We need to change the perception of Iraq as a country torn by war

Haider al Abbadi a member of the Iraqi Parliament recently addressed the Foreign Press Association in London. The audio file of his comments and the questions is also available here.

Haider al Abbadi, a member of the Iraqi Parliament and Chair of its Economic and Reconstruction Committee, today briefed an audience at the Foreign Press Association in London on economic and political progress in Iraq. Mr al Abbadi outlined his hopes regarding Iraq’s trade and investment, and its plans to tackle unemployment and national reconstruction. A substantial question and answer session followed.

Mr al Abbadi expressed the ‘huge responsibility’ of developing ‘a new Iraq’ after the years of deprivation and conflict suffered by the country. He emphasized that reconstruction could not be achieved without proper security, acknowledging that whilst there had been a substantial decrease in levels of terrorist activity such gains needed to be fortified. He outlined government plans to address unemployment, preventing people from being recruited to criminal and terrorist organizations by creating more jobs in both the public and private sectors. He also affirmed the need for national reconciliation, calling upon the expertise of exiled professionals in rebuilding the country.

He spoke of the crucial investment made in arming and training the military in preparation for the withdrawal of US troops from the region, saying that he was ‘happy’ that Iraqi security forces would be able to take over by the end of 2010, as they had originally proposed, and would be secure by the agreed deadline at the end of 2011.

Mr al Abbaddi was optimistic about Iraq’s political progress, and about the ‘positive impact’ of its democracy in ‘the whole Arab region’. He expressed hopes that the regional elections would provide ‘a new face for the country’, explaining that alliances were increasingly being formed on the basis of common economic and political programmes rather than along sectarian and ethnic lines, a change which he expected to witness in the next parliamentary elections. ‘It is often said that the Middle East and democracy don’t mix’, said Mr al Abbadi, ‘in fact Iraq shows just the opposite.’

Mr al Abbaddi outlined efforts to reduce Iraq’s dependency on oil by reinvesting in its own economy. He ended by affirming Iraq’s keenness to build new economic partnerships both within the region and through investment from the US, Europe and Asia, saying ‘there are still a lot of challenges ahead, but we believe Iraq is building relations with the rest of the world’.

Hana Chambers

Teachers union faces threat of government takeover

See LabourStart and support the campaign.

The Iraqi Teachers Union is under attack from the Iraqi Government. The government has authorized an official body to take over the union under the pretext of forcing the union to hold elections. It is worth noting that the ITU has already held several national conferences since 2003 and had elected an ITU leadership openly and democratically. The government attempts are illegitimate, unacceptable and a blatant violation and interference in the internal democratic affairs of the union. They also violate the Iraqi constitution which guarantees workers the right to organize. The ITU leadership has refused to hand over the union and is ready to struggle to preserve the independence of the ITU. Because of this, its leaders are under the threat of arrest. The ITU is organizing another national protest with major demonstration in central Baghdad on 28 March 2009 and it needs your solidarity and support.

Marking Anfal

Chnar Saad, the Minister in the Kurdistan Regional Government for Anfal and Martyrs met MPs and myself today to discuss how best to mark the Anfal of the late 1980s - Saddams genocidal attack on Iraqi Kurds in which 182,000 men, women and children were murdered and most villages in Iraqi Kurdistan were razed to the ground, to the last brick.

The Iraqi Parliament has recognised Anfal as genocide and this should be taken up by the international community. The Anfal is a living reality in Iraqi Kurdistan which still suffers the continuing effects of chemical attacks.

Gary Kent
Director, LFIQ

LFIQ and CFIQ team up to discuss parliamentary procedures with Iraqi MPs

Several Chairs and Deputy Chairs of committees in the Council of
Representatives of the Parliament of Iraq have been in London to study the British parliamentary and political system. As part of this LFIQ and Conservative Friends of Iraq jointly hosted a session with them to discuss how the UK Parliament organises oversight of ministers. Meg Munn MP and Tony Baldry MP, of LFIQ and CFIQ respectively answered questions.

