Reconciliation plan gaining ground.

Iraq the Model reports that seven groups announced their desire to join the political process in accordance with the reconciliation project and said they were ready to enter a truce and stop the violence. (David Spector)

An overview of the prospects for Iraqi Kurdistan

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, Kurdistan Regional Government High Representative to the UK outlined the progress made in Kurdistan Region to the Summer Reception in London on June 26, 2006. She said that - Today we see greater political and economic ties than ever before between Kurdistan Region and the United Kingdom. There are British companies based in Kurdistan Region with a view to later expanding in the rest of Iraq; many British parliamentarians, trades unions and members of other organisations have visited the Region and seen for themselves the progress that we are making in our efforts to strengthen democracy; Britain is expected to establish a permanent diplomatic presence in the Region; and Ambassador William Patey earlier this month announced plans to send a trade delegation to the Region in the autumn.

Bayan concluded that - We believe that a federal, democratic and pluralistic Iraq is the only way forward and the best way to ensure that we have a country in which every citizen feels he or she has a stake; an Iraq that is at peace with itself, its neighbours and the world.

Gary Kent

Full text of speech

Your excellencies, my lords, ladies and gentlemen -- good evening.

I am honoured and delighted to welcome so many of our British friends and friends from the international diplomatic community and the business sector.

Our friendship with Britain has a long history.

In recent times, thousands of Kurdish lives were saved when in 1991, Britain and the United States established a Safe Haven and No-Fly-Zone over Kurdistan in Iraq. By doing so, they protected ordinary citizens from Saddam Hussein’s brutality.

A decade later, Kurdish peshmerga and Coalition soldiers fought side by side in the war that led to the fall of the Baathist regime.

Today our friendship goes beyond just military support or cooperation. Today we see greater political and economic ties than ever before between Kurdistan Region and the United Kingdom.

There are British companies based in Kurdistan Region with a view to later expanding in the rest of Iraq; many British parliamentarians, trades unions and members of other organisations have visited the Region and seen for themselves the progress that we are making in our efforts to strengthen democracy; Britain is expected to establish a permanent diplomatic presence in the Region; and Ambassador William Patey earlier this month announced plans to send a trade delegation to the Region in the autumn.

This friendship has strengthened over the past three years as we have together confronted the many challenges facing Kurdistan Region and Iraq as a whole. And I believe that the spirit of friendship will continue as we tackle the tasks ahead of us.

Establishing security remains our biggest challenge in Iraq.

In Kurdistan, our peshmerga police and military forces, through patient hard work and diligence, have managed to secure the Region, enabling our government to focus on strengthening the economy and institutions, which are key to establishing a civil society. The achievements in Kurdistan Region that we see today are the fruits of decades of struggle and sacrifice by our people.

The task of bringing about security and stability in Iraq as a whole is more difficult but we will not shrink from the challenge, neither do we believe will our allies in the Coalition, particularly Britain.

We are now entering a new phase, both in Iraq as a whole and in Kurdistan Region.

The formation of the Government of National Unity in Baghdad is a positive achievement. Among this government’s many tasks will be the implementation of the new Constitution, not least resolving the issue of Kirkuk and the injustices suffered by its people under previous regimes.

Kurdistan’s leaders continue to play a constructive role in the Federal Government of Iraq and in shaping the country’s future in a positive way.

The Kurdistan Regional Government is also entering a new phase with the formation of a Unity Cabinet after the merger of the two administrations in our Region.

Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has set an ambitious agenda for the new Cabinet.

The new government’s mission is to encourage women’s participation in politics, business and society; to promote sports and the arts and to improve the standards of education and healthcare for everyone

Kurdistan is rich in natural resources, but until recently much of this wealth remained untapped or the revenues it generated were used to fund aggression against us -- the people of Iraq -- or against our neighbours.

Now, within the framework of the Constitution, exploration of oil and gas has begun and more projects are planned in the future.

For the first time, the Kurdistan Regional Government has appointed a Minister for Natural Resources, and I am delighted that the Minister, Dr Ashti Hawrami, was able to join us this evening.

But Kurdistan’s natural wealth does not lie only in oil and gas, but also in the Region’s fertile lands and natural beauty. The new government’s focus is also on rebuilding our agricultural sector and upgrading the tourism industry.

The Kurdistan Development Corporation (KDC), which is a joint venture between the Kurdistan Regional Government and private investors, is playing a significant part in bringing investment to the Region.

A new investment law that is currently before the Kurdistan National Assembly is expected to be flexible and open the Region further to foreign direct investment.

Kurdistan has already become the beacon for economic prosperity in Iraq and it remains our mission to deepen our ties with the international business community.

Above all, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s aim is to continue to play a positive role in rebuilding Iraq.

Although we live in a difficult part of the world, Kurdistan Region has been, and will continue to be, a catalyst for peace, stability and friendship.

The presence of so many of our friends this evening from countries in the Middle East is a testament to the part the Kurdistan Regional Government plays both within Iraq and the wider region.

We believe that a federal, democratic and pluralistic Iraq is the only way forward and the best way to ensure that we have a country in which every citizen feels he or she has a stake; an Iraq that is at peace with itself, its neighbours and the world.

Once again, I would like to welcome you all and to thank you, our friends from Britain and wider afield, for your support as we continue on our path towards democracy and peace.

Joint LFIQ/Labour Students meeting with visiting Iraqi trade unionists

Moustaf Yousif al Sa ad (Oil and Gas Union Southern Oil Company, Basra) and Sardar M Muhammed (General Secretary, Kurdistan Workers Syndicate, Sulymania) are visiting the UK as guests of Dave Anderson MP and Chair of LFIQ. Before they attend the Durham Miners’ Gala, they are key speakers at a meeting in central London on the early evening of Wednesday 5th July. The meeting is co-sponsored by Labour Friends of Iraq and Labour Students. If you would like a ticket, please e mail LFIQ at info@labourfriendsofiraq.org.uk

Peace deal offers Iraq insurgents an amnesty

The Times reports that The Iraqi Government will announce a sweeping peace plan as early as Sunday in a last-ditch effort to end the Sunni insurgency that has taken the country to the brink of civil war. The 28-point package for national reconciliation will offer Iraqi resistance groups inclusion in the political process and an amnesty for their prisoners if they renounce violence and lay down their arms. Diplomatic Editor Richard Beeston says that the plan to offer some of Iraq’s estimated 20,000 rebel fighters an amnesty and lure their commanders to the negotiating table is fraught with problems familiar to other states that have attempted similar dialogue.

Communists and Solidarity

Communist Parties used to be expected to toe the line laid down in Moscow through the Communist International. Those days have thankfully gone.

However, I noticed that a collection of Communist Parties has signed the following Statement of Communist and Workers' Parties on the occasion of the 3rd Anniversary of the War against Iraq. You can read it for yourself but its key point is to demand the immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces. Not surprising, perhaps but what struck me as odd is that the Iraqi Communist Party and the Kudistan Communist Party have not signed.

I don't know of this is by commission or omission but whilst it is true that Communist Parties need not take the line from the Iraqi parties, it is still somewhat surprising that they don't appear to heed what I assume is a greater caution on their part on the issue of the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops.

The Iraqi Communist Party sees the withdrawal position quite differently from their colleagues.

In a recent article posted at this site, their International Secretary says the following:

“Our Party has called for a timetable for withdrawal of foreign forces together with doubling the efforts to provide the internal political, institutional and security conditions for this withdrawal. The National Accord Conference held in Cairo last November supported such a withdrawal timetable in order to avoid chaos and additional suffering. We believe that this is a realistic agenda and can be implemented in a relatively short period. With the formation of a permanent government, that has already endorsed the idea of "an objective timetable" for withdrawal and speeding up the transfer of security responsibilities to the Iraqi forces, this issue will feature prominently on its agenda.”

As I say, national parties have the right to form their own views but they would benefit from their Iraqi comrades more nuanced and authentic view of the realities of life in Iraq, in the name of solidarity with the Iraqi people.

Gary Kent

Here's the ful statement.

A delegation representing the Communist Party attended the Stop the War Coalition conference in London on Saturday 10 June. The conference agreed plans to hold a major demonstration in Manchester on September 23, the day before the Labour Party conference opens in the same city.

The Communist party is a signatory to the Statement of Communist and Workers' Parties on the occasion of the 3rd Anniversary of the War against Iraq

End of occupation - Solidarity with the Iraqi people

The war against Iraq, launched by the US imperialism and its allies has been going on for three years now.

We call upon the working people to strengthen their struggle and solidarity with the Iraqi people and to stop the threat of new military imperialist interventions in the region.

As communist and workers' parties struggling for peace, social justice, progress and socialism, we support the legitimate right of the Iraqi people to resist occupation.

We reiterate our firm solidarity with their struggle for the end of occupation, for the restoration of the sovereignty and independence, for the liberation and integrity of their country.

We demand the immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces as a prerequisite for a democratic and sovereign Iraq, legal action against the crimes of the invaders and full compensation for the damage they caused.

