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Interview with Iraqi President Jalal
Talabani
2.11.2005
Interview by Gihan al-Husseini
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(Q) There are Iraqi forces, which do
not want to see an active and influential Arab role
in Iraq. So, how can these forces be confronted in
order to make the Arab initiative a success?
(A) I believe
that all active forces in Iraq see the need for the
presence of an Arab role. This role should serve the
new Iraq to save it from problems and division. I
see no interest in opposing an Arab role. On the
contrary, our interest lies in the presence of a
large Arab role to help the Iraqi people solve their
problems and achieve progress, development, and
reconstruction.
(Q) Were you
expecting the Arab League secretary general to visit
Iraq, or were you in doubt, especially after a
diplomatic delegation that came to prepare for his
visit was attacked? |
Iraqi
President : Jalal Talabani
Photo: Reuters
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(A) I never
doubted his sincere words. I was sure that he would
fulfill his promise, in spite of the threats that he
received and the incident, which happened with the
Arab League delegation. I was expecting him to come
to Iraq. I contacted him. Also, I met him in
Brasilia and New York and became sure that he would
come. However, I did not expect him to visit me in
Sulaymaniyah.
As president of the republic, I had to be in Baghdad
at the time, but he graciously visited the Kurdistan
province where he met with the head of the province
and parliament speaker. I was in Baghdad when I was
informed that he was coming. They told me that he
wants to see me either in Baghdad or Sulaymaniyah,
but I took the initiative and went to Sulaymaniyah,
so that he would come and we see him here.
I would like the brothers, Arab officials, to come
to Iraqi Kurdistan to see for themselves a Kurdish
people who love the Arab brothers and are allied
with the Arab nation. The Kurdish people believe
that it is in their interest to achieve their goals
while they are under the wing of this glorious
nation.
The reports in some Arab newspapers on the presence
of 120,000 Israelis (in Iraqi Kurdistan) are
baseless. That is why I hoped that the Arab League
secretary general would visit Kurdistan, and he
fulfilled my wish.
(Q) Why was it
decided to invite the Arab League secretary general
to visit Iraq at the time when Saddam was tried?
(A) The visit
was not planned to coincide with the trial. We
welcome him at any time. We told him that Iraq is
his country. Iraq is a founding member of the Arab
League, and he is the secretary general of the Arab
League. As a member state of the Arab League, we are
attached to him. He can come any time he likes, and
when he comes, we will give him a warm welcome.
(Q)
Demonstrations were held in Baghdad against the
Iraqi Government. The demonstrators accused the
government of being weak and having no clear
political agenda.
(A) We are a
democratic country where demonstrations are allowed.
People can demonstrate and say whatever they want.
The Iraqi people enjoyed democracy for the first
time. They had longed for democracy. Therefore, they
express their opinion at any opportunity available
to them.
(Q) What will
happen to the armed party militias? Some people
accuse them of targeting civilians and adopting
agendas of their own.
(A) The
situation will be different when the constitution is
applied and when security and stability have been
established. Then there will be no presence for the
militias under the constitution.
(Q) And what
about the charge that they target civilians?
(A) It may be
true. However, the state will work to put an end to
these incidents.
(Q) A lot of
Iraqis say that they truly hate Saddam, but hate the
presence of foreign forces more. What is your
comment on this point?
(A) This is
their opinion. But I hate Saddam's dictatorship more
than I hate the presence of the foreign forces. I
believe that what we suffered under dictatorships is
a lot worse than what we suffered from colonialism.
I once met British Prime Minister Tony Blair and
told him: "When I was student at the Baghdad
University, I participated in many demonstrations
that called for the downfall of British imperialism.
We used to chant: 'English, go back to your
country'. However, after what we suffered under
dictatorships, allow me to say to you: please come
back."
No one can imagine what we had suffered in Iraq. In
the days of Saddam, there were detention camps and
mass graves in Iraq. This country suffered a real
war of annihilation on a daily basis. The Iraqi
people's aim was to rid themselves of Saddam in any
way. I would like to ask a question. The
dictatorship lasted more than 30 years, but how many
years will the foreign forces' presence last? One
year? Two years? Four years?
They would like to withdraw now. We are now in the
process of holding elections. We are the ones who
govern Iraq. In one or two years' time, we will say
to them: Goodbye friends. But who dared to say
goodbye to Saddam?
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(Q) How true are
the reports that Saddam can participate in the
elections from his prison?
(A) He cast his
vote in the previous elections, and I do not know
whether he voted yes or no. Is this not a democracy?
I am proud of this democracy. Besides, did the world
not watch him as he publicly said during his trial:
"I am the president of the republic and you are
nothing"?
We allowed him to come to the court and say whatever
he wanted. He is alive in spite of the mass graves
that he dug and the acts of annihilation that he
brutally carried out against the civilian
population.
(Q) But we heard
that the occupation forces too targeted civilians.
Is this not described as terrorism?
(A) I did not
sanction this. I have not heard that foreign forces
target civilians.
(Q) Do you not
believe that the lack of a timetable for the foreign
forces' withdrawal weakens the political leaders and
embarrasses them in front of the citizens?
(A) There is a
set date. It is the 15th of October 2007. We said
that when the formation of the Iraqi security forces
has been completed and when we are in a position to
stand on our feet and confront and eliminate
terrorism, we will say goodbye to the coalition
forces.
Besides, the coalition forces are present here under
a resolution passed by the UN Security Council,
which determined this period. It is this Security
Council that can change this time period. This is
not an Iraqi-US issue. The United Nations is
involved. Currently, we decide on our issues,
including dates of elections and voting on the
constitution.
(Q) Some people
hold the view that the trial of Saddam is a trial of
the Sunnis in Iraq.
(A) This is a
wrong understanding of the situation. Saddam killed
a large number of Sunnis and committed crimes
against both the Sunnis and Shiites. Besides, we,
the Kurds, are Sunni, and he committed horrible
crimes against us. The trial is not held on a
sectarian basis. There are Kurds too who are tried.
(Q) I mean to
say that the Sunnis are paying for Saddam's crimes
because Saddam is a Sunni. Therefore, they feel that
they are wronged.
(A) This is not
true. The Sunnis now participate in the political
process. The vice president of the republic is
Sunni, the speaker of the parliament is Sunni, and
the overwhelming majority of us, the Kurds, are
Sