No Shiite,.. No Sunni,… Ours is human identity
An exclusive interview with Samir Adil the President of the Iraq
Freedom Congress.
KOMONIST: Thank you for your time. On the third anniversary of the
invasion and occupation, Iraq is further slipping into chaos and
lawlessness. The threat of a full scale civil war is looming. What is
going on?
Samir Adil: the occupation has destroyed everything in Iraq. For
almost three years we have been witnessing the absence of the state,
social services, security, an unemployment that is expanding, and
corruption in almost every official level. The Iraqi society today is
more like a jungle where gangs of thieves, thugs, sectarian and ethnic
groups are killing and slaughtering people in the daylight. What we
are witnessing today of ethnic and sectarian violence is a consequence
of the occupation. You have witnessed how blowing up the Shiite shrine
erupted into a sectarian war leaving (as opposed to the announced
figure) more than 2000 people dead. If you ask me whether the
political groups in power have done anything to avert this war, I
would say these groups are the main culprits. The ethnic and sectarian
division in Iraq was legitimised on the eve of the occupation at the
conference held in London and it was officially recognised just after
the occupation began, by the Governing Council, Interim Government and
the fiasco of the elections and the Constitution. We have mentioned
over and over again that there is an ongoing undeclared sectarian
violence and there are hundreds of crimes were committed against
civilians in which the ethnic and religious identity is the main
target. This has been going on even prior to the recent incident of
the shrine. The political groups in power attempted to take advantage
of the shrine incident to their own best interest, and every one of
them began to call for calm while their armed militias conduct a daily
carnage. Many people have been killed because their names indicated
association with a certain sect. Actually a new political phase has
just begun.
Having mentioned these, however these are not the only incidents that
take place. The crimes committed by the occupying troops and their
policy are another part of the story. The major issue facing the Iraqi
society is the occupation. I have my own view on this issue and have
mentioned it often times in several TV and newspaper interviews. I
have said that the political Islam, in its fight to defeat the US
project, is trying to implement the strategy of chaos. The Political
Islam is pursuing its objectives through inciting a sectarian war by
attacking the workplaces of the workers who are considered to be
Shiite, bombing markets, attacking mosques and churches and kidnapping
and killing people. All these are examples of how the political Islam
pursues its goals. Furthermore the political Islam (both Shiite and
Sunni) is pursuing similar interests in this strategy. The Shiite
Islam who is supported by Iran attempts to drown US in the Iraqi
quagmire as the analysts describe. The Sunni Islam represented by
Zarqawi on the other hand has the same interest justifying its
violence by stating that it is fighting the occupation and the Fatwa
issued by him six months ago was nothing but part of this strategy.
In addition the US troops are committing tens of crimes on a daily
bases. They arrest people arbitrarily and abuse and torture detainees.
They are engaged in “scorch earth” policy and much more…
Today the Iraqi society endures two major issues, the occupation and
the resulted ethnic-sectarian conflict. Ending the occupation and
forming a non-ethnic and non-religious state is the only way to stop
the society from sliding down to the abyss.
KOMONIST: How deep are the religious, ethnic and tribal divisions
in Iraq? Are these so- called ifferences so antagonistic that people
have to kill each other for them?
Samir Adil: The sectarian conflict had no base in the Iraqi society.
The sectarian gangs attempt to create and incite the hatred to gain
more power and wealth and we have to realise that dividing the society
based on sects and ethnicity was first legitimised after the
occupation through the scenarios I have mentioned earlier. In general
the Iraqi society rejects all kinds of sectarian divisions and many
incidents are present to further proof my point. For the past three
years the sectarian mobs spared no efforts to instigate a civil war.
However they failed miserably and the recent upsurge in sectarian
violence was directly fuelled by Sadir and Badir militias and the
Interior Ministry. However the ordinary people did not get involved in
this tragedy. Another example was the stampede on the Kadhimya Bridge
where more than a 1000 people were killed, all of them were Shiite. We
saw tens of young men from the Sunni community rushing to save those
who had fallen off the bridge and offered their support. Those young
men did not think of the sectarian background when were rushing to
help, however their act caused embarrassment to the sectarian groups
such as Islamic Supreme Council and the Sadir Group who were forced to
call for the unity between Shiite and Sunnis. What I mentioned is
fact. Though I cannot guarantee that the sectarian conflict will not
deepen in the people mind, making them pull guns against each other.
There are enough sectarian gangs (both Shiite and Sunni) prepared to
commit horrible crimes to fuel a sectarian war. Several examples are
available throughout the history showing how the ethnic and sectarian
mobs were successful in instigating wars with devastating consequences
in societies such as Lebanon, Rwanda and Kosovo.