The parties

Communist Party of Albania

Algerian Party for Democracy and Socialism

Communist Party of Argentina

Communist Party of Armenia

Communist Party of Australia

Communist Party of Bangladesh

Communist Party of Belarus

Workers' Party of Belgium

Communist Workers' Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Brazilian Communist Party

Communist Party of Brazil

Bulgarian Communist Party Georgi Dimitroff

Communist Party of Britain

Communist Party of Bulgaria

Communist Party of Canada

Communist Party of Cuba

AKEL, Cyprus

Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia

Communist Party in Denmark

Communist Party of Denmark

Communist Party of Estonia

Communist Party of Finland

Communist Party of Macedonia

Unified Communist Party of Georgia

German Communist Party

Communist Party of Greece

Hungarian Communist Workers' Party

Communist Party of India

Communist Party of Ireland

Workers' Party of Ireland

Communist Party of Israel

Party of the Italian Communists(PdCI)

Jordanian Communist Party

Workers Party of Korea

Socialist Party of Latvia

Socialist Party of Lithuania

Communist Party of Luxembourg

Party of the Communists of Mexico

Popular Socialist Party of Mexico

Communist Party of Malta

New Communist Party of the Netherlands

Philippine Communist Party (PKP-1930)

Communist Party of Poland

Portuguese Communist Party

Socialist Alliance Party Romania

Communist Party of the Russian Federation

Communist Workers' Party of Russia -

Party of the Russian Communists

New Communist Party of Yugoslavia

Palestinian Communist Party

Communist Party of Slovakia

South African Communist Party

Communist Party of Soviet Union

Communist Party of Peoples of Spain

Communist Party of Sweden

Communist Party of Syria

Syrian Communist Party

Communist Party of Tadjikistan

Communist Party of Turkey

Communist Party of Ukraine

Union of Communists of Ukraine

Communist Party of Venezuela

Iraq Memory Foundation

The Iraq Memory
Foundation is a non-government organisation that documents 35 years of ruthless dictatorship. Twenty Four Steps
To Liberty has featured some of these testimonies including how Saddam feared a six month old baby. (David Spector)

Journalists in Iraq

Former NUJ President Tim Lezard reports how journalists are at the forefront of building democracy in Iraq

‘Freedom is not free’ reads the monument to the 98 victims of a terrorist bomb in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Neither, it seems, is the media, with journalists being jailed and newspapers closed down by the government.

But journalists – and trade unionists - aren’t giving up because they realise just how important the media is to Iraq’s fledgling democracy.

“The situation in Iraq, especially Baghdad, is difficult but we are determined to move forward peacefully to build a democratic Iraq,” says Hadi Ali, Vice President of the Iraqi Workers’ Federation (their version of our TUC).

“ We’ve tried to build new, independent trade unions, totally different from the old ones. We struggled to beat Saddam, now we are struggling to build a strong, federal Iraq.”

I’m in Iraqi Kurdistan on a fact-finding mission with Labour Friends of Iraq (LFIQ) and although we’re based in Erbil, we meet with trade unionists from all over Iraq, representing more than a million workers.

Part of their vision is a free media and at least the situation now is better than it was under Saddam’s regime, when newspapers were solely government propaganda.

Today there are more than 100 newspapers – and countless radio and TV
stations - across the country, the majority of which are aligned to political parties, but several of which are independent.

This independence causes its own problems because although, theoretically, journalists are free to criticise the authorities, a free press is not enshrined in law and some politicians aren’t used to taking flak from what was a compliant media.

Shilan Yassen Kyder, a reporter for Bazui Krekar Journal in Erbil and a member of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, says self-censorship is rife.

“If you write on an issue that is unacceptable to society, you will go to court,” she says, matter-of-factly. “Always you are told you have freedom, but you are restricted. In general, it’s OK to criticise the government, but if your criticism is personal, you are in trouble, even if what you write is true.”

This is borne out by the imprisonment of a journalist in Sulamani two weeks before we arrive.

During a meeting in the city, Prime Minister Omer Fattah proudly tells our delegation: “There are many free TV and radio stations which can work without censorship. I’d like to stress there is not one single person who has been arrested for the charge of free speech.”

Apart, I point out, from the man who has just been arrested. “Ah, yes,” he replies. “I told them to set him free.”

What had he done?

“His writing was provocative and was not right.”

What had he written?

“He pushed people to sabotage and demonstrate against the government.
Journalists must not provoke people to terrorism. He called our leaders
‘tyrants’ and asked people to kick them out.”

Despite government claims then, imprisonment is an occupational hazard for journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan, but at least newspapers are being printed. Elsewhere in Iraq, the government has prevented even that.

“We had a newspaper that we produced every month, but now we can’t afford it,” says Adnan al-Safar, the IWF’s media officer.

“Decree 8750 [a ruling that allows the government to steal all trade union money] has stopped us from printing it.

National telephone and power network completed

A fibre-optic network has reconnected 20 cities with Baghdad and the 70 % of Iraqis who have landlines. Part of the scheme also involved replacing obsolete transmission equipment between Baghdad and a major power station in Basra. (David Spector)

Islam and the draft constitution of Iraqi Kurdistan

This report examines the debate. Since the majority of people in Kurdistan are Muslim, Islam should be a source of legislation, said Ali Karim, head of the Kurdistan Institute for Human Rights. Nevertheless, the constitution has to be a modern one, and conform to all the international documents and conventions on human rights.