This is just the sort of thing that LFIQ has been advocating for some time. The Iraqi parliamentarians are keen to learn about how foreign parliaments conduct themselves to see what lessons can be drawn as they develop their own institutions and practices.

Once again, we appeal to all organisations with the capacity to help to come forward to assist.

It’s true that countries such as Britain have had many years in which to deepen the culture of democracy – and are still learning – but that does not mean that the Iraqi parliament and other institutions have to start entirely from scratch but can import whatever lessons and customs they feel suits their own needs.

Gary Kent
Director LFIQ

Seumas Milne should get out more

Seumas Milne increasingly reminds me of the Japanese soldier who denies that the war is over and hides in the jungle for years. His pow-wows with unrepresentative Iraqi insurgent warlords while he derides the elected Iraqi Government make him look ludicrous. One feels that he cannot forgive the Iraqis for choosing peace over violence and for seeking reconciliation as opposed to an “anti-imperialist” and sectarian bloodbath.

Milne should get out more and speak to elected Iraqi politicians and civil society organisations. Anyone looking at Iraq in the round would acknowledge some of his charges but would also be astonished at his refusal to recognise Iraqi successes.

Yes, there is continuing violence but it has been drastically cut. UK troops are going soon and US troops will go within a timescale agreed by the Iraqi government. Iraqis also want to normalise relations with their neighbours and stop them sustaining sectarian politics and insurgents.

Yes, there is continuing sectarianism and tensions between those who want a more centralised politics and the Kurds who wish to maintain substantial autonomy within Iraq. The status of Kirkuk and other disputed territories is an unresolved issue that could flare up.

Yes, there is corruption and bureaucracy which the Iraqi Prime Minister says is an evil akin to terrorism. Corruption steals from the people and deters external investment. The government is cutting form-filling which provides the means by which officials extort money.

Yes, there is still a problem with internally displaced people and people who have fled Iraq. The large Iraqi Diaspora dates from the 1970s when Saddam consolidated his stranglehold. Most have built new lives abroad and will find it hard to return. The recent wave of exiles includes Baa’thists accused of brutal crimes and are unlikely to return. But it also includes professionals who are badly needed by Iraq whose government is trying, with some success, to encourage their return.

Yes, there are still shortages of electricity and water, partly through higher demand as more people use their greater spending power and partly because the infrastructure was targeted by the insurgents. Increased stability and security will enable these gaps to be plugged.

Yes, the position of women is worrying although this is relative to the rest of the region. There have been major improvements since the Sadrist militia were turfed out of control of Basra and Sadr City. The position of women in the generally more secular Kurdistan Region is much better, although so-called honour killings and female genital mutilation are opposed by the government.

The emergence of non-sectarian trade unions is a great advance but I concede the continuation of Saddam’s draconian restrictions and some new ones. We urged the Iraqi Prime Minister in Baghdad to recognise that unions are allies in rebuilding Iraq and many unions are campaigning for full union rights in Iraq.

I would mention unemployment and under-employment although unemployment has decreased and the average monthly wage has increased substantially, whilst inflation has fallen.

Saddam killed hundreds of thousands, bled the economy dry, neglected the oil industry, all but destroyed agriculture, deterred most tourism and wasted billions on external aggression. However, Iraq has massive reserves of oil gas and other minerals, religious tourism has increased massively and investors from many countries are queuing up to invest and trade, as desired by the sovereign government. Iraqis are hungry for change and are ambitious about making up for so much lost time.

Milne should stand on the new runway in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan which will be the fifth largest in the world and enable Erbil to be a major commercial hub. Milne should examine the plans for a massive new port at Basra, the 50,000 seat Basra Sports City stadium and the new Baghdad metro. He could study plans for new schools, homes and hospitals, sewage, water and electricity plants and new dams. Confidence in the future is illustrated by the fact that Iraq is probably the only country in the world where property prices are rising. But this would be to recognise that a new Iraq is emerging and, I presume, somehow exculpate American imperialism in his monochrome analysis.

Milne would have more credibility if he acknowledged positive changes in Iraq as well as shortcomings - a humanitarian and balanced warts and all approach.

