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Iraqi Freedom Fighters Criticize US, Make Plans for Real Democracy

by Salim (salem [at] indymedia.org)
Background on Iraqi Opposition both pro-US and anti-US
iraqi_refugees.jpg
IRAQ: OPPOSITION TO US IMPOSED GOVERNMENT
Iraqi Freedom Fighters Criticize US, Make Plans for Real Democracy
by Salim McCarron

As the world headlines continue to focus on American and British troop movements as the beat toward war continues to be played out of Washington the Iraqi opposition gathered in London in a highly contentious assembly of some members of the Iraqi Opposition. The Iraqi opposition is diverse and varied with some groups comprised of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sponsored Iraqi National Congress (INC) which is funded by the US Government to the indigenous Shi'a resistance members of the al-Daawa Party (http://www.daawaparty.com/ [ar]) which is considered a terrorist organization by the CIA, claiming that al-Daawa has links with Lebanese Hezbollah and has been trained by the Irish Republican Army.
It is within the context of this diversity, including various member's open hostility toward the United States, that the recent congress of opposition groups was held. The corporate media ignored several opposition groups that have been fighting the various dictatorial regimes in Iraq since 1958 that criticized the congress in London. There were at least 16 groups which openly boycotted the congress citing that they felt it was nothing more then a US sponsored program.

"Dr. Mubaddir al-Ways of the Socialist Party criticized the conference as funded and organized by the US rather than springing from the Iraqi people. He said the aim was to detach the Iraqis from the Arab nation and to deliver them into a (primary) relationship with Israel. He maintained that the US would not join up with any indigenous Iraq fighting force, and that it had put pressure on Iran to prevent the Shiite al-Badr Brigade (based in Iran) from being allowed into Iraq in case of a war." (Quoted in Asharq al-Awsat, Friday Dec. 13, 2002, translated by Dr. Juan Cole, http://www.juancole.com [en])

This sentiment was noted by several other opposition groups, the al-Daawa Party's Ibrahim al-Jaafari stated his party was boycotting the conference because the way it had been organized prevented dissent and fair representation. While the Iraqi Workers Communist Party (http://www.iraqcp.org [ar],[en]) held a protest outside the congress hall. The Communist spokesperson Hamid Majid Mousa stated that, "Salvation from the dictatorial regime is our cause and the cause of the Iraqi people, and it does not make sense to ignore this and to pin hopes on American war, American invasion and American 'liberation'. No! This is what the Iraqi opposition should take care not to fall into." Distrust of the United States and it's motivations in embracing the Iraqi opposition after years of embracing the Ba'athist Dictatorship during it's battle with Shi'a Iran was expressed within the meeting halls as well as Hamid Bayati of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI, http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/sciri/) stated that the US must not be allowed to control Iraqi oil and the US should not be allowed to put in place a puppet dictatorship. It is notable that the large SCIRI group's leader did not attend the meeting, Ayatollah Baqir Hakim. Another group which boycotted the congress was a Sunni orthodox Islamist group, Sheikh Mohamed Baqir Nassiri said, "Thirteen Iraqi [opposition] national factions boycotted the London meeting. We [the 13 factions] agreed on three major issues. The first is our aim to overthrow the current regime of Saddam Hussein, as the case with the participants of the London meeting. Second, we do not reject, as a matter of principle, international aid to meet the first end. But we need an honest aid that respects the Iraqi national agenda of installing a democratic regime that respects human rights and national interests. Third, we want the regime change to stem from within the Iraqi people, not imposed by a foreign power that will eventually mix its own agenda with the Iraqi case," (quoted in http://www.islam-online.net/english/news/2002-12/15/article09.shtml)



While there was little attempt at making the congress open to all Iraqis, rather it was organized to favor the groups alligned with the United States such as the INC, the Monarchists and former Ba'athist military leaders, Iraqis living in the United States circulated a petition for the inclusion of independent delegates to the congress, "It is our opinion that the Iraqi Opposition Conference, when extended to include the voices of the parties and independents that are currently without representation within the Group of Six, can be that full and credible partner in the liberation of Iraq and reform of Iraq's political framework." (see http://www.iraqifd.org/PetitionINC.html [en]) Notable among the signers of the position is the human rights advocate Kanan Makiya who exposed the brutality and previous US complicity in those abuses as Iraqi dissident Abu Raish notes, "Saddam Hussein has a great deal to thank the CIA" (see http://multimedia.carlton.com/ram/pilger/iraq/saddam.ram). As well the US based, Iraqi Democratic Union, comprised of Iraqi refugees put out a statement calling for a democratic regime not a new dictatorship (see http://www.idu.net/con_stat.htm). Yet those same people that criticize the United States also are willing to defend the United States, Maha Al-Sarraf stated to Indymedia, "The US in its capacity as a world leader is capable of being the major advocate for democratic change and  human rights in Iraq through supporting the Iraqi masses and the internal and external opposition groups.  The US government belief in the need for democracy in Iraq was recently articulated on behalf of President Bush by Mr. Zalma Khalilzadah [Bush's representative to the Iraqi opposition] to the recent Iraqi opposition meeting in London: 'Iraqis do not deserve less than democracy'.  The US can not afford to and must not go back on its declared position as 'a friend to the Iraqi people'.  It must also clearly establish that it does not expect anything less than a democratic path from the new transitional government and together with the international community protect against a change in path or dictatorship tendencies." As is implied in Al-Sarraf's words is the notion that the US must adhere to sponsoring a truly democratic government in Iraq and not simply replace the current dictatorial regime with a new Ba'athist regime echoing the previous relationship the US had with Saddam Hussein before he invaded Kuwait. Yet, it is widely reported that the CIA has already fingered one of the chief architects of oppression in Iraq to be the next leader in a post-Saddam Iraq. The CIA has pointed toward former Republican Guard commander Nizar Al-Khazraji as being their man. General al-Khazraji was responsible for the offensive against Kurds in Halabja and was a chief invader of Kuwait, not to mention the war against Iran. He is currently under house arrest in Denmark pending prosecution for human rights violations. (see http://www.oceanbooks.com.au/iraq/articles3/297.html). The old bullies of the regime have also found their way into the opposition at the behest of the INC, undeniably under the influence of the CIA, as members of the new executive council were read off to the congress boos and whistles were heard as former members of the Hussein regime were read. It is rumored that the opposition Free Iraq Council coup against Saddam Hussein was undermined by the CIA.

