Khalid Issa Taha

Lawyers without Borders asks why the Iraqi government want to change the status of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organisation (MEK or MKO)?

 

The MKO established a base in Iraq under the auspices of Baath party rule; this process took place in accordance with the laws of the land at that time.  The MKO’s opposition to the theocratic government in Tehran meant that they relied for their survival on having a refuge outside Iran; as such they were eligible for political asylum and fulfilled international criteria for gaining this status. 

 

Shortly after US troops entered Iraq the MKO took the following steps to co-operate with the interim government:

 

1)     They provided a breakdown of the numbers of their supporters and the weapons in their possession in Camp Ashraf, their base to the north of Baghdad. 

2)     The MKO leadership decided to surrender all their heavy military equipment to the commander of the US army in northern Iraq. 

3)     An announcement was made, declaring the MKO’s neutrality and principle of non-interference in Iraq’s internal affairs.

 

These moves were welcomed by Jalal Talabani and Mustafa Barzani, leaders of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the two major political forces in the northern, Kurdish regions. 

 

Surely recent statements declaring the MKO persona non grata in Iraq reflect a capitulation to Iranian pressure?  It is distasteful to see Iraq adopting such a subservient attitude to its neighbour and reneging on traditional Iraqi standards of hospitality towards those seeking refuge from persecution. 

 

The demand to expel the MKO is also constitutionally unsound as a formal resolution was required to supersede and modify the legal conditions under which the MKO was originally given sanctuary in Iraq.  The only player to gain from any move to expel the MKO will be Iran.

 

Britain has now removed the MKO from its list of terrorist organisations, endorsing the moderate and nuanced line take by Talabani and Barzani.  It is essential that all Iraqis, Arab and Kurd, understand the important legal principles involved in this case.  Sound law is our best defence against rash decisions and ambitious neighbours.

 

London 25.05.2008

Obama stands out amongst American presidential candidates because of his background and experiences.  He seems to have a strong consciousness of the world outside America; he understands that the American way does not have to prevail everywhere for the world to be a secure and prosperous place.

 

The close fought battle between Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination saw him gain stature as a politician and human being.  His finest moment was perhaps the speech in which he addressed supposedly anti-American comments made by the pastor of the church he had attended for many years.  In this performance Obama challenged all Americans to acknowledge the racism which has so often distorted and damaged their history and society.

 

I was very impressed by Obama’s recent visit to Iraq and his decision to meet only the country’s President and Prime Minister.  This programme meant that he was not drawn into meeting representatives from organisations that run their own militias. These militias behave in a violent and sectarian manner and do not deserve any endorsement from American presidential candidates. 

 

It was also a wise move for Obama to visit Ramadi in Al-Anbar province.  Al-Anbar is part of Iraq’s Sunni heartland, the region where the American invasion was most bitterly resented.  The recent formation of an army in this area with a mandate to combat extremists from Al-Qaida or any other organisation is a positive development, backed by the Iraqi government and financial assistance from America.  If Iraq is to survive we need leaders like Obama who seem capable of discerning and encouraging grassroots projects which involve the Iraqi people.  This would make a pleasant change from the policy of throwing large amounts of money at self-selected, unaccountable ‘leaders’.

 

I believe Obama has strong diplomatic instincts and an acute intelligence.  This combination really could transform US/Iraqi relations, allowing for mutual respect and co-operation between the two countries.  If America ceases pandering to sectarian and religious interests in Iraq there will be a chance for the country to create a political culture that is no longer obsessed with narrow questions of identity and privilege.

 

It will be a great day when America finally accepts that the Iraqi people have the right to determine their own future.  I and thousands of other Iraqis look forward to this day and pray for its speedy arrival. 

 

London 29.07.2008

Let me start by saying that the mixing of religion and politics has many pitfalls.  Two examples, the Spanish Inquisition and the medieval European Crusades in the Middle East serve to illustrate my point.  Victims of the Crusading mentality included not only Muslims but non-western Christians, most notoriously in 1204 when the Fourth Crusade turned into an all-out attack on Byzantium.

