to deal early by the Ministry of the Interior with that case, which happened is that some individuals have sought to intimidate the young, but the actions of individual and were instructed by the Ministry of the Interior to prevent exposure to Imo, despite the fact that the phenomenon is alien to our society, but it can be to act carefully and through to contact local community. "

"The IMO may get used to physical contact, or the promotion of drugs, but we must be cautious in dealing with the phenomenon through awareness, that there is no breach of privacy or violation of personal freedoms."


http://paper-bird.net/2012/03/25/a-war-against-me-inside-and-outside-security-forces-denials-and-emos-in-iraq/

“A war against me, inside and outside”: Security forces, denials, and emos in Iraq
By Scott Long - March 25, 2012

In the Iraqi media, Sawt al-Iraq and Al-Mada both reported on Friday, March 23, that “security sources” are suggesting there will be a lull in attacks on emos until the Arab League Summit in Baghdad, scheduled for this week, ends. The sources also said, though, that girls will be targeted when the attacks resume:

    Informed sources warned that the coming days will see the targeting of girls under the pretext of belonging to emo, indicating that the militant groups that carry out these actions are waiting for the end of the Arab Summit to be held in Baghdad in order to resume their activities.

    A security source said early yesterday that  ”the militant groups reduced their operations against emo youth in this period in conjunction with the proximity of the Arab summit in Baghdad at the end of this month,” emphasizing that they are “waiting for the completion of the summit and then they will launch a new campaign.” … The source did not rule out  ”the involvement of some elements of security operations in targeting emo,” expected “to begin a new campaign in the coming month of May.”

If the delay is true, it’s presumably not because the killers want to spare Iraq embarrassment during the summit, but because security measures imposed since last week’s massive bombings have the capital on lockdown, with checkpoints and traffic jams slowing traffic to a standstill.

The papers noted, though, that in official statements “security authorities played down the significance” of civil society groups’ claims that up to 100 may be dead, “denying the existence of cases of killings.”

Al-Shaafaq spoke last week to Kamil Amin, director general for monitoring and protection in the Ministry of Human Rights. He reiterated the official denials.  ”There are no cases of murder. This was confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior”:

“Today if an emo young man or teenager in Iraq is killed, real information will be available about his death. The situation has been confused. A story circulated in Sadr City of a young man who was accused of being a homosexual or effeminate man and kidnapped and  killed there; the work of the Ministry of Interior has proved the case was criminal.”

The last reference is presumably to Saif Raad Asmar Abboudi, a 20-year-old murdered in Sadr City on February 17. It’s not quite clear what the final comment means; but it seems Amin is trying to distinguish between killings for emo “identity” and killings for suspected homosexual conduct. Of course, as many Iraqis have pointed out, the two blend into one another as linked forms of “deviance” in the popular mind. Amin admitted, on the other hand, that names — along with death threats — had been posted on walls in Baghdad neighborhoods. ”I don’t deny that thing, this talk; banners were circulating, it is easy, there are computers and printers everywhere, and you can easily write up names and existing lists. The issue came up because of ideological extremist groups.”

Asked what the Human Rights Ministry was doing about the situation, Amin temporized and called on the shrinks for aid:

    “I think the Council of Ministers offered assurances that personal freedoms are protected, and that there was no spread of the phenomenon of emo in Iraq, only individual cases most of which don’t go beyond a matter of fashion, which is not aggressive.  On the contrary, we found that a lot of emo have talent — for example, poetry or drawing. Some of them are superior people and they imitate emo only in terms of dress and  accessories …

    “Emo is a phenomenon between the ages of 12-17 years. If it continues with the teenager after this age, it is a medical condition, and the parents should send their children to doctors and psychologists to stop it.”

Meanwhile, according to Al-Mada, the chair of the parliamentary committee on displaced persons, Abdul Khaliq Zangana, accused security forces of “arresting and intimidating young people under the pretext of the emo phenomenon”:

    “Restoring security has become a pretext and an excuse for the security services to arrest young people, who are supposed  to be the future of Iraq … Some young people who had agreed to return to Iraq through the parliamentary committee have expressed sorrow that they returned to suffer from these arrests and intimidation, under the pretext of establishing security.”