The United States is not the only player in the Iraqi opposition which is why the Group of Four Iraqi opposition groups, the Kurdish Democratic Party (http://www.kdp.org), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (http://www.puk.org), SCIRI and the Iraqi National Accord (http://www.wifaq.com/) held a very low key meeting in Tehran before the US sponsored congress in London. It should be noted that an army of Iraqi Shi'a trains in Iran, but recent reports indicate the Iranians will not allow them to cross into Iraq at this time. There are two major groupings within the opposition, the two groups favored by US business interests, the Iraqi National Congress, headed by former banker and wanted criminal in Jordan, Ahmad Chalabi (Jalabi) and the Monarchists movement (http://www.iraqcmm.org/) which is related by blood to the current ruler in Jordan, the US's chief ally in the region. The other major grouping is that of the Group of Four (INA, KDP, PUK, SCIRI), the two groups together are referred to as the Group of Six. The cleavage points within the Opposition seems to run along a tri-fold, the Shi'a in the South (SCIRI, al-Daawa, CP), the secular Sunnis of the Syrian Ba'ath faction (INA) and the Kurdish ethnic group in the north (KDP, PUK). It is important to note that the groups with the largest following inside Iraq, outside of Kurdistan, are the Iraqi Communist Party and the al-Daawa Party. They have recently formed an Coalition of National Forces. It is this third force outside the Group of Two and the Group of Four that the most hope for Democratic change in Iraq lies. It should be noted that the Coalition of National Forces is vehemently opposed to foreign intervention in Iraq and the US sponsored UN Economic Sanctions which are believed to have killed over 500,000 Iraqis.

The question remains can democracy flourish in Iraq? The answer to this left to the Iraqi people could safely be assumed to be yes. However, the major threats to democracy in Iraq remain a dictatorial Ba'ath party and the CIA. The Iraqi Forum for Democracy responded to Indymedia on the question "Are there legitimate prospects for democracy in Iraq?" saying, "Very good [prospects]. This assessment is based on Iraq's history prior to 1958.  It had an elected assembly, freedom of expression, and a constitution that protected civil and human rights.  This coupled with recent experiences in dictatorship-governed countries such as eastern block and the uniform belief among most Iraqis and Iraqi opposition in the need for democracy further supports this conclusion. This is not to say that the establishment of a stable democracy is going to be trivial.  It is not a light switch that can be turned on and 'voila'?. The building of civil society brick by brick is part and parcel of the process and it will take nurturing and caring to make sure that it will be stable."

The question is will the United States allow this to happen or impose a new regime on the Iraqi people?



Post Script:
Interesting in late developments, probably in response to the new organization within the Iraqi Opposition, the Saddam Hussein Regime has allowed small opposition parties to for in Iraq. (see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37804-2002Dec10.html)


Links:
For an Overview of Iraqi Opposition Groups see http://www.al-bab.com/arab/countries/iraq/opposition.htm
For a forthright discussion of the Oppositionby a Cambridge scholar see http://www.metimes.com/2K2/issue2002-37/opin/us_plans_leadership.htm
For another view on the Iraqi Opposition Congress see http://www.islam-online.net/english/news/2002-12/15/article09.shtml
For Information on grass roots Iraqi Democracy Activists see http://www.iraqifd.org or Iraqi Democratic Union http://www.idu.net/
For reports on Human Rights violations in Iraq see http://www.iraqcp.org/humman/00214report%20Iraq%20-%20english%20version.htm
For reports on religious freedom in Iraq see http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/rihand/Iraq.html
For a history of the under-reported Shi'a Opposition in Iraq see http://www.jafariyanews.com/iraqshia.htm
For latest News Headlines on Iraq see http://media.iww.org/news_search.php?search_string=iraq
For latest Independent Media Centre Features on Iraq see http://media.iww.org/news_search.php?search_string=iraq
For IMC Special Report on US Corporations Arming of Saddam Hussein, http://www.indymedia.org/archive/features/2002/12/2002-12.html#6529


Terms:
Ba'ath party: the party of Saddam Hussein based on nationalist pan-arab socialism.

Syrian Ba'ath: Ba'ath faction opposed to Hussein and aligned with the rival Syrian Ba'ath Party historically.

Daawa Party: the party of Shi'a fundamentalist and other Shi'a factions that has fought the Ba'athist dictatorships since 1970s. A Corporate special report on al-Dawaa is at http://www.msnbc.com/news/847703.asp?cp1=1

Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq: another Shi'a faction that is aligned loosely with Tehran. Has over 10,000 armed fighters training in Iran.

Iraqi National Accord: comprised of former Ba'ath party members and members of the Iraqi military.



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