Many positive aspects emerge in a major survey of Iraqi public opinion in February. 65% say life is very or quite good for themselves and 57% for Iraq. 80% expect things to be much or somewhat better or the same for themselves in a year, whilst 86% think the same for Iraq as a whole. 85% say the security situation is very or quite good. Their focus is moving from security to bread and butter economic issues. There are very high levels of confidence in the Iraqi army, police and national government whose PM basks in a 55% approval rating.

As for the future political system, small minorities of 14% and 19% respectively support dictatorship or an Islamic state but 64% support democracy – defined as government with a chance for the leader to be replaced from time to time. This has increased by half in one year.

Labour Friends of Iraq works with many Iraqis and the newly formed Conservative Friends of Iraq. We have sent two delegations there and hosted many meetings with Iraqi delegations here. We seek political, cultural and commercial relations with Iraq where English is the second language, Britain is respected and where a new generation of leaders wants mutually beneficial connections.

Perhaps we now need a new coalition to stop the war in Iraq – the war being waged by the rag-bag of Al Qaeda and other insurgents against Iraqis. A new alliance could work with Iraqis to help them reconcile people in a country shattered by dictatorship, occupation and insurgency and help them stand on their own two feet.

The new Iraq needs all the friends it can get. Their fight for democracy and prosperity has begun in the most difficult circumstances. Their success would be a strategic victory for democracy and decency. Maybe then Milne could leave the jungle and join the real world.

Gary Kent
Director, Labour Friends of Iraq

They do want a holiday in the sun

The Guardian reports on British tourists in Iraq

Expert perspective: an Iraqi view

As troops prepare to withdraw from Iraq, Jabbar Hasan, director of the Iraqi Association, assesses the events of the past 12 months and examines what the immediate future may hold.

This week marks the sixth anniversary of the war in Iraq. It is an anniversary that's been overshadowed by the ongoing global financial turmoil. Iraqis still struggle with daily hardship and indiscriminate attacks as we enter its seventh year. Iraq is no longer a major headline and it doesn’t seem to get much attention lately from politicians and the major media. While we enter its seventh year thousands of civilian Iraqis have been killed and over two million people, mainly from the middle class, fled Iraq, including 20,000 of its 34,000 doctors (2,000 of whom have been murdered).

The infrastructure remains in shambles and religious and sectarian violence continues with the country increasingly Balkanized between Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. While lingering violence in Mosul and Diyala province remains a challenge now, the real battle — the one that will define what kind of Iraq emerges as the US withdraws its troops in the next two years — has barely begun. The fundamental problem is the division and sectarian hate which dominates Iraqi politics. Iraqis are the authors of their history, as the US withdraws, the course of "Iraqification" will depend on how Iraqis reveal and resolve their own differences.

In pursuit of reconciliation

While violence decreases across Iraq, women in the war-ravaged country face worsening hardships as the conflict has thrust them into the role of family breadwinners. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi women have been left widowed by the war and its aftermath. Many families do not have daily access to basic services such as water and electricity or cannot afford to send their children to school. Others, who lost their husbands to the conflict, get no government pension. The Iraqi government must invest in social welfare to provide essential services.

Saddam is gone, but the Western-style democracy that the supporters of the invasion envisioned is still a long way away. While there is relative calm in Iraq, competition for power and resources among rival religious and ethnic groups is gearing up. The challenge is how to get all sides to reconcile so a civil war won't break out as US forces leave.

Although the violence has plummeted, bombs still go off in Baghdad; Iraqi civilians still die and suffer. The provincial elections of January showed that most voters freely expressed their democratic desire and enjoy democracy in action. The progress is slow, but the mood of people has shifted. In Baghdad's famous Mutanabi Street, which is lined with bookstores, the sales of religious books have plummeted. Sales of such books initially exploded in the years after the invasion.

Fragile situation

The Iraqi people seem to be thinking more about peace, harmony and a better future, but they are also desperate for officials who are less corrupt and can deliver jobs and services. The frustration is that the Iraqi authorities are unable to deliver what Iraqis seek and parliament hasn’t delivered services or cleaned up corruption and nepotism.