 

In more recent times Ayatollah Khomeini’s theory of the Velayat-i Faqih, or governance by the most pious and qualified religious jurist has proved to be anti-democratic and lacking in respect for human dignity and intelligence.  The Iraqi secular left were disappointed by the results of the Islamic revolution in Iran, especially as it became more conservative and reliant on glib slogans against the US and Israel.  The Iranian desire to export the Islamic revolution has had particularly severe and unsettling effects on Iraq.  Sadly, the Shi’ism which many Iranian clerics espouse rests on destructive elements of sectarianism and racism.

 

Anti-Arab aspects of Iranian Shi’ism only strengthened Saddam’s ability to present himself as the saviour of a united Arab Iraqi nation.  Conflict between Qum and Najaf is always perilous for the Iraqi people.  The Iranian regime must know that many Iraqis, Sunni and Shiite, are suspicious of Iranian regional ambitions; it is worth remembering that 90% of the Iraqi soldiers who fought against Iran for eight years were Shiites.

 

We need to move away from sectarian attitudes towards recognition of a shared Islamic culture and history.  Even today we can hear, for example, people expressing reservations about Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani’s allegiance to Iraq, because of his Iranian roots.  This attempt to divide people into opposing ethnic camps is ludicrous when we can see before us the fruits of Arab-Iranian cultural and political interaction.  Persian physicians and philosophers such as Al-Razi and Ibn Sina produced their greatest work as a result of a cultural renaissance which saw classical Persian scholarship invigorated by the Arabic language and Islamic faith.

 

However, given the current political upheaval in Iraq, it is understandable that some people have misgivings about the extent of Iranian influence.  They fear that parties such as the Dawa and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), which were based in Iran during the Saddam era, have yet to formulate an independent programme which places Iraq’s interests first.

 

But Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani has proven his allegiance to Iraq many times over, most notably when he insisted on the need for general elections in order to select those who would be responsible for drafting Iraq’s new Constitution.  Despite opposition from Paul Bremer, who wanted to prolong direct US control whilst constitutional matters were debated, al-Sistani continued to insist that the Iraqi people be allowed to speak out.

 

The Iraqi people wish al-Sistani to maintain his critical approach to the US occupation and insistence on respect for the Iraqi people.  We need him to speak out against sectarianism and the sort of radical influence that leads to attacks on mosques and the kidnapping and execution of citizens who are simply trying to survive from day to day.

 

Sunnis and Shiites have live alongside each other for centuries and we must live again in the same spirit of co-operation and solidarity.  Iraq is a mosaic of civilisations, religions and sects but it has one destiny which cannot be destroyed, even by war and occupation. 

 

Unfortunately, much of the legislation passed during the occupation is flawed and illegitimate.  The terms of the Fourth Geneva Convention which covers protection of civilians during war have been violated.  Now it is vital that those responsible for abuses during the occupation are brought to justice; the occupation period must not be seen as a hiatus in which savage, illegal behaviour is excused, owing to ‘special circumstances’.

 

If the Americans and Iranians want peaceful, equal relations with Iraq they must recognise and respect the country’s diversity and unique nature.  Sectarianism must not be favoured over democracy and power sharing.  Of course, this will not be an easy route to follow and there will be many difficult disputes, as can be seen in the case of Article 140 of the Constitution.  The demand of Article 140 for the reversal of Baathist policies of population expulsion and ethnic cleansing is just but it will need careful implementation and monitoring if new resentments and inequalities are to be avoided.  Above all, we need to remember that conflict between Iraqis only favours those who wish to control and exploit us.

 

London 18.05.2008

Iraqi women are suffering in the midst of occupation, a burden which often weighs more heavily on them than on men.  Iraqi women have, over the ages, risen to highly respected positions in society in many fields. They have proved their mettle, whether in charitable work or in the arts where we can see the status of women like the famous poet, Atakia al-Khazraji. 