Compass and Iraq

Saturday June 17, 2006
The Guardian

Walter Wolfgang (Letters, June 16) dismisses the Compass conference because it includes some "too closely associated with the Blairite New Labour project" who "in no sense can be deemed to have sufficiently repudiated it". The left needs pluralism rather than talking to the converted and heckling those thought to be renegades. But I agree that Iraq should be discussed at the Compass conference so that its new non-sectarian Labour movement can be supported.

Gary Kent
Director, Labour Friends of Iraq

Democratiya fundraising breakfast invitation

The Media & Public Advocacy Group at Mishcon de Reya is pleased to invite you to a breakfast symposium on 4 July in support of Democratiya.

To RSVP, please email Hina Joshi at hina.joshi[at]mishcon[dot]com.

Democratiya is a free quarterly online journal that is contributing to a renewal of the democratic radicalism by providing a forum for serious analysis and debate.

Speaking at the breakfast on ‘Democratic Foreign Policy in an Age of Terror’ will be Alan Johnson,• Editor, Democratiya. John Lloyd,• Contributing Editor at the Financial Times. Anthony Julius, Consultant, Mishcon de Reya.

If you are attending the breakfast please make an online donation of about £30 at Democratiya’s Pay Pal account at www.democratiya.com (go to ‘donate’ page) OR bring a cheque made out to ‘Democratiya’ to the breakfast. (If you are unable to make the breakfast please consider donating £30 anyway!).

The breakfast is taking place on: Tuesday July 4 2006, 8:15 – 9:45am at Mishcon de Reya, Summit House, 12 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4QD

DEMOCRATIYA 5 (June - August 2006) IS AVAILABLE NOW

Editor's Page, Extended Interview with Paul Berman, author of Power and the Idealists, The Euston Group - The Euston Manifesto. Marko Hoare - Occidentalism and Anti-Imperialism. Mike Allen - Beyond Neoconservatism. Elisabeth Porter - Defending Feminist Dreams. James P. Woodard - Colonial Massacre in Latin America. Bogusia Puchalska - Russia’s struggle with Democracy. Dick Howard - Perry Anderson and French Politics. Evan Daniel - Karsch on Islamic Imperialism. Gary Kent - Letter from Iraq. Andre Glucksmann - Vietnamisation ou Somalisation? Susan Green - Archive: The Left and Korea . Letters (Human Rights in Iran)

Letter from Iraq

Here is a report on the excellent Democratiya of the recent LFIQ delegation to Iraq in which the author says - If there were a decent and pluralist liberal press in this country you would not need me to tell you that a labour movement that was pulverised by Saddam – a few hundred underground and exiled activists survived – has now rebuilt itself into a force of nearly a million people. But you're reading it here and not in the Guardian or the Independent.

When will these papers and others wake up to the reality of the Iraqi labour movement.

Clive Furness examines life on Planet Hayden

Tom Hayden – the celebrated veteran of the anti-Vietnam war movement – has penned a piece which will no doubt inform much of the American and British Lefts narrative on Iraq but is deeply flawed. Here Clive Furness, a founder member of CARDRI (Campaign against repression and for Democratic Rights in Iraq) who has been to Iraq four times, most recently on the LFIQ delegation in the Spring, examines where Hayden goes wrong.

Hayden's starting point is the common one for those who believe themselves to be on the Left but who have become the objective bedfellows of a group of assorted neo fascists(The Baath) and religiously inspired psychopaths, (Al Qaeda in Iraq). A psychopathic mass murderer (Zarqawi) becomes a misguided Islamic revolutionary". Give me a break!

This is the 'resistance' to which he warmly refers. Indeed on his own web page he has stated that he sees the reinstatement of the Iraqi army as the means to bring stability to Iraq. It is fascinating to see the blind spots of some of the Left. Not only are 12 years of war, the Anfal, Halabja, the destruction of the Barzan Valley, the mass graves etc ignored, but their perpetrators are first feted as some form of noble resistance and then trotted out as an answer to the problem.
Make no mistake. It is they who were the problem in the first place and there is precious little desire to see them return.

He mentions Al Sadr as a part of this extended Baath/Sunni-Salafist resistance. Quite simply this is bizarre. The Muqtadr al Sadr phenomenon is the result of the history of his family (very anti-Baath)and the contemporary struggle for legitimacy and ascendancy within the Shia community where his faction battles with those of Ayatollah Hakim. Al Sadr is conservative in his religion and nationalist and authoritarian in his politics. The Hakim faction (SCIRI) are perceived as being too close to Iran.

