Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Democracy and the rule of law: the Iraqi alternative to US occupation

Dave Wearing | 06.09.2005 17:11 | Anti-militarism | Repression | Social Struggles | World

The Iraqi National Foundation Conference is an independent Iraqi initiative for a democratic and unified Iraq. The anti-war movement should see building substantive links with this group as an urgent and immediate priority.

Whatever opinion they hold of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, most people in the UK and the US at least claim to want to see that country governed by democracy and the rule of law, and free from sectarian and ethnic division. To judge the value of those claims, witness the sheer indifference politicians and the media in those two countries have shown to an independent Iraqi initiative created to achieve those very goals: the Iraqi National Foundation Conference.

The INFC describes itself as an umbrella group "composed of academics, professionals, community leaders, religious scholars and veteran moderate Arab-nationalist politicians. It straddles sectarian and ethnic divides, and attempts to formulate the widest platform possible". In the face of growing societal division, it has revived inter-communal prayers, the hallmark of the 1920 revolution against British colonial rule. Membership is open to anyone who will subscribe to its minimum points of unity: withdrawal of the occupying forces troops and opposition to any division of Iraq on an ethnic or sectarian basis. The INFC does not enjoy the publicity enjoyed by the Indian Congress Party before independence, or the African National Congress during apartheid. But when people who oppose the occupation are asked what they would favour instead, the INFC may well provide some of the answers. Certainly the anti-war movement in the US and the UK should see building substantive links with the group as an urgent and immediate priority.

Two high-level representatives of the INFC - Media Coordinator, Saad Jawad and General Secretary, Sheikh Jawad Al Khalisi - visited the UK this week. On Wednesday 5 September they spoke to a group of anti-war activists about the desperate situation in Iraq, and the solutions that their group was proposing. Since the western political classes have conducted a long debate over the past few years on what is best for the future of Iraq without substantially involving any actual Iraqis in those discussions, the rest of this article will simply relate the words of the INFC representatives at the London meeting.

Saad Jawad said that the occupation was effecting the "demolition" of Iraq. He said that before the war, western journalists had asked him why he thought the US wanted to invade. He would offer two reasons: oil and enhancing Israel's security. The journalists would laugh and say that there was a lot more to it than that, for example democracy, human rights and so forth, which gave Saad Jawad his turn to laugh. Now, he feels that the position they took at the time has been demonstrated to be the more accurate.

Saad Jawad said that the US has consistently interfered in the workings of the new government. It stood in the way of that government's formation for three months after the election, and then gave it just three months to draft a permanent constitution under its supervision. In addition, we have heard Hilary Clinton saying that Ibrahim al-Jaafari can not be accepted as Prime Minister and George Bush saying that there will be no Islamic state in Iraq, so one can see clearly that any "democratic" choices that Iraqis make are assessed strictly in terms of what is acceptable to Washington.

Saad Jawad also alleged that oil exports from Iraq are not being recorded, that the counters at oil drilling stations are turned off, and that in effect, the country's natural resources are being plundered.

Sheikh Jawad Al Khalisi began by saying that the western media ought to be covering this independent project for Iraq's future. For him, the phrase "the new Iraq" is a misnomer. Freedom, democracy and human rights do not exist in this "new Iraq". Even Iraq's new government understands that it is the occupier that pulls the strings. The occupation works by division, along sectarian and ethnic lines, for example through the Transitional Administrative Law imposed by the US, or through the effects of US military actions. Since divisions preclude a unified Iraqi response to occupation, one can say that there is essentially no Iraqi state or government in existence. Furthermore, the new constitution does not reflect the interests of Iraqis. It is devised to entrench and exacerbate division, and as such could well pave the way to civil war. The referendum on the constitution is not internationally organised or monitored, and thus is illegitimate. It is also illegitimate because it comes as the result of the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq.

Iraq is without democracy and human rights. But it is also without even the most fundamental necessities required for a basic standard of life to exist; things Iraqis once took for granted, such as sanitation and security. To overcome the present situation Iraq must return to legality; a legality arising from the will of Iraqis. The UN has recognised this, but the US does not. There are great dangers in continuing with the occupation because of the divisions it imposes on Iraq: dangers to the country, and dangers to the wider region. The INFC's solution is an independent, pan-Iraqi plan for the nation's future, in accordance with international law and under UN auspices.

The Sheikh told the group a story that might offer some hope for the future, as talk of civil war continues to grow. Last week, several hundred Shia pilgrims in Baghdad were killed in a stampede sparked by rumours of a suicide bomber in their midst. The worst of the carnage occurred on a bridge over the river Tigris between Sunni and Shia districts. A railing broke and many people fell into the river and drowned. An Iraqi champion swimmer - a Sunni - was on the scene and managed to save six people who had fallen from the bridge. He then saw a seventh, a Shia woman, but was unable to save her, and they drowned together. This, the Sheikh said, was already becoming a symbol for Iraqis, who want societal divisions to be overcome at this critical and violent time. Many people from Falluja gave blood to help the victims of the stampede, so hope for enduring Iraqi unity can be drawn from this story.

The INFC representatives were asked why the constitution could not be accepted as it is and the principle of legal precedent used to build upon it. Saad Jawad's response was twofold. First, why should we Iraqis, who gave the very concept of written laws to the world, adopt a constitution that was essentially written for us by the US? To impress them? To show that we are civilised? Secondly, is it advisable for us to use legal precedent to build on a foundation, the current draft constitution, that is itself fundamentally flawed? Sheikh Jawad Al Khalisi underlined this point. He said that as he understood it, a precedent is a legal step taken in the absence of a specific law. But the constitution is based upon illegality, and sound legal precedents cannot be made upon such a basis. The UN Secretary General has said that the invasion of Iraq was illegal. The legality of the war has been questioned by a great many international lawyers, many of them British. The constitution is not only based on illegality, but flows from political power, and is designed to serve those ends.

The INFC representatives were asked what steps had been taken to work with the UN. Sheikh Jawad Al Khalisi said that the INFC has been in contact with the United Nations since June 2004, before the so-called "transfer of sovereignty" from the occupiers to the interim Iraqi government. At the time, the INFC put it to the UN that it should be the UN that controls and administers the transitional process. Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN representative in charge of drawing together the interim administration at the time, agreed with the INFC proposals, but he was removed from the scene and the US instead dictated the course of events. Iyad Allawi was imposed as interim Prime Minister by the US, against Brahimi's wishes. Before the January 2005 elections, the INFC told the UN that, in order for it to participate, the elections should be held within the context of an international legal framework and under international observation. Failure to meet these basic conditions made the elections illegitimate, and this applies to the forthcoming constitutional referendum and the subsequent parliamentary elections as well.

Sheikh Jawad Al Khalisi said that the INFC welcomes the support of those in the UK who oppose the war and occupation. He also welcomed the growing anti-war sentiment in the United States, as people there are awaken to the reality of the situation in Iraq. He said that the INFC has handed to the US detailed, formal requests for the withdrawal of its armed forces. Any negotiations or discussion between the US and the INFC must be accompanied by a strict timetable for ending the occupation.

When asked what we in the UK could do to help, Saad Jawad asked that people continue to bring pressure to bear on the UK government, particularly regarding the illegality of the war. A large anti-war demonstration in Central London has been planned for 24 September 2004 and an international peace conference, bringing together US, British and Iraqi groups, will be held at the end of the year. Saad Jawad said that he and the Sheikh would be happy to attend the peace conference, "if we survive".

Dave Wearing
- e-mail: diarist at democratsdiary dot co dot uk
- Homepage: http://www.democratsdiary.co.uk

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech