Iraq Press Roundup

Some of the causes of violence in Iraq were due to the sectarian policies that Saddam Hussein applied in the past. The former Baath Party government advocated divisive mottoes as part of its operations against other sects and ethnic groups.

Saddam Hussein's Sunni government discriminated against the Kurdish and Shiite people of Iraq and in neighboring countries, al-Ittihad newspaper of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said Wednesday.

The Shiite Arabs in Iraq are raising awareness of the Kurdish call for annexing Kirkuk city to Iraqi Kurdistan. Protests have been carried out in the holy city of Najaf opposing calls for independence for the city of Kirkuk, as it is a mixture of Kurds, Sunnis, Shiites as well as Christians, Yezidis and other minor ethnic and religious groups.

The mottoes of sectarianism represent a political position of the government of Saddam where he used Shiites as fuel for his wars. This policy stoked hatred among the people of Iraq; however, it was a crime punished by national and international law.

Recently, a group of people emerged from the Shiite majority in Najaf calling for opposition to Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution. Article 140 gives the people of Kirkuk the right to decide if they want to join Iraqi Kurdistan or gain independence.

The mottoes of sectarianism were raised in Najaf in a move aimed at "solving" the problem of Kirkuk. As much as it is important to find a resolution to the dispute, it is better to treat the issue through the constitution, the paper said.

The urge to escalate the situation could have a negative impact on the relationship with other sects and ethnic groups. Iraqi people are in a position now to have good relationship with all groups in order to heal the wounds of the past.

The relationship between the Kurds and the Shiites in Najaf is a positive one and built on strong foundations. The Shiites and the Kurds supported each other in their fight against the dictatorship of Saddam. Thus, the Iraqi authority gave no chance for this propaganda to be implemented.

The "fuel" for the wars of Saddam, the Shiites, must remember that all the mass graves in Iraq have not all been found. The Arab Shiites must also remember their best alliance, the Kurds, and the black days they faced.

On the other hand, other newspapers dealt with the issue of the fascist Baath Party in a slightly different way, taking into consideration that it existed not only in Iraq, but also in countries like Syria.

Similar to the policy of destruction and dictatorship the Baath Party employed in Iraq, people in Syria face the same destiny, the daily al-Bayyna newspaper of the Iraqi Hezbollah said Wednesday.

The Baath Party is the same wherever it exists

Policy of dictatorship is drained from the bloody ideology of the Baath Party that has no reference to freedom in its dictionary. This policy was applied in Iraq as it is applied in Syria now.

People of the Arab countries are lucky they have no Baath Party presence. However, some Iraqi politicians try to turn their eyes to the negative role the Syrian government is playing against the freedom of the Iraqi people.

Bashar Assad played a positive role when he let Iraqis reside in Syria during Saddam's times. This is taken as an excuse the Iraqi politicians use to let Syria interfere with Iraq.

Arab countries' support for the Iraqi opposition was a policy for their political agendas. Those who are not keen to give the people of their country freedom are the least to help others to obtain their freedoms.

On the other side, policies of governments in general were an issue discussed in other Iraqi papers. The London-based Azzaman newspaper, for example, said that the policy in Iraq is the policy of those who are in power at a specific time, yet trying to determine what is honest and what is a lie is unrealistic.

Honesty and lying in the policy of Iraq

Iraq, similar to that of Middle East or Third World countries, depends in its existence on hiding truths and realities. Policies in that part of the world cause a personal loss of dignity in others in addition to being slanted toward personal interests.

In Third World countries, there are many governments aiming to satisfy the international community more than meeting their commitment toward their people. Iraq is one of these countries. Whereas they have to commit to honesty and loyalty toward the people in order to build a strong foreign policy, members of the government tend to satisfy the international world instead.

As he betrayed and violated the rights of the Iraqi people, Saddam Hussein imagined he could imply the same policy in Iran. His wrong policy resulted in eight years of war whose costs will be paid by the Iraqi people for many years to come.

Saddam thought he could violate international policy and law the same way he violated the rights of the Iraqi people. Any confrontation between Iraqis and Iranians now or in the future would come as a result of the policy Saddam followed in the past.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is taking the same road. At the same time he stumbled to solve the issue of Kirkuk, he is still unclear on the steps needed to apply the federal democratic system.

The current Iraqi government is facing infighting over power. A small number of unqualified "officials" from the Iraqi authority are taking fateful, but random, decisions that could have a big impact on the future of Iraq.