Under Saddam there was no question of legitimate authority. The question was entirely moot because, outside of Kurdistan, there was no chance of anything else. With his ouster there came a number of competing claims of legitimate authority. Ayatollah Sistani remains the most respected religious leader, and he has sought to remain out of the political arena. The occupation forces have based their claim on their role as liberators and later on the mandate of the UN), SCIRI and al Sadr have based theirs on an army and the loyalty of a distinct section of the Shia community (roughly al Sadr in the centre and Hakim in the south of the country). The Baath have relied upon their traditional ascendancy and the salafists on a perversion of religion that has non-Iraqis deliberately try to remove the majority population from the country.

Lastly, an elected government has based its claim of legitimacy upon a free
election and a cabinet that represents all of the major religious and ethnic traditions. In old fashioned words, upon the will of the people, and there is little doubt that what the people want is peace and an end to the insurgency.

This leaves a question for the Left and Hayden in particular, whether the democratic and progressive principles he espouses are stronger than his distaste of George Bush Jnr. One suspects that they are not.

Global day of solidarity with Iraqi journalists

June 15th is Iraqs National Day of the Press during which there will be demonstrations to highlight the unspeakable suffering of media in a country where the freedom to publish is close to extinction due to ruthless extremists and the targeting of journalists by warring factions. At least 129 media staff have been killed, and hundreds more injured or disabled, during the present conflict. (David Spector)

ICFTU annual survey shows continued interference in union affairs

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has criticised the Iraqi government reaction to the rapid unionisation within Iraq. A new labour code has yet to be implemented, which has allowed Saddam era legislation to remain in place. Decree 8750, which allows the government to take control of all monies belonging to the trade unions and prevent them from dispensing any such monies is also attacked.(David Spector)

ICEM sends letter of condolences following killing

The General Secretary of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers Unions has written to the London Representative of the IFTU following the murder of Thabet Hussein Ali. (David Spector)

Iraqi Government backs down over union rights

Following representations
from David Cockcroft (the ITF General Secretary) to the Iraqi Minister for Transport, the Port Workers Union have won a victory following the ministers attempts at suppressing the union. (David Spector)

Support protest at Iraqi Embassy on 15th June

The picket is scheduled to start at 12.30pm outside the embassy at 9 Holland Villas Road, W14 and will last one hour during which Jeremy Dear and NUJ national officers will hand in a letter to the ambassador for the Iraqi PM.

This is part of a worldwide effort to draw the attention to the horrendous carnage of journalists in Iraq. Over 130 journalists have been killed since the invasion, most of them Iraqis. June 15th is significant for Iraqi journalists as it is their press freedom day and the (International Federation of Journalists) IFJ unions are responding to a call made by our two sister unions there, the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate and the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate.

Football, Women, Iran and Solidarity

Harry Barnes regrets that Iraq is not taking part in the World Cup but asks us to look at the plight of female football fans in Iran

Some will feel that the national fervour that arises when the World Cup takes place has its downside. But in terms of building up feelings of national solidarity, it is a great pity that Iraq isn't currently playing in Germany.

In the absence of Iraq we can direct our attention to what is happening just over the Shatt al' Arab river in Iran.

Women are banned from attending male football matches. In June 1998 one of the reasons given by the Press Court for banning the newspaper "Jame" was "that the publication of the pictures of young men and women dancing in the streets of Tehran following Iran's victory over America in the World Cup soccer on June 20 violated Islamic Principles" (page 177 "Iran Today" by Dilip Hiro.)

Currently there is a fascinating and fine film I saw yesterday, which deals with the plight of female football fans in Iran.

Jafar Panahi's "Offside" deals with the unsuccessful efforts of a handful of women to attend the Iran v Bahrain World Cup qualifier. Disguised as men, they are discovered and arrested by soldiers. But they and the soldiers end up celebrating their teams victory in the packed and jubilant streets of Tehran, when on their way to prison their minibus is caught up in the crowd. A crowd which had its far share of flag waving women in jeans and t-shirts.

Needless to say, this first rate film which is full of comedy and pathos has also been banned in Iran. Full and sympathetic reviews of this film classic can be found in the current editions of the New Statesman (page 51) and The Observer

Events are brought bang up to date by two extra reports.

First, Tehran-based female blogger ET gives an account of her watching Iran lose to Mexico 3-1 on TV on Sunday. "The apartment was draped with flags. Faces were painted green and white; young women wore t-shirts; horns were blaring; the music was loud. Within minutes a tray filled with vodka was passed around the room. The stereo was blaring Arah's "Iran...Iran..."

At half time, with the score at 1-1, she goes outside with a young man. ( "My Iran is here" the face-painted man said to me as he pointed to the apartment. "It is not there". He pointed outside. "I love my Iran. My people are happy inside and sad outside.")

