The Iraqi Communist Party held a big celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 14th July 1958 Revolution that overthrew the reactionary monarchy and ushered in tremendous social and political transformations in Iraq, changing Iraq’s class and social landscape.
The National Theatre in central Baghdad, where the event took place on Saturday 12 July 2008, was packed with an enthusiastic audience waving the Iraqi flag and red banners. The gathering was addressed by comrade Mohammed Jassim al-Labban, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of Iraqi CP.
The program of the celebration included poetry and also a big theatrical and musical production. The operetta was presented by Basra-based Al-Nas Group, in cooperation with the Cinema and Theatre Department and the National Group of Popular Arts in Basra.
The speech of the Iraqi CP leadership hailed the achievements of the 14 July Revolution, including broad freedoms enjoyed by the popular masses, the withdrawal from the Baghdad Pact, the Land Reform Law No. 30 (1958), the progressive Personal Status Law No. 188 (1959), and Law No. 80 (1961) which seized back control over 99.5% of the concessions previously held by oil multinationals. Lessons of the 14th July Revolution were also recalled, with special emphasis given to the need to uphold national unity, both political and social, and to discard all forms of sectarianism. “Political democracy, which was ignored or underestimated after the 1958 Revolution, is also indispensable … There should be no reliance on foreign powers, whether nearby or far away, because Iraq’s problems can only be solved by Iraqis themselves”. Hostility to the 14 July Revolution by anti-people forces intensified, culminating with the bloody fascist coup on 8 February 1963.
The Jubilee anniversary of the 14th July Revolution has been celebrated all over Iraq and among Iraqi communities abroad. It has been declared a National Day and a public holiday.