Meanwhile, with oil prices low, Iraq lacks the income to create jobs and confront massive unemployment. The fragile situation requires political maturity and less sectarian thinking. Priorities must be set to tackle the needs of people – from refugees to the needs of vulnerable women and children – and empower technocrats in the government.

Jabbar Hasan is director of the Iraqi Association, a UK-based Iraqi charity.
The Iraqi Association

Put People First!

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28 March 2009
March and rally ahead of the G20 summit in London.

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http://www.putpeoplefirst.org.uk

President Barzani in London

Ranj Alaaldin examines the President’s trip to London

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani last week visited the UK as
part of his European tour. He met the Duke of York, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Middle East Minister Bill Rammell, Justice Secretary Jack Straw, Defence Secretary John Hutton, and Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague.

The All-Party Parliamentary Groups on the Kurdistan Region and on Iraq hosted a lunch for him at the Commons.

The President also addressed an audience at Chatham House, which LFIQ attended.

The Kurdistan region continues to grow rapidly ahead of the rest of Iraq which has only in recent years started to progress for the better, after a painful struggle against the insurgency and jihadist terrorist attacks.

Often referred to as the "other Iraq", Kurdistan is secular and continues to enjoy the benefits of a booming economy, security, and social development, among others. It is being flooded with foreign investment and is hungry for more. It has vast untouched resources ready to be utilised by the expertise of foreign companies.

The Kurds have faced umpteen challenges in the form of entities, internal and external, that have consistently sought, without success, their obliteration. Although tensions are currently high between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Baghdad government, the order of the day for the war-scarred President Barzani is democracy and the rule of law.

In response to a question which suggested comparisons between the Baath regime and the current Maliki government, President Barzani dismissed any comparison in its entirety. Iraq has moved on from totalitarianism. Barzani emphasised the need to resolve differences through the law and the mechanisms provided for by the Iraqi constitution.

Kurdistan is a model for the rest of the region and, by Middle East standards at least, is a beacon of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. The danger is assuming that any problems in Kurdistan are exclusive to that region and the Kurds themselves; that would be wholly reckless - Kurdistan is a federal state within a federal Iraq; a weak Kurdistan would therefore equate with a weak Iraq.

Statement on the Anniversary of the Halabja Attack

The President of Washington Kurdish Institute, Dr. Najmaldin Karim, addressed the anniversary of the chemical attack on the people of Halabja on March 16, 1988, as an act of genocide against the Kurdish people which has yet to receive adequate response and reparation. The attack on Halabja was the most devastating instance of the Baathist regime’s use of chemical weapons during a genocidal campaign—titled by Saddam Hussein as the ‘Anfal’—that killed at least 180,000 people, destroyed 4,000 villages, and wounded thousands more.

“The use of chemical weapons upon civilians, in a mixture of mustard gas and nerve agents prohibited by international law, by aerial and artillery bombardment was completely unprecedented. This event also displayed the final intent of Saddam’s regime: an ‘Arabization’ project to destroy Iraqi Kurdistan by all means possible. There was no meaningful response to this campaign from the international community. Twenty-one years on, there must be international recognition of this massacre as one of the major genocides of the twentieth century.

“In addition to the 5,000 killed in Halabja and chronic medical problems and disabilities for those who were exposed to the various chemical agents used, these attacks caused massive displacement. The victims remain in waiting for justice from the Iraqi government.”

Dr. Karim concluded, “Halabja has yet to recover from the enormity of the attack and its citizens are owed reparation. I suggest that the federal Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government devote more resources and fully reconstruct the city of Halabja with attention to the widespread medical problems that remain from the chemical attack. Finally, the Baathist regime’s campaign of genocide needs to be fully documented, so that further generations can study these horrific events and the historical record of successive Iraqi governments that brutalized the Kurdish people.”

Washington Kurdish Institute

Welcome for Conservative Friends of Iraq

Here’s a warm and fraternal welcome to the launch this week of Conservative Friends of Iraq.