Secondly, Iran News reports that yesterday some 5,000 women and supporting men participated in a peaceful General Women's March to protest against the general lack of Women's Rights; included were members of the Tehran Bus Drivers Union.

They report that vans were full of protesters who had been arrested and the homes of the organisers were raided prior to the demonstration. It was even arranged for women dressed in green nun-like hijabs to pass themselves off as demonstrators before using batons and pepper gas to attack the protesters.

Iran's next World Cup game is against Portugal and is on TV at 2 p.m. on Saturday, 17 June. If you aren't (like me) going to the Compass Conference in London, why not give them a shout. I will have to wait for the match against Angola at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, 21 June.

It is not that I have anything against the supporters of Portugal and Angola. But if Women's Rights for Iran is to engage our active support, then sympathy for the problems of their women football fans might be a good start.

Iraq the Model on Zarqawi

An Iraqi blogger questions whether the al-Qaeda sociopath will be missed in the country he made his home. (David Spector)

Arab world does not endorse fanatics

Hussein Ibish, the executive director of the Foundation for Arab-American Leadership writes much sense in the Chicago Tribune. He opposed the invasion of Iraq and writes convincingly that the battle against this form of (jihadist) extremism must be and increasingly is being fought by mainstream Arab and Muslim societies, although received wisdom in the United States has yet to recognize this. He notes that some activists are so focused on opposing U.S. interventions that they seem unable to grasp the profound menace this so-called jihadist movement poses to Arab and Muslim societies, two thoughts at the same time apparently being prohibitive.

Acclaimed Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy declared her unconditional support for all elements of the insurgency in a 2004 speech in San Francisco, saying: "The Iraqi resistance is fighting on the front lines of the battle against Empire. And therefore that battle is our battle." She declines to differentiate insurgent groups, or to question their methods and goals because "if we were only going to support pristine movements, then no resistance will be worthy of our purity."

The idea that standing against the war in Iraq means indiscriminately supporting everyone who has taken up arms to oppose it is odious nonsense. That is to suspend all moral and political judgment and accept a false binary that pits terrorism against imperialism as if there were no other choices. Opposition to an unwise and unjust policy should never translate into indulgence toward nihilistic ultra-right-wing killers.

For these reasons and more--as an Arab-American, a member of the American Muslim community and a staunch opponent of the war--I am glad Zarqawi is dead.

Iraqi Prospect Organisation examines current situation

IPO Iraq News Analysis by Ali Latif

June 12, 2006

Zarqawi’s assassination

There has been a great deal of discussion surrounding the importance of Zarqawi’s killing in the battle against terrorism, but what is potentially more significant is what led to his death. It was a tip-off from Iraqi sources that led to his location and subsequent demise. This may reflect increased trust by Iraq's Sunni community towards the central government and security services, which means that their mass participation in the December elections was not a mere blip but reflective of a change in attitude away from supporting violence towards politics.

What last week’s development highlights is the need for genuine national reconciliation that will allow all citizens of Iraq to feel represented and protected by their government. This confidence in the state will allow Iraqis to provide the intelligence that the security forces and coalition troops need in order to defeat the terrorists inside Iraq. The Prime Minister's release of prisoners last week is a good practical start for the reconciliation process but an extensive and coherent initiative will need to be pursued in order to achieve the results the government and coalition require.

Dealing with the militias

Iraq’s intelligence chief, Major General Mohammed al-Shahwani’s warning against merging militias with the security forces carries certain validity. Thus far attempts at merging the militias have failed to genuinely extricate them from their political masters and there have been serious concerns about their role in the sectarian flare-ups since the Samarra bombing.

There have been two major components missing from previous governments’ policies in dealing with the militias. A will to create the political environment for Iraqi parties to genuinely give up their militias and once this has been achieved, there needed to be a satisfactory framework in place where militia members would be identified, dispersed and monitored within the Iraqi security services that they join. Militia members would lose their previous paymasters and operate in multi-ethnic units, thereby preventing them operating under the official cover that Major Shahwani has fears about.

Assessing the strength of jihadism

Jason Burke The Observer Europe Editor and author of The Road to Kandahar examines why bin Laden is losing his war of terror. He concludes: But, even if it is impossible to say that we have won the war on terror, it is equally the case that the terrorists are not doing too well. Bin Laden's strategy has not succeeded. The 'awakening' has not started - at least not yet. And that is not because of 500lb bombs dropped on militants in Baquba, useful in the short term though they might be, but because of the millions of ordinary men and women in the Islamic world who, despite what has happened to them, despite their anger and frustration, their despair and their hopes, have decided that violence is not the answer.

Our strategy for a democratic Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki outlines his strategy for peace.

Iraqi security ministers – at last

After many months of haggling, the most sensitive security posts in the government have been filled.