This long and horrible video has been circulating inside Iraq and out; it claims to show an executed emo hanging from the railing of a bridge. I cannot vouch for what it claims to be: any number of what are, in effect, snuff videos or close to it emerge from Iraq regularly, spoor of the regularity of death there. US soldiers used to pick them up on Bluetooth (or, where their relationship to the atrocities was nearer, film them themselves) and bring or send them back home, like trophies.

Finally, what follows is a long letter I received from a gay-identified man in Baghdad. It describes both the immediate fears caused by the killing campaign, and a longer and deeper burden of anxiety. I have edited it slightly for continuity and to eliminate all identifying references.

You can’t imagine my delight when I received the message you sent me on [a gay website]. I was so happy I started crying because there are others in this world who sympathize with our suffering and the dark life we’re living here in Iraq. …  I’ve almost lost any hope for living the free and fulfilling life I aspire to and I remain confined to my home…

I live near Al-Sadr city [Baghdad’s huge Shi’ite slum] … I was born just over 30 years ago and from early in my life, I started feeling that my sexual leaning is different from that of other members of my sex. I started discovering that I’m attracted to men- yes, I started discovering that I was homosexual  (mithly al-jens) or a sexual deviant (shaz jenseyan). At this point my torment started in the conflict with my family and the society I live in on one hand, and with myself on the other. There was a conflict between me as a man and my sexual desire. I kept repressed inside me that feeling which tormented me all my life, especially at the beginning of my youth. I was supposed to be enjoying the best years of my life like others, but I was far from this. …

My problem now is that someone has photographed me having sex. That person blackmailed me and when I refused to pay him, he published the photos online. I’m in constant fear that one of my relatives or co-workers might find out about these photos, at which point they will have no mercy on me and might even kill me. I was threatened that the photos will be sent to everyone that knows me and to my family and relatives. I’m always afraid when I go down the street to buy bread, for example, or when the door bell rings. I fear that someone came to assault me. That feeling of fear dominates my life almost daily.

I’ve encountered many horrors that I was saved from almost miraculously. I was once walking on Palestine Street, when a car stopped beside me. There were three scary looking men in the car and one of them got off the car and approached me. He asked me why I had insulted his friend, because the way I was walking would attract attention in the street. The three started attacking me, so I said let’s go to the police. They were nearby. As I walked before them, they left me and went back to their car. I ran away to the side streets but they were chasing me with their car. I was running while crying and was scared to death they might catch me again. The concrete blocks  in the middle of the road saved me however, because they were not able to go through these with their car.

I was assaulted and robbed of my wallet many times when I went out at night. I can’t describe the fear I feel whenever leaving my house, which makes me stop going out most of the time. One day I was at al-Zawra’a Gardens [the biggest park in central Baghdad] with a friend of mine when a policeman noticed us and then came over to arrest us. They took us to the police center where we met a[nother] police officer. The policeman who brought us said that we were “practicing sodomy” in the park, which was not true. They interrogated me and my friend separately and said they would put us in jail. We had to pay them for our release.

I was raped many times by policemen under the threat of their guns. They also threatened to surrender me to extremist groups if I refused. For me, the previous era was a golden era, because homosexuality was tolerated. I’m scared now because I expect death or beheading at any moment. Islam considers homosexuality to be a sin and the Shi’ite authority Ayatollah Al-Sistani published on his website a call to kill homosexuals. …

We as gays do not exist in this country and we have nobody to represent us. We’re vulnerable prey for whoever wants to attack us and nobody will protect us or stand by our side. We’re excluded by most people, including our own families. One day when I was at work, my sister looked into my stuff and found a CD that had a gay porn movie on it. She knew about me, especially because she used to try to listen to my conversations on the phone with friends. She told my parents about what she found and they turned on me with hate and disgust. They  began seriously thinking about forcing me to marry a female cousin to prevent any possible scandal. They pressured me and even threatened to kick me out of the house and expose me to others if I didn’t marry her.

Worse than all this is that a few days ago I received a phone call from someone who said he knew where I live and [where I work]. He said he has a film of me having sex and threatened to send it to my workplace and to my family if I didn’t agree to what he was asking. He wanted me to give him the names of my emo friends so they can target them. Now in Baghdad young people who wear black tight clothes and have pics of skulls and let their hair grow long are called emo female “wannabes.” These people are being killed by gangs called “Asa’ib” [presumably Asaib Ahl al-Haq, the “League of the Righteous,” a Shi’ite militia whom some blame for the current attacks] and by the Iraqi police. To these gangs emos and gays are two faces of one coin. Photos of their victims were published online and a lot of dead bodies were found in different areas of Baghdad.