Labour Friends of Iraq has been suggesting the establishment of such a group for a couple of years and we are very pleased to see that Conservative backbencher Tony Baldry has launched it.

I attended the launch and pledged our co-operation. We have the usual philosophical differences but share the same desire to build better relations between the UK and Iraq, as part of efforts to reach out to Iraqis seeking to build democracy and rebuild their shattered society and economy.

LFIQ has a particular focus on support for the trade union movement as well as good relations with several parties with which we conduct a dialogue. We aim to build relations with other parties and groups in due course.

LFIQ and CFIQ may have different ideologies but we are on the same street. It’s early days but I hope that our groups can jointly host meetings with visiting Iraqi politicians and fact-finding trips to Iraq.

Suddenly, there is an explosion of positive interest in the new Iraq. The Iraqis are increasingly taking things into their own hands and security is improving rapidly with British troops scheduled to leave mid-year and most American troops over a longer period.

However, as we have ourselves seen in Northern Ireland, it doesn’t take many people to murder and maim and the nihilists in Iraq have carried out some ugly atrocities of late but overall security is vastly better.

There is still much bitterness in the often almost domestic debate on the left and on the right concerning the decision to invade Iraq in 2003. However, I suggest, from regular discussions with Iraqis and three visits so far to Iraq, that there is a different view amongst Iraqis about the events of the last 6 years. See the details of the polling in the report below.

The overthrow of Saddam was very welcome but they are angered by the way that security was allowed to slide towards near full-scale civil war, are relieved that the surge and other policies drew the country back from the abyss and now want to get on with their lives.

Given the destruction wreaked by Saddam and then by the insurgency, they are not able easily to do this alone. Iraqi ministers and parties want to see an increase in external investment – though there are differences between them on the terms of this – as well as increased trade.

This message is being heard loud and clear by many countries, including those which opposed the intervention. The recent visits of President Sarkosy and the German Foreign Minister symbolise those countries putting a line under their opposition to the war and embracing the new Iraq. The FT reports the PM saying that “Iraq bore Germany no ill will for opposing the removal by force of Saddam Hussein's government.”

There is high regard for Britain in Iraq although Iraqis are well aware of the historic record of Britain in the last century in Iraq. That record can best be remedied by building relations with Iraq based on mutual respect, dignity, altruism and self-interest. CFIQ members warmed to the quote I gave them from a leading Communist in Iraq who told us that, I paraphrase slightly, “we don’t have a bourgeoisie, can we borrow yours?”

I fear that we are not doing enough, in our own self-interest and that of Iraq, to maximise commercial opportunities in Iraq. Part of the explanation for this is the toxic image of Iraq. I hope that LFIQ and CFIQ can between them bring new Iraqi voices and realities into the public, parliamentary, political and commercial understanding of Iraq.

Gary Kent
Director, Labour Friends of Iraq

Optimism growing in Iraq

Detailed opinion polls
show that Iraqis are much more hopeful about the future and are increasingly pre-occupied with more conventional worries like the economy and jobs.

TUC protest to Iraqi Embassy

His Excellency Mr Abdulmuhaimen Al-Oreibi

Dear Mr Al-Oreibi

Unjust punishment of Kareem Johi Sahan, Petrochemical Workers Union, Basra

The TUC strongly protests the unjust punishment of Kareem Johi Sahan, a trade union leader of the Petrochemical Workers Union of Basra by the State Company for Petrochemical Industries (SCPI) - wholly owned by the Iraqi Government. We call on your government to drop the unjust disciplinary measures against him, and compensate him for any injuries suffered.

As you may be aware, Kareem Johi led a peaceful workers' protest in late January calling for SCPI to meet its pay obligations to workers. Since then he has been harshly interrogated, and now banned from attending his workplace for six months by the management of SCPI. This will cause him serious financial hardship. The TUC protests this serious violation of his basic human and trade union rights.

It continues a worrying trend. Last week the Iraqi Government attempted to seize control of the Iraqi Teachers Union. It is not only Iraqi workers' like Kareem Johi Sahan, who are suffering under the continued government interference in trade union activities: it is Iraq's international reputation and the morale and productivity of its workforce.

