LFIQ message to Labour Party Conference

The following article appeared in the Daily Conference Paper produced in Brighton on 28th September

Let us be clear about what is at stake in Iraq. It could descend into civil war and be balkanised. Or it could develop a decent democracy for a people who suffered fascist-type rule, war and repression for decades.

Millions of Iraqis defied the bombers to vote for a new government. Foreign troops remain in Iraq with the permission of its Government and under a UN mandate.

Terrorists want to block democracy and women's rights. They indiscriminately slaughter civilians. They seek a sectarian bloodbath. They murder trade unionists. They shall not pass.

Iraqi voices are too often ignored. This is why tonight's Labour Friends of Iraq fringe meeting will hear key Iraqi voices - the growing Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions and the Iraqi Community Association. We will talk about civil society, labour rights and women's rights. And how we can make common cause with our comrades.

Please listen very carefully to IFTU President Rasem Alawady. He epitomises the history and bravery of Iraq's labour leaders. Jailed for union activities in 1959, purged by Saddam in 1979, exiled in 1991, back home in 2003.

He says "We want to see the fast removal of coalition forces from Iraq. Regardless of whether their presence is right or wrong, what we are concerned with now is that the Iraqi security forces – army, police, intelligence - are not yet capable of standing on their own feet, facing up to the extremists and upholding the integrity of Iraq. We shall campaign for the removal of foreign forces once Iraqi security forces are in good shape."

You can take this or leave it if you want but be clear: withdrawing early could devastate our friends and embolden our enemies. Iraqi democratisation would be drowned in blood. But let's understand that democratisation is not an overnight process in Iraq or throughout the Middle East. Saddam's brutal legacy casts a long shadow on the present. Only Iraqis can rebuild their country but we can and should help. We should follow the example of those British unions that
provide moral and material assistance to Iraqi progressives who want a pluralist, democratic, federal, non-sectarian and sovereign Iraq.

Such solidarity can unite us behind the Iraqi labour movement and its battle for social justice.