I refused to give any names to that caller who threatened me, and I blocked his number. However, I still receive threats through other numbers that I don’t recognize. I’m scared to death that these criminals might find out about my full name and my address through my account with the phone company I receive service from. Because if you know somebody that works at the phone company, you can very easily obtain more information about any number you have. This has happened to me once when I talked with someone on the internet and we exchanged numbers. It was only a few days before that person called and told me my full name and address. He obtained that information through my my mobile number.

The Iraqi government stands with the criminals by denying the brutal murders which take place now in Iraq and which they cover up. Gays have always been the easy victims who can’t resort to anyone to protect them — because everyone in this society excludes and ostrasizes gays. As I’m writing, my tears are pouring, because I know I might die for being gay. I wish I’d never been like this, to a degree that makes me want to die and think about suicide constantly. Sometimes I meet a close friend of mine and we hug each other and cry for how miserable our lives are. I’m a human being and we have a right to live with dignity. Why do they kill and slaughter us in the most brutal ways?!  …

Iraq today is governed by people of religion who do not tolerate any dissent and kill people with no mercy. I have friends in many places who were killed in the most brutal ways and in public for being gay. The number of people killed in the latest wave has risen to more than twenty people. Until recently I had some hope that my country’s conditions might improve and that the human will be respected in Iraq. But after what’s been happening recently I’ve lost all hope and realized that my country is heading towards the unknown…. I’m scared that I might be exposed at time at work or that my family might find out about me. I’m threatened with death because of the  murders that target emos, because society here believes that gays are emos and that they’re responsible for such lifestyles. I can’t leave home without trying to hide. It’s a war against me, inside my home and outside.

(Thanks to Samir Nisus, a young Egyptian activist, for translating this. Be sure to read his own remarkable blog, on sex, sexuality, democracy, and other cogent issues, - http://arableftist.blogspot.com/)

[Merticus]

http://www.alsumaria.tv/news/54107/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%87%D8%AC%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AC%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%84-%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84

المهجرين البرلمانية: الأجهزة الامنية تعتقل وترهب الشباب في بغداد والمحافظات بحجة الايمو
المحرر: BR | HAH
الأحد 25 آذار 2012   11:57 GMT
رئيس لجنة المهجرين البرلمانية لقاء وردي

السومرية نيوز/ بغداد
اتهمت لجنة المهجرين في مجلس النواب، الأحد، أن الأجهزة الأمنية في بغداد والمحافظات باعتقال وترهيب الشباب، لافتة إلى أن تلك الاعتقالات تتم بحجة استتباب الأمن والإيمو، فيما اعتبرت استهداف الشباب استهدافا للثروة البشرية.

وقالت رئيس اللجنة لقاء وردي في بيان صدر، اليوم، وتلقت "السومرية نيوز"، نسخة منه إن "بعض الشباب الذين وافقوا على العودة إلى العراق عن طريق لجنة المهجرين البرلمانية أصبحوا نادمين كون القوات الامنية استقبلت بعمليات الاعتقال والترهيب بحجة استتباب الأمن والايمو".

وأضافت وردي أن "استتباب الأمن أصبح ذريعة وحجة للأجهزة الأمنية لاعتقال الشباب الذين نعول عليهم بأن يكونوا مستقبل العراق ووجهه الجديد"، معتبرة أن "استهداف الشباب هو استهدافا للثروة البشرية لأي مجتمع".

وأكدت وردي أن "هناك اعتقالات تمارس ضد أعداد كبيرة من الشباب في بغداد والمحافظات دون أي مبرر".

وكانت "السومرية نيوز"، حصلت في (التاسع من آذار 2012) على قائمتين تم وضعهما في عدد من الشوارع الرئيسة لمدينة الصدر شرق بغداد، نشر فيهما أسماء المنتمين لظاهرة الإيمو في قطاعات المدينة، تتوعدهم بالقتل من قبل "المجاهدين" في حال عدم تركها، ووصفتهم بـ"الجراوي" في إشارة إلى كونهم من المثليين.

وتشير مصادر في أجهزة الأمن العراقية وشهود عيان أن العديد من عمليات القتل "الغامضة" طالت مؤخرا شباب منتمين لظاهرة الايمو أو من أصحاب السلوك الغريب أو اللباس أو تسريحة الشعر الغريبة، وتلفت تلك المصادر إلى أن أغلب عمليات القتل كانت عن طريق "سحق رؤوسهم بطابوقة (قطعة من الأسمنت).

واعتبر بعض أعضاء البرلمان العراقي من المدافعين عن حقوق الإنسان، ومنهم النائب المستقلة صفية السهيل، أن عناصر قوى الأمن بدأت في المدة الأخيرة تقوم باضطهاد الشباب واعتقالهم فقط لمجرد أنهم يلبسون على الموضة أو لأن تسريحة شعرهم غير اعتيادية.

إلا أن وزارة الداخلية ردت في بيان، أصدرته في (الثامن من آذار 2012 الحالي)، وتلقت "السومرية نيوز" نسخة منه، لتؤكد إنها لم تسجل أي حالات قتل لمقلدي ظاهرة الايمو خلال المدة الماضية"، موضحة أن جميع حالات القتل التي أشيع عنها في وسائل الإعلام كانت لأسباب ثأرية واجتماعية وإجرامية تحدث دائماً.

وتعني الايمو Emo باللغة الانكليزية الحساس أو العاطفي أو المتهيج ويتبع مقلدو هذه الظاهرة نمطا معينا في الحياة يتمثل بالاستماع لموسيقى معينة تنتمي لموسيقى الروك وتسريحة شعر معينة وملابس سوداء، وسراويل ضيقة جدا أو فضفاضة جدا، وأغطية المعصم.

TRANSLATION:

Displacement Parliamentary security services to arrest and intimidate young people in Baghdad and the provinces under the pretext of emo
Editor: BR | HAH
Sunday 25 March 2012 11:57 GMT
Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of the displaced to meet with the pink

Sumerian News / Baghdad
Accused the Commission of Displacement in the House, Sunday, that the security services in Baghdad and the provinces to arrest and intimidation of young people, pointing out that these arrests are the pretext of security and IMO, considered as targeting young people targeted for the wealth of mankind.

The Chairman of the Committee to meet with the pink in a statement issued today, and received "Alsumaria News", a copy of "some young people who have agreed to return to Iraq through the Commission for Displaced parliamentary become ruing the fact that the security forces received the arrests and intimidation under the pretext of security and emo."

The pink that "the establishment of security has become a pretext and excuse for the security services to arrest young people who are counting on them that they are the future of Iraq and face the new," arguing that "the targeting of young people is targeted to the human wealth of a society."

Pink and confirmed that "there is practiced against the arrests of large numbers of young people in Baghdad and the provinces without any justification."

The "Sumerian News", I got in (the ninth of March 2012) on the two lists have been put in a number of main streets of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, he published two names belonging to the phenomenon of IMO in the sectors of the city, Taatuadhm death by "mujahideen" in the absence of left, and described them as "Jerawi" in reference to being gay.

According to sources in the Iraqi security services and witnesses, many of the killings, "the mysterious" long-recent youth belonging to the phenomenon of emo or the owners of strange behavior or dress or hairstyle exotic, and draws those sources that most of the killings were by "crush their heads Btaboukh ( a piece of cement).

He said some members of parliament from the Iraqi human rights defenders, including the independent MP Safia al-Suhail, that the elements of the security forces started in the last term the persecution and detention of young people just because they wear fashionable hairstyle or because their hair is normal.

However, the Interior Ministry responded in a statement, issued on (the eighth of March 2012 now), and received "Alsumaria News," a copy of it, to confirm that it has not recorded any cases of murder of Mqlde phenomenon emo during the last term, "pointing out that all cases of murder, which most commonly reported in the media was for reasons of revenge, social and criminal always occur.

Emo emo means in English the sensitive, emotional or irritable and follows Mqldo this phenomenon in a particular style of life is to listen to the music belong to a particular rock, a certain hairstyle and black clothes, and pants too tight or too loose, and covers the wrist.