KOMONIST:- What are the ordinary people think about all these? What
is main concern of the people in Iraq now?
Samir Adil: A climate of the dismay and horror is dominates the
society. Everyone is in a state of emergency and the resentment is
widespread. Also the wariness is growing among the people who have
become afraid and suspicious of each other as a result of the hatred
that is imposed over the society. We have issued a statement titled
“No Shiite… No Sunni… ours is the human identity” since then we have
receiving reports that people in districts and cities are making
copies of it and distribute it widely. It actually reveals a fact that
the people realise and reject the current situation.
Therefore the second part of your question is already answered which
indicates the fact that the people are completely concerned about
their security. The Iraqi individual whether politician or not is a
potential target of the suicide bombers, road side explosions and
assassination etc…
KOMONIST: What role the IFC can and is playing at these difficult
times? What are the IFC’s immediate
priorities?
Samir Adil: As you mentioned the situation is very difficult, however
to tackle it we need a group of people who believe that changing the
political equations and stopping the bloodshed is not an impossible
task. And I believe that such people exist here and that is how the
IFC was formed. Immediately after the current wave of sectarian
killings, we held a press conference attended by many local and global
media and issued two statements and distributed widely. Also we
organised a number of gatherings in different districts and
neighbourhoods to expose the real motives behind the recent conflict.
The IFC actions were very well received, encouraging numerous people
to join its ranks. Moreover in one of Baghdad’s districts (Zafaranya)
we were able to mobilise the residents to form their own squads to
provide secure for their neighbourhood. The priority for us is to
present a model of society where security is maintained and people
live without fear and worries. I believe this is the main objective of
our work today. The Zafaranya model of self protected neighbourhoods
headed by the IFC has been received with great enthusiasm. Many
volunteers have stepped forward and offered their services. Residents
of other districts and neighbourhoods have asked to set up similar
initiatives.
The human being by nature tends to protect itself to survive; with the
existence of IFC we can make use of this human instinct positively to
reinstate and restore the human identity that has been disfigured by
occupation, political Islamic gangs and ethnic groups. On the other
hand though, the absence of the IFC can be exploited by those mobs to
inflame the sectarian war and transform the issue into a full scale
ethnic cleansing.
KOMONIST: What message do you have for progressive people outside
Iraq? How can we help?
Samir Adil: Iraq has been transformed into a global battle field.
There is a conflict between two poles, United States who leads the
West and the political Islam who is supported by Iran, Saudi Arabia
and the Islamic mafia around the world. The IFC has put the end of
occupation and political Islam influence on its agenda. Since the IFC
is part of the global libertarian and humanitarian front, therefore
ending the agony in Iraq cannot be achieved without the support and
backing of this front. What happens in Iraq is an extension of the
September 11 in US and July 7 in London. Thousands of innocent people
have died in these vicious acts and as a result of this conflict,
therefore defeating both poles means a victory for the human beings
around the globe.
The IFC has made great strides in advancing its international appeal.
The recent international Conference held in Japan in January 2006
promoted it into an International entity. Several delegations from
different counties attended this big event. Delegations from “United
for Peace and Justice” from US ( the largest Allies against the war in
US with a membership of 1500 organisation), the Socialist party in
Chicago, and delegations from South Korea, Philippines, and Indonesia
attend this conference.
The conference adopted two important resolutions, voted for
unanimously. The first one is to support the IFC and its struggle by
all means and establish its branches all over the world. The
resolution also called for strengthening the anti war movement on the
global level; commemorating the anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq
and participation in all anti-war events to strengthen the IFC. The
second resolution was to establish a satellite TV station to promote
IFC’s policies. the conference was a huge step forward to empowering
the libertarian movement in Iraq that fights against occupation,
terrorism, ethnic and sectarian conflict and building a society where
wars and terrorism do not exist. Financial and moral support will
empower this movement and will be well received in Iraq. Such supports
will strengthen the beliefs of the leaders of the movement and will
encourage and boost the trust of people that they are not alone in
fighting terrorism and occupation. The global dimension to our
movement will unite the anti-war movement in Iraq by giving it a
unique and unified agenda and I mean the movement led IFC. We
appreciate every achievement abroad and will be reflected in Iraq and
vice versa. The humanity expects us to make big advances in Iraq to
empower the humanitarian movement on the international level. I
believe that there is only one force capable of ending the war and
occupation and that is the IFC. The international conference in Japan
was the first step. Actually it is a huge step, locally and
internationally towards the establishment of a non-ethnic and
non-religious state in Iraq.