Iraq Press Roundup

Iraqi Hezbollah's Al Bayyna Newspaper Thursday carried an editorial with the headline, "Cleansing of Iraqi scientific intellectuals: Who benefits and who loses?"

It said over the past few years, Iraqis witnessed the cleansing of a large number of Iraqi doctors, professors and others whose goal was to distribute knowledge to Iraqi society. The editorial said this cleansing is not rare in a country like Iraq, which has been ruled by many oppressors and ignorants.

"Those who read the history of Iraq find out that many of the scientific and religious figures were killed by the hands of the oppressors due to the threats these figures could represent," it said.

It added that oppressors see in intellectuals an obstacle against achieving their goals.

The paper said the greatest character known in humanity after Prophet Mohammed, Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib, the prophet's cousin, was killed by his own nation.

"Alternation of oppressors continued until Saddam Hussein came to power starting his role by assassinating an unparalleled figure in the history of Iraq, Mohhamed Baqi al-Sadr, followed by assassinations of many religious figures. Iraqis still despair their loss," it said.

It said that by the end of that dark era, Iraqis hoped for good, but now the remaining intellectuals and scientists have begun facing cleansing.

Several thousands of Iraqi intellectuals and midlevel administrators have been assassinated or kidnapped and killed since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Hundreds others have fled the country and the rest are in great danger, it said.

"Today's enemy is chaos and ignorance represented by militias that controls the streets instead of law of state," the paper said. "These militias and terrorist groups target those who bring knowledge and education to Iraqis."

It said what makes these militias operate is their ability to infiltrate the state institutions.

The Basra-based paper concluded that the government must shut down these criminal groups and fulfill the public trust.

Al Sabah newspaper highlighted the "concept of chaos" that Iraqis confront.

In an editorial with the headline "The disease of dictatorships," it said Iraq and Iraqis have paid and still pay the price of others' mistakes.

It said the "Iraqi identity," which is as much an illness as it is a cure, still challenges the "waves of the agitated," a reference to the violence.

"What is the cause of this illness? Is it the rulers or the people who are being ruled?" the editorial asked.

The paper said that considering there is no real reconciliation between the citizens and their nation, one should not forget that nations manufacture their dictatorships, a phenomenon seen in today's Iraq.

"The new democratic experiment in Iraq is in great danger being surrounded by countries ruled by dictatorships."

"These dictatorships," the paper said, "resist Iraqis in order not to get infected by democracy."

It said that through the crises Iraqis confront, many politicians loyal to dictatorships complicate the situation by suspending the constitution or overthrowing the law.

The paper said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is the one to blame if a delay or failure in the political process takes place. It said the experiment of democracy is a newborn process and that because Arabs, including the Iraqi people, like to create dictators, Maliki was encouraged to dominate decisions and overthrow laws of the constitution.

"Individuals with personal interests advise the Iraqi prime minister to listen to himself and people from his party only, which is a natural behavior for people who lived under the rule of oppressors," it added.

Al Sabah concluded that in order to build the project of the new state of Iraq, there is a need to educate the public, otherwise new doors would be open for another dictator.