 

In the modern era women such as Fawzia Shendi, Zakia Khalifa and the late Aida Usseiran, political activist for five decades, demonstrated the calibre of Iraqi women at an international level. In February 1963, when Saddam Hussein was still a young man, a group of leftists fled Baath Party oppression and settled in Beirut.  The Usseiran house in the Wazzai district overlooking the sea served as both home and campaign headquarters for this group.  Aida Usseiran, with her extensive knowledge of leftist political thought and history created a broad alliance of those opposed to the fascist Baath regime in Baghdad.  She gave these exiled dissidents unstinting support, often providing them with food and shelter.  Aida’s intellectual and spiritual generosity reflected the strength of her heart and mind.

 

When we left Iraq Saddam was a soldier, protecting Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr.  Still young herself Aida fled her homeland, determined to hold on to her principles and her hopes for democracy.  I have many happy memories of meetings held at the Liberal Democrats headquarters; Aida never wavered in her opinions and on several occasions clashed with Dr Adnan Pachachi, ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs in the monarchical regime, on the question of the embargo imposed on Iraq.  She could not believe that placing a country under siege was likely to bring about political, social or economic liberation for its people. 

 

I am proud to say that I trained and coached Baz, Aida’s husband.  We were young, optimistic and committed to the struggle of Iraqi citizens against dictatorial government.  Aida was a woman of rare distinction, possessed of a courage that I have rarely seen in men.  When, here in London, I heard of her death I remember looking at the rain pouring from the sky and feeling that it reflected my pain.  I said ‘Aida cannot die; she still lives in the memory of all Iraqis’.  Her spirit and struggle will act as an inspiration to future generations.

 

I remember Aida challenging the Iraqi Interior Minister, as reported on BBC 4, regarding the rape of Iraqi women in prison.  She told him he was responsible for the abuse these women had endured and pointed out that the ministry must have been aware that conditions in Iraqi prisons were both brutal and insecure. Despite an intimidating atmosphere in which efforts were made to portray her as a ‘terrorist sympathiser’ Aida continued bravely to question the Minister, revealing as she did so the damage being caused to Iraq by sectarianism and the collusion of the Ministry with certain militias such as the Mahdi army. 

 

Aida is a symbol of pride for everyone who loves Iraq.  God have mercy on Iraqi expatriate citizen Aida Tawfiq Usseiran, who never ceased to fight for her country.  God have mercy on all of our martyrs and the victims of occupation.  We hope for the ideal of citizenship exemplified by Aida to become a living reality, a new dawn for Iraq. 

 

London 01.07.2008

The Iraqi people cannot live under occupation.  Contemporary history is in many ways a roll-call of peoples who fought for freedom and independence, even at the expense of much suffering, as in Algeria in the 1950s and ‘60s and Iraq today.

 

People’s hatred of occupation must be understood; this is not purely an Iraqi sentiment or ‘problem’, it is natural human responses to seeing others take possession of your homeland.  Because of these natural sentiments many people can only see al-Maliki’s government as a tool which the Americans will use to monopolise Iraq’s oil wealth. 

 

Occupation also tends to militarise the political sphere; at best civil society groups such as trade unions and lawyers’ associations are ignored and by-passed, at worst they are actively repressed and persecuted.  All power resides in a central government/army nexus that is undemocratic and unaccountable. 

 

As resistance becomes routine throughout Iraq it will establish its own society and networks, rather like a highly organised ant colony.  In the days when I kept bees as a hobby I observed how whole cities of ants would take up residence near the hives, creating supply lines and even working out strategies like encircling or burrowing beneath the hives.  The resistance is following a similar pattern, driven by resentment of those they see as traitors who have sold their land and freedom to invaders.

 

Even though Baath power has been overthrown Iraq has yet to experience truly legitimate government.  Until there is mutual agreement between Iraqis and Americans regarding the end of occupation leaders like Iyad Allawi and Nuri al-Maliki will struggle to gain the people’s wholehearted support. 

 

Occupation breeds resentment not respect, the ants continue to search for the honey that eludes them.

 

London 27.05.2008