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Iraq's Electrical Engineers, Technicians Being Shot, Intimidated
Aired June 30, 2003 - 05:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: While U.S. troops target Saddam Hussein loyalists in Baghdad, the Americans are finding their efforts at keeping the lights on a bit of a problem.
As our Nic Robertson reports, Iraq's electrical engineers and technicians are being shot at and intimidated.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAD HASSAN: She told him, "Yes, please," and he have this gun.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the gates of his house, Ryad Hassan (ph) describes his wife, Haifa Aziz's, assassination a few days ago.
HASSAN: We are graduated from Mosaf (ph), even me.
ROBERTSON: In the family photo album, he shows me pictures of her graduation and explains her rise to senior executive in Iraq's electricity company.
HASSAN: We are sure that she is killed because she is working hard for the poor people, for the nice people, for the people who want to live in peace.
ROBERTSON: Friends offer Ryad condolences. He doesn't know who to blame, but knows his wife had enemies in Saddam Hussein's regime. Recently, he says, she had been criticized for shaking hands with American soldiers helping to restore electricity.
HASSAN: She told me before one month, she told me, "I have received a message, told me to leave my place in electricity."
ROBERTSON: The day after Haifa Aziz's murder, one electricity worker was killed and two injured when their vehicle was attacked en route to meet coalition officials. At Baghdad's main power station, staff are acutely aware of intimidation, not just the recent killings, but public anger over failing power supplies, a situation they say that is made worse by increased sabotage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I can't tell whether it's Iraqi families or Saddam loyalists or a group from outside the country that's doing the operations, but it is in order to inflame the situation against the Americans. They want a weak point in the Iraqi family and that is electricity. ROBERTSON: One gas supply line feeding Baghdad's main power station was cut recently, starving generators of fuel and putting sabotage in the headlines of several newspapers.
TAHA ARIF, "AL MANAR" NEWSPAPER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I think it is political. At intelligence headquarters, we found instructions from Saddam Hussein telling his forces to loot, burn and sabotage if Americans entered Baghdad.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Coalition officials accept some sabotage is politically motivated, but insist electricity supplies are improving. Most Iraqis disagree. Perception here is a powerful tool and if the recent intimidation and sabotage are any hint of what's to come, the battle to control it is only just beginning to heat up.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Intimidated>
Aired June 30, 2003 - 05:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: While U.S. troops target Saddam Hussein loyalists in Baghdad, the Americans are finding their efforts at keeping the lights on a bit of a problem.
As our Nic Robertson reports, Iraq's electrical engineers and technicians are being shot at and intimidated.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAD HASSAN: She told him, "Yes, please," and he have this gun.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the gates of his house, Ryad Hassan (ph) describes his wife, Haifa Aziz's, assassination a few days ago.
HASSAN: We are graduated from Mosaf (ph), even me.
ROBERTSON: In the family photo album, he shows me pictures of her graduation and explains her rise to senior executive in Iraq's electricity company.
HASSAN: We are sure that she is killed because she is working hard for the poor people, for the nice people, for the people who want to live in peace.
ROBERTSON: Friends offer Ryad condolences. He doesn't know who to blame, but knows his wife had enemies in Saddam Hussein's regime. Recently, he says, she had been criticized for shaking hands with American soldiers helping to restore electricity.
HASSAN: She told me before one month, she told me, "I have received a message, told me to leave my place in electricity."
ROBERTSON: The day after Haifa Aziz's murder, one electricity worker was killed and two injured when their vehicle was attacked en route to meet coalition officials. At Baghdad's main power station, staff are acutely aware of intimidation, not just the recent killings, but public anger over failing power supplies, a situation they say that is made worse by increased sabotage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I can't tell whether it's Iraqi families or Saddam loyalists or a group from outside the country that's doing the operations, but it is in order to inflame the situation against the Americans. They want a weak point in the Iraqi family and that is electricity. ROBERTSON: One gas supply line feeding Baghdad's main power station was cut recently, starving generators of fuel and putting sabotage in the headlines of several newspapers.
TAHA ARIF, "AL MANAR" NEWSPAPER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I think it is political. At intelligence headquarters, we found instructions from Saddam Hussein telling his forces to loot, burn and sabotage if Americans entered Baghdad.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Coalition officials accept some sabotage is politically motivated, but insist electricity supplies are improving. Most Iraqis disagree. Perception here is a powerful tool and if the recent intimidation and sabotage are any hint of what's to come, the battle to control it is only just beginning to heat up.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Intimidated>