I look forward to hearing from you about improvements in Kareem Johi Sahan's situation, and on progress towards implementing an Iraqi labour law preventing such violations.

Yours sincerely

Brendan Barber

General Secretary

The plight of Iraqi widows

LFIQ Vice-President Harry Barnes highlights the plight of Iraqi widows on International Womens Day.

Discussion with the Muslim Youth Association

The Muslim Youth Association, founded in 1965, organised a packed and spirited meeting in North London this weekend on Democracy in Iraq and how it is seen here, with myself as speaker.

I detailed some of my experiences in three visits to Iraq and outlined the role of LFIQ in giving solidarity to the Iraqi trade unions and others, celebrating the marked achievements in recent months – improved security being the key one - whilst being well aware of various problems in the new Iraq.

These include the scourge of corruption, the position of women and the action being threatened against the Iraqi Teachers Union.

Most of them, I think, welcomed the overthrow of Saddam and recognised the sentiment behind the Iraqi Prime Minister’s recent comment to a German paper during the German Foreign Minister’s recent visit to Baghdad. According to the FT, “Mr Maliki said Iraq bore Germany no ill will for opposing the removal by force of Saddam Hussein's government.”

Many were highly critical of the mistakes made after the overthrow of Saddam which gave vent to the insurgents and brought the country to the verge of full-scale civil war.

They welcomed the need to increase and improve British-Iraqi relations and for Britain, on the basis of mutual benefit and respect, to become more involved in providing external investment and trade as Iraq seeks to rebuild its shattered economy after so many wasted years of violence, repression and war. And there is the need for Iraqis seeking to build their country almost from scratch to have access to training in a wide variety of professions including politics and administration.

Such meetings convince me further that the priority is for political activists and journalist to listen to Iraqis and not continue to see Iraq as just a domestic issue.

The importance of this is that once Iraq is seen as a less toxic issue then the obstacles to more people seeing Iraq for themselves and increased business with the country will be reduced.

Iraq and Britain have much in common – a chequered history for sure - and common enemies now such as Al Qaeda.

Many also talked about the problems Iraq has with its many neighbours which, for various reasons, are suspicious of or hostile to the new Iraq. There is only so much that outsiders can do to change this but it’s a question, as Iraqi union leaders told an LFIQ delegation to Iraq back in 2006, of helping them to stand on their own two feet.

A peaceful and democratic Iraq has the capacity not just of improving the lot of its long-suffering people but also of helping to reform the wider Middle East. As we have long argued here, Iraq is the hinge of our times.

Gary Kent

Iraqi Government tries to seize control of teacher union

TUC calling for protests

The TUC has called for protests to be aimed at the Iraqi Embassy in London over attempts by the Iraqi Government to seize control of the Iraqi Teachers Union (ITU).

Urging trade union members to email their protest to the Iraqi Ambassador, the Chair of the TUC Iraq Solidarity Committee and Treasurer of teacher union NASUWT Sue Rogers said:

'The Iraqi Government is acting like Saddam Hussein, treating unions as the property of the state. Iraqi trade unionists and teacher trade unions around the world are outraged at this latest attempt to seize control of our sister union.

'The Government has demanded that the union hand over the keys to its buildings, its membership lists, and is demanding that the existing leaders stand down or face jail sentences of three to seven years despite doing nothing wrong. This is a breach of fundamental human and trade union rights. The Iraqi Government must not be allowed to act in this dictatorial way.'

Sue Rogers is leading a TUC delegation at a workshop in Erbil, Iraq for trade union leaders from all over Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. Yesterday Iraqi trade unions issued a joint statement of solidarity with the ITU, who have angered some in the Iraqi administration by securing substantial pay rises for teachers after a series of strikes and demonstrations last year.

The statement, signed by the leaders of the main Iraqi trade union confederation and the two Kurdish confederations, as well as the Kurdish Teachers Union and the powerful oil unions of Southern Iraq, appears in the Notes to Editors below.