Ann Clwyd on the oppression of Iraqi women by Islamic extremists in Basra

Ann Clwyd is interviewed about this after her recent trip to Iraq.

Ms Clwyd, who returned after a week in Baghdad meeting women MPs, said: " There is very great concern among women about the pressure put on them to wear the veil or the hijab. I have heard stories of women at the hairdressers being shot. I think there is pressure on women to conform. I really think it is up to the new Iraqi Government to try to get some agreement that women should be able to wear what they want." She said: "The killing of al-Zarqawi gives added impetus to the declarations from the new Government. It adds to their credibility. There is also an agreement to release over 2,000 detainees. I think that was essential. There have been far too many people kept in detention. Most of them are young Sunni men and if they are not charged, they ought to be released. There are a lot more there. The 2,000 is a start but I believe there will be another 2,000 quite soon."

Ms Clwyd added: "Women ministers I met, and not wearing the hijab, were all talking about the pressures to wear what they didn't want to wear." Ms Clwyd said women's demands for freedom had to be enforced by the " majority of the men and the leadership" in Iraq. Mr Blair said he believed in the next few weeks, the Iraqi government would announce measures to impose greater security in Basra to answer the appeals for help from women there.

Hitchens on that death

Christopher Hitchens on why Zarqawis death matters

Death of al-Zarqawi

The Embassy of Iraq in Canada is pleased to announce that Coalition forces yesterday killed wanted terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki said "This is a message to all those who are pursuing violence, destruction - they should stop and they should review their situation and they should resort to logic before it's too late, because we have decided and we will carry on, on the same path until the end of the road, by killing all the terrorists." The prime minister's statement is below in full.

Iraq’s Ambassador to Canada, Howar Ziad, said "We are proud of the role of Iraqi forces in assisting their Coalition allies in killing one of the world's leading fascist terrorists. There is no dialogue with these murderers. The only response is for democracy to fight back. All democrats and lovers of liberty should unite behind Prime Minister al-Maliki and his democratically elected government and stand with the Iraqi people."

Here is the announcement by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki on the killing of the mass murderer al-Zarqawi:

Baghdad, June 8, 2006

For the tragic end that they will all get: today we have managed to put an end to Zarqawi. What happened today is a result of co-operation that we have been asking from our masses and from our citizens and the sons of our country that have been co-operating with us - by providing us with information and to have facilitated the task of the Iraqi forces and multinational forces by striking a final blow.

This is a message to all those who are pursuing violence, destruction - they should stop and they should review their situation and they should resort to logic before it's too late, because we have decided and we will carry on, on the same path until the end of the road, by killing all the terrorists.

Our political march, our military forces and security forces will carry on in the protection of our people until the end of the day.

Today's Iraq is the Iraq where all political forces and the son[s] of the country are united.

They are acting as one to face up to the terrorists and destructive elements. This mass front and national unity is our gate to face up to all the challenges.

Thank God all the Iraqis are now becoming aware that the only path for improving the Iraqi people and to improve the sovereignty and the progress of Iraq is through unity and to find serious ways for political dialogue. Because all Iraqis are in the same boat and this boat should reach the shores of safety and happiness - God willing.

Thank you very much to our citizens for their services and for their co-operation and many thanks for our armed forces and security forces and the army.

Thank you for the multinational forces for their leadership and great role in facing up to terrorism and forward for more victories - God willing.

Hard knocks and hopes for Iraqi democratisation

Iraqi exile and renowned author Kanan Makiya concedes that the thesis that democratization in Iraq has so far translated only into elections, not the rule of law and what he calls the first stages of what amounts to a kind of confessional cleansing of parts of Baghdad and he says that We are on the edge of a chasm from which we can still step back. It is a dangerous moment, but not yet hopeless.

He says that The battle of ideas has only just begun. We have a long way to go. But one can feel, among young Arabs in particular, that finally the region is on the move. Of course, we can’t predict the outcome. The Iraqi elections have produced a National Assembly that is, after much procrastination, in the end creating a government. And they produced a document, the new, albeit incomplete and faulty, permanent constitution of Iraq, that wrestles with the question of what it means to be an Iraqi.

He argues that the insurgency has no chance of winning; it has no program to which to win people over. He concludes that while it will be a long time before Iraq is a democracy as we understand that word, we can say a few things about the new Iraq that is being born. It will not threaten or attack its neighbors; it will be a greatly decentralized state; and it will represent a new regional model of statehood and nation-formation, one that in all likelihood offers its citizens a variety of lifestyles and models to choose from within the very same Iraq that once knew only the totalizing Arabism of the Baath.

(Hat Tip - Normblog)

Iraq plea from MP at ASLEF Conference

5 June 2006

‘I opposed the war in Iraq from the very start – but that is history,’ Dave Anderson, MP for Blaydon told delegates to ASLEF’s conference. ‘Our task now is to truly liberate the people of that country by helping them to organise themselves in strong, effective and independent trade unions.’

