Health workers protest in Baghdad
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Hundreds of medical workers march through the center of Baghdad on Wednesday, calling for the removal of former regime officials from the interim Iraqi Health Ministry.
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SPECIAL REPORT
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Hundreds of medical staff demonstrated in Baghdad Wednesday, demanding raises, calling for a union, and pressing for the removal of Saddam Hussein regime officials from the interim Iraqi Health Ministry.
Demonstrators from 16 Baghdad-area hospitals marched from Ibn-Alnafeez hospital to the Palestine Hotel, chanting: "Change the health system," and "Change the self-financed system."
Many hospitals and government warehouses were looted in the wake of the fighting, compounding the difficulties faced by medical staff in Iraq.
The medical workers held Wednesday's march and demonstration with the permission and protection of coalition military police.
Iraq currently has a self-financed medical system. Because Iraqis are poor, the protesters say that many cannot pay for health services.
Another focus of the protest was the group's demand that Dr. Ali Schnan, also known as Ali Janaabi, be removed from the post of interim health minister. Protesters accuse him of being a former Saddam loyalist.
Schnan was chosen for the position under the Office of Rehabilitation and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA).
"We can't see the desired improvement," said Dr. Ahad Al-Ali, an ophthalmologist. "We see the same old administrations and executives holding their old titles. That alone is reason enough to demonstrate."
Steve Browning, the ORHA's senior adviser to the interim Iraqi Health Ministry, showed up at the demonstration and praised the doctors.
"An important part of our democratic process is that your concerns be addressed to me," he said.
-- CNN Producer Matthew McFetridge contributed to this report