[Merticus]

http://www.equinoxpub.com/blog/2012/04/iraqi-emos/

Iraqi Emos
By Joseph Laycock - Bulletin For The Study Of Religion
April 10, 2012

Since February, disturbing reports have come out of Iraq that Shiite militia groups have been killing “emo” youth.  Between 50 and 100 young men have been killed, typically in “stonings” in which the victim’s head is crushed under a piece of concrete.  In the United States, emo is a genre of angsty music with ties to punk.  Critic Andy Greenwald associates the success of emo in the American mainstream with the process of national healing that followed September 11th.  In a similar trend, Iraqi youth may have adopted emo music and dress to express their sadness over the state of their country and their outrage at their culture’s turn towards theocracy.

While “emo” is already a poorly defined term in America, in Iraq it has become a synonym for homosexuality.  A gay culture existed in Iraq before the 2003 invasion. After the fall of Sadam, Islamic militias took control of many parts of the country, effectively suppressing gay culture and enforcing strict dress codes.  Gay Iraqis must now take great effort to conceal their identities.  Youth wearing “emo” garb, including black or tight-fitting clothing, unusual hairstyles, piercings, nail polish, or skull jewelry are assumed to be homosexuals.  In some neighborhoods, militias have produced “death lists,” warning those listed that they have four days to change their style of dress or be targeted for murder.

Fueling this repression is a moral panic with decidedly Western elements: Iraqi emos have also been accused of vampirism and devil worship.  High school girls are believed to be particularly susceptible to Satanic vampirism, which is regarded as a corrupting Western influence.  Al Sumaria News described rumors that emo youth slit their wrists to drink each other’s blood and engage in mass suicide.  These rumors mirror claims by the anti-cult movement in the United States as well as more recent fears that Twilight and other vampire media will somehow turn American teenagers into Satanic murderers.  It seems that America has not only exported its music to Iraq, but also its paranoid fantasies that youth culture conceals a network of criminal Satanism.

Another Western element of this crisis is an attempt by government officials to frame interest in emo as a pathology.  Kamil Amin of the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry explained that if young people continue to “be emo” beyond the age of 17, their behavior constitutes a medical condition and parents should seek the aid of psychologists and other professionals.  Sociologists refer to such claims as “the medicalization of deviance.”  There is a long history in the West of categorizing homosexuality as a mental illness.  In the 1970s, anti-cult activists also employed medical arguments to explain interest in new religious movements as a form of disease.

The worst part of these crimes is that religious and government leaders appear to simultaneously condemn the killings while expressing sympathy for the killers.  Shiite leaders including Moqtada Al-Sadr have condemned the killings as terrorism, but they have also insisted that emo youth are sexual deviants who should be dealt with through legal means.  Human rights activists have claimed the government is also complicit in the killings.  The Iraqi Ministry of Interior has denied that there is a pattern of killing emo youth and claimed that the murders were unrelated.  However, on February 13, the ministry’s website described the emos as Satanists and describes efforts to “eliminate” them.  (This message has since been taken down).

While it is tempting to blame the persecution of Iraqi emos on either the alleged intolerance of Islamic culture or imported Western ideas about the dangers of youth culture, the problem appears to be part of a larger pattern of social behavior that occurs across cultures.  Social disorder and uncertainty create an environment amenable to conspiracy theories and scapegoating.  By simplifying complex problems, beliefs in evil conspiracies are, paradoxically, a source of hope as well as fear.  Along with the imagined horrors of blood sucking teenagers and emo hymns to Satan, there is a sense of certainty that everything will be right again once the names on a list are “eliminated.”  When the center falls apart, blame is cast on the periphery.  The deaths of Iraq’s emo youth serve as a stark reminder that rumors of Satanic conspiracies often end with collective violence against the most marginalized members of society.  This is as true in Sadr City as it was in Salem.

[Merticus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19570870

[VIDEO]

BBC Investigation Reveals Police Persecution Of Gays In Iraq
12 September 2012 Last updated at 07:32 ET

A BBC World Service investigation has revealed that law enforcement agencies in Iraq are involved in the ongoing systematic persecution of homosexuals.

Activists say hundreds of gay men, and some women, have died in targeted killings in Iraq in recent years.

These numbers are difficult to verify, but the United Nations confirmed it was extremely concerned about what it called a deadly anti-gay campaign.

The UN office in Baghdad also told the BBC that Iraq's government is in violation of international law and failure to react to these killings have made the state a perpetrator in the crime.

Natalia Antelava reports from Baghdad.