Dave, a former coal miner and member of the TUC’s general council, led a delegation of 8 trade unionists to Iraq in March this year – and admits that he had not expected to be told some of the things he heard. ‘Some Iraqi trade unionists welcomed the invasion of their country because of the torture and repression they had suffered under the Saddam regime.’

However, there is strong criticism of the new Iraqi government – which is distinctly unhelpful to union organisation.

‘The new Iraqi government has issued a decree - 8750 – establishing a ‘committee of investigation’ to see ‘under what remit a trade union should organise’ – and in the interim the government will control all union finances and activities.

‘Also, the new government has failed to repeal decree 150 – which was introduced by Saddam and makes it illegal for public sector workers to belong to a trade union.

‘This includes workers in transport, energy, welfare and local services.’
Dave also reported moves in the south to encourage the forming of sectarian trade unions based on religion. ‘This is both a formula for disaster and an affront to the ideals of unionism.’

Dave wants unions to commit themselves to supporting training programmes for Iraqi unionists, and individuals to donate surplus mobile phones and computers through the TUC.

‘It is terrible to see deprivation in a country that is rich in minerals and oil and has massive tourist potential.

‘What it lacks is investment.’

This is why Dave works hard – especially through Labour Friends of Iraq - to organise political pressure that will make it easier for Iraq to attract capital - without strings - to rebuild its economy and provide jobs for ordinary Iraqi citizens.

Why the Cabinet remains incomplete

A security clampdown would, under normal circumstances, be unpopular. For many Baghdad bloggers, however, a radical solution is needed to deal with both wings of the violence in their city. Healing Iraq comments that militia in the west of the city want the residents to return to 7th Century customs and laws, whilst using 21st Century weapons as their tools of persuasion. Another blogger attempted to make a film about this phenomenon for Newsnight, but found that most people were too scared to face a camera. Iraq The Model suggests that the delay in appointing three security-related cabinet posts serves the immediate interests of the troublemakers because it postpones any large-scale security operation. (David Spector)

Newsround

Iraqi Government demand answers. Denouncing what they called repeated acts of violence by American forces against innocent civilians, Iraqi leaders said today that they would demand that American officials turn over their investigative files on the Iraq deaths in Haditha as they vowed to conduct their own inquiry. Iraqi PM imposes new blitz on Basra. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has declared a one-month state of emergency in Basra, vowing to crush with an iron fist the death squads that have plunged the city into chaos. Residents unite against sectarian conflict Kurds, Turcomans and Christians from northern Iraq have established independent organisations that aim to reduce the influence of sectarian militias operating in the area. abduction of diplomat. The Iraqi government and people are dismayed by the abduction of UAE diplomat Naji Rashid Al Nuaimi. Gulf youths avoid social work. Young people from the Gulf avoid volunteering and social work even as civil service organisations struggle to encourage participation and promote a culture of solidarity, complained activists.

News round-up

German Woman Plans Infant Suicide Bomber in Iraq, Michael Moore Faces Iraq War Lawsuit, Former Saddam Officers Fuel Al Qaeda Efforts, Whilst Terrorist Responsible For Hundreds of Beheadings Captured. (David Spector)

The years of living dangerously

Soma carries a frank article by Dr Latif Rashid, Minister of Water Resources in Iraq. The minister argues that The Iraqi people are free, and they are undergoing a democratic process. Last year, we had three elections in Iraq. Second, even with the violence, the standard of living for Iraqis has risen tremendously. Iraq is no longer isolated from the international community, and it has begun to tackle the rebuilding of its infrastructures. Iraqis are investing money in rebuilding their country and society, rather than spending on endless wars. Today, the Iraqi people are free to organize themselves in political parties, and they can express their views through mass media – the large number of newspapers and TV stations that have sprung up in the country since 2003. Obviously, there are still a lot of difficulties in Iraq, the social, economic and security problems all need to be solved.

He also examines the Iraqi Kurds’ commitment to a federal solution.

Fred Halliday on the meaning of solidarity

Fred Halliday outlines his views in this fascinating interview on why parts of the left have joined the reactionaries, the meaning of solidarity, and much more.

He outlines his differences with his old friend Tariq Ali: So a series of conflicts on which Tariq and I found ourselves on different sides. He took a conventional anti-interventionist position, and I took a more complex position, guided not by the interests of the West but by what I saw as the interests of the peoples in the countries concerned. The issue of whether the U.S. should or should not intervene in a country is a contingent one. Each case has to be debated on its own merits. The key issue is not: Is the U.S. intervening? Nor: What are the U.S.’s motives? The key issue is will that intervention plausibly help those people or not? That’s the question.