ITU President Jasim al-Lami, who has been invited to the NASUWT conference this April, was yesterday travelling back from the workshop to meet with Ministers in Baghdad. Mr al-Lami was jailed for six years in Abu Ghraib under Saddam Hussein and says he is ready to face jail again to defend his union.

Protests by global trade unions have already been lodged with the International Labour Organisation which last year censured Iraq for its anti-union laws, some of which have been left over from Saddam Hussein. The TUC has also written to Ministers in the UK.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- Erbil Declaration of Solidarity with the Iraqi teachers' union

We, the leaders of the trade union movement throughout Iraq - including Iraqi Kurdistan - meeting with our international colleagues in Erbil, condemn the harassment and threats directed at the Iraqi Teachers' Union and their democratically-elected leaders.

This action is an attack on fundamental human rights and contrary to your Government's obligation to uphold the ILO core conventions, including Convention 87 on Freedom of Association.

We call on the Iraqi Government to respect the right of the Iraqi Teachers' Union to decide its own leadership in accordance with its own rules. We call on you to withdraw your threats to imprison Iraqi Teachers' Union leaders and to desist from your attempts to seize the assets, membership lists and documentation of the Iraqi Teachers' Union.

We reject your attempt to seize the union and express our solidarity with the membership and leadership of the Iraqi Teachers' Union.

Failure to respond positively can only result in a major campaign - across Iraq and around the world - to highlight your Government's appalling action.

We are copying this letter to the President and Prime Minister of Iraq and making it public.

Signed by

General Federation of Iraqi Workers

Kurdistan Workers Union

General Workers and Crafts Syndicate Union of Kurdistan

Kurdistan Journalists Union/Iraq

Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions

Kurdistan Teachers Union/Iraq

Different views on the future shape of Iraq

Jeff Weintraub here discusses the provincial election results and differences on the future of Iraq between its different parties. He concludes that pluralist federalism in Iraq has to be recognized as a serious alternative to both partition and re-centralization, and I think we should all agree that for outsiders to try to force either of those alternatives on the Iraqis (including, let us not forget, that 20% Kurdish minority who are currently thriving in the northern provinces) would be a great mistake.

Hat Tip: Normblog

Guardian writers debate progress in Iraq

Ranj Alaaldin and James Denselow debate progress in Iraq.

Ranj Alaaldin argues that there is still room for improvement; public services, for example, are inadequate. However, the fact that success in Iraq is no longer being defined by the number of attacks the country suffers but by the standard of its services is a natural and welcome development, one that suggests Iraq has defied all the odds and is well on its way to becoming that flourishing, pluralistic state that few expected it to be, and one where the rule of law dictates over the rule of war.

The provincial election results

LFIQ Chair Councillor Clive Furness examines the meaning of the provincial elections

In 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces voters went to the polls at the end of January to choose between some 14,400 candidates for 440 local council seats. Each council had some 25 seats plus one for every 200,000 people in the local population. The three Kurdish provinces and the disputed Kirkuk province did not take part in the poll.

The polls clearly demonstrated enthusiasm, amongst potential politicians and parties if not the electorate as a whole. Of the 400 parties and individuals registered to contest the election, some 300 were not even registered at the time of the 2005 ballot. 4000 of the candidates were women competing for the 25% reserved places.

This was the first election to have international observers at every one of the 712 constituencies being contested.

51% of the electorate (of about 17m) voted and Prime Minister Maliki’s ‘State of Law’ coalition has been the major winner, becoming the dominant force in both Baghdad and Basra.

Two welcome themes seem to have emerged. Firstly, voters have moved away from sectarian identity politics. Only 20 of the 400 or so lists stressed an Islamist character. The nomenclature of the new parties is indicative of the way in which the mood of the nation is changing. Some 71 of the lists described themselves as ‘independent’, a further 69 described themselves as ‘national’ or ‘Iraqi.’ It is likely that some of these lists are simply re-branded Islamist lists, but the fact that they have felt the need to re-brand in such a ways as to remove their Islamist past is indicative of a wider change of attitude in the population as a whole.

