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Mahdi Army Threatens Teachers, Protects Cheaters
They never learned 'Cheaters never win, and winners never cheat"?Mahdi Army Members Threaten Teachers License to Cheat: Some Students "Protected" during Final Exams As Iraqi high school students sit final exams, members of the Mahdi Army have threatened Iraqi teachers, warning them that some students must be allowed to cheat. In a move reminiscent of something out of The Sopranos, members of the Mahdi Army have warned teachers in Baghdads 'Allawi district not to interfere with students as they take the final exams, a Slogger source reports. The exact wording of the threat was not to upset the students as they take the exams, but the meaning is well understood as granting protection to students connected to militia members to cheat on the exams. It is not known how widespread these threats are within the Mahdi Army organization. The militia's organization structure is opaque, and the Sadrist current, led by the young Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has struggled to purge or discipline individuals who call themselves Mahdi Army associates but who do not follow official Sadrist policy. As with many acts committed by Mahdi Army members, it is unknown whether the threats against Iraqi schoolteachers are sanctioned by the leadership of the Sadrist organization. Mahdi Army members interference in the final exams is part of a wider pattern of interference by armed groups in the examination process. Militias controlling predominantly Sunni Arab areas of Baghdad, such as al-Jami'a, al-Khudraa, and al-'Amiriya have threatened students from attending the exams at all. Upon learning of the Mahdi Army threats in 'Allawi district, one Slogger contact, in classic Iraqi dark humor, joked that the Sunni and Shi'a militias approach the exams in the same way they approach the political process: Sunni militias seek to block them altogether and threaten all who participate, while members of the Mahdi Army accept the legitimacy of the exams but seek to influence them from inside the system. Posted by: Glenmore 2007-06-22 |
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