BAGHDAD,
May 27 (IslamOnline.net) - Coming back to their classes once again
after a long vacation imposed by the U.S.-led war, thousands of
students and professors of Baghdad University were disgruntled to see
U.S. troops and tanks occupying the campus, while other soldiers shut
some university gates before them.
The
university, in effect, was more of a military camp than an educational
institution with barbed wires and barracks surrounding it.
“I
do not think we will tolerate the current situation. American troops
are hanging around with their weapons and tanks disregarding our
feelings, Mazen Walid al-Mukhtar, a science student, told
IslamOnine.net on Tuesday, May 27.
“They
piled up sandbags and set up barbed wired around the campus. We just
cannot concentrate under such an atmosphere,” he complained.
“They
(U.S. troops) might someday join us in our exams,” Muktar said
mockingly.
“I
have been trying since 8.00 a.m. to reach my college, but a U.S. tank
is blocking the gate of the university which leads to my college,”
Abeer Isa, another student, told IOL correspondent.
Outrageous
Professors
 |
|
U.S.
soldiers checking students’ IDs
|
The
professors themselves said it hurts them to see the U.S. troops
occupying their reputable university.
Omnia
Sayeed, a professor of sociology, told IOL that the U.S. forces should
bear in mind that “our university is not a military camp.”
She
said that many female students were not able to enter the university
when they spotted the U.S. troops and went back to their homes.
Some
professors were also upset with the U.S. decision barring Baathist
professors from running for the university’s new board or even from
casting their votes.
The
U.S. troops also denied some professors access to the university
elections room under the pretext of unpunctuality.
“They
banned us (from entering elections room) and threatened us with force
if we demonstrated before the room,” Dr. Hussein Faisal al-Heweizy,
a professor of dentistry, told IOL.
“They
cannot ban me from casting my vote or vying in university elections
for belonging to the Baath party,” he averred.