This change in the electoral mood does seem to have filtered into the results. The Shi’ite Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), perceived to maintain close ties with Iran did not win a majority in a single province. In the holy city of Najaf they lost control to Maliki’s ‘State of Law’ coalition. Their share of the vote in Baghdad reduced from 55% in 2005 to just over 5%, in Basra it slipped from 49% to under 12%.

Clearly Maliki has gained popularity because of his ability to clamp down on Shi’ite militias and because of the improving security situation generally. But he has also sought to broaden his appeal, from a purely Shi’ite base (Dawa) to create a national and non-sectarian nature to the ‘State of Law’ coalition. His voter base, however remains concentrated in the Shia heartlands of the south and east.

The second theme is the inclusion of Sunni parties in the electoral process. The Sunni al-Hadbaa list, closely tied to ex-Baathists took nearly 50% of the vote in Nineveh province. One of the major beneficiaries in the Anbar province was the Awakening Council, which has built a political base on the back of the work it has done to combat domestic and foreign terrorist groups in Sunni areas of Iraq.

There are perhaps two reasons for the changes in voting patterns. Firstly, the religious parties have not performed particularly well in office and voters want delivery on basic services such as water, energy and transport. Secondly, sectarian violence engendered fear and people retreated to their own religious and ethnic groups for security. With increasing stability people are voting on the basis of their desires rather than from their fears. One can begin to hope that politics rather than violence will increasingly become the norm for the new Iraq.

There were some negative aspects to the elections. In the run up to the elections both politicians and electoral workers have been murdered in terrorist incidents. The only positive element to this was that the number of incidents was mercifully small.

Some people could not find their names on the electoral register, and though it was widely seen as performing well, there is still some work to be done by the Iraqi High Electoral Commission in generating an accurate register.

At 51% the voting was down on previous elections, but nonetheless this compares favorably with developed countries, such as the UK. In part this was because of the ban on the use of vehicles, to stop suicide bombers. The consequence was that some voters had to walk long distances to voting stations.

There have been allegations of vote rigging and some unease about the way in which some parties were able to spend large amounts of money on the campaign.

A full results list can be found at http://www.metimes.com/Security/2009/02/05/iraqi_election_results_are_in/d9a6/

Plea to help Iraqis escape their isolation

This letter appears in the Guardian on 3rd March.

Your reports indicate that Iraq provides both cause to celebrate and cause for concern as, for example, improvements in security coexist with corruption. Likewise, the growth of an independent labour movement is constrained by continuing restrictions from the Saddam era plus new curbs - their funds were frozen by the Iraqi government in 2005. We now understand that the leaders of the very large Iraqi Teachers' Union are being threatened with jail if they don't hand over their assets and membership lists.

Longer term, there is great scope for increasing the Iraqi-British relationship in commercial, cultural and political areas. In three trips in recent years, we found a high regard for Britain in Iraq where English is the second language and whose university and medical training follows ours. After decades of isolation from the rest of the world, Iraqis are most keen to catch up via political training and other exchanges. We appeal to all those who organise such programmes to see how they could include Iraqis.

Dave Anderson MP Lab, Blaydon
Gary Kent director, Labour Friends of Iraq

Owen Tudor of the TUC with worrying news from Iraq

I am in Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan) for a TUC workshop for Iraqi and Kurdish trade unionists, and Iraqi Teachers Union President Jasim al-Lami has reported an astounding attack on his union leadership by the Iraqi Government. The Iraqi Government has proved itself time and time again to be hostile to free trade unionism, and has been censured by the ILO for its restrictive use of Saddam Hussein’s labour laws. Now it has demanded that the leadership of the Iraqi Teachers Union - a well organised union with hundreds of thousands of members, which has taken strike action to secure significant pay increases in recent years - hand over the keys to its headquarters along with membership and other records. The Government wants to force elections on the union (which has already held two leadership elections since 2003), and has told Jasim and his colleagues that they aren’t allowed to stand. If they refuse to do what the Government has told them, they have been threatened with prison terms of 3-5 years, despite having broken no laws. Jasim was jailed in Abu Ghraib for 6 years under Saddam. He says he is willing to go to jail again to defend his union.