Iraqis in Amman celebrate their team's first Asian Cup triumph (Photo by Nader Daoud)
By Paul Tate
AMMAN — Thousands of Iraqis poured onto the capital’s streets last night to celebrate their national team’s victory in the Asian Cup final.
However, the festivities were marred by several incidents of violence when security forces armed with wooden batons broke up large gathernigs of cheering fans.
In Gardens Street traffic came to a virtual standstill for hours after the match as hundreds of Iraqi exiles packed into cars beeped their horns and waved national flags in celebration at their squad’s historic 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia.
“The team has proved what the human spirit is capable of against all the odds,” said Iraqi engineer Dafar Bashar, currently in Jordan visiting his daughter who is studying at the Amman Ahliyyah Private University.
Jordan is host to some 750,000 Iraqis, who over the past four years have sought refuge from the daily violence racking their country.
“This victory disproves the myth that Iraq is divided along sectarian lines. If only the government could unite Iraqis like this we would be in a much better situation,” added Bashar.
Iraq’s team, which includes a mixture of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, reached the final after knocking out tournament favourites Australia and South Korea in Wednesday’s semifinal.
Hassan, an Iraqi student, who fled to Jordan with his family two years ago, said the victory was a rare moment of happiness in their lives.
“Today we are all Iraqis, we are all Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. We are one people struggling to be free,” he said, adding that his joy was tempered by feelings of sadness at the everyday plight of poor Iraqis both inside and outside his country.
Since the US-led invasion of March 2003, over two million people have fled Iraq, mostly to Jordan and Syria. Millions more are internally displaced.
In one incident, celebrations were marred as security forces broke up a peaceful gathering of hundreds of cheering Iraqis outside a furniture store in the centre of West Amman.
Police officers kicked and beat the crowd with wooden batons as people panicked to flee to saftey. Some youths were taken away by intelligence officers in unmarked cars. Security forces then proceeded to smash up the drums and tamborines that lay discarded on the pavement. The crowd included many women and children.
“Why did they do this? They just started attacking people for no reason. They took away my friend and all he was doing was having fun for a change,” said Ahmad, an Iraqi doctor working in Amman.
A police officer on the scene told The Jordan Times the gathering was broken up due to reports of people firing guns into the air.
However, local shop owners denied these claims.
“I have been watching this celebration from my apartment since the game finished and there has been no firing of guns,” said one local resident, who declined to give her name.
Another officer said police were forced to intervene after revellers had blocked the main road, a claim refuted by eyewitnesses.
