Press Release
07 April 2004
Lynch Mobs Cannot Stop the Pace of Democracy In Iraq
It is almost a year since the evil dictator was toppled, and while we Iraqis do not claim that we are safely and
irrevocably on a course to liberal democracy, the honest and rather remarkable truth is that we have made
enormous strides in that direction. The atrocities in Fallujah's streets were acts of rage, not strength.
It is ongoing struggle between human dignity and barbarism. The heart of darkness is part of the case for
regime change in Iraq. A few more years of Saddam, or perhaps his charming sons Uday and Qusay, and whole
of Iraq would have looked like Fallujah. The Baathists, by playing off tribe against tribe, Arabs against
Kurds and Sunni against Shitte, were preparing the conditions for a Hobbesian state of affairs. Their
looting and beggaring of the state and the society - something which we now possess even more painfully
exact information - was having the same effect. Saddam broke and maimed and traumatized Iraq and its people.
The evil regime eliminated intellectual and professional classes.
It's becoming more and plainer that the moral high ground is held by those who concluded, from the events of
1991, that it was a mistake to leave Saddam in power after his eviction from Kuwait. However, though that
regime-change might have been, it would have spared the lives of countless Iraqis and begun the process of
nation building with 12 years' advantage.
The recent riots in Baghdad, Basra, Kerbala and Njafa were orchestrated by a radical Shiite cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr - a fanatic that represents a minority voices only. Mr Sadr has exploited the frustration felt by
younger, often unemployed Iraqis in order to position himself as a credible figure among Shia Muslims before
the transfer of power on June 30. Last April Abudel Majid al-Khoei, a more senior and more moderate Shia cleric,
was hacked to death by a mob, Mr Sadr and his henchmen have now been charged in the cleric's slaying. Reports
suggest that his group has been infiltrated by Saddam's diehards and financially supported by some Iranian
circles such as Ayatollah Al Hairy.
The re-emergence of Mr al-Sadr militias is a reminder of the coalition's failure to disarm unlawful holding
of rams, which has led to both intimidation and murderous vendettas. Those not authorized to hold weapons
must be deprived of them. Mr Sadr's thuggish and violent confrontation led to imposition of strict and reactionary
self- rule on Iraqi women and people's life style choices, which was met with contempt and condemnation by the
vast majority of the Iraqi community in Britain.
What's more, there are hopeful signs that Iraqis of different religious, ethnic, and political persuasions
can work together. This is far cry from predictions made before the war by many, both here and in Europe,
that a liberated Iraq would fracture into feuding clans and unleash a bloodbath. Fallujah is a reminder,
not just of what Saddamism looks like, or of what the future might look like if we fail, but of what the
future held before the coalition took a hand. What we need now is support towards peace, democracy and
the respect for human rights.
Jabbar Hassan
Director
Note:iA was established in 1987, it is a major Iraqi organization in Britain. Every year
iA deals with more than 10,000 Iraqi cases in Britain. If you would like to support our
work please contact 020 8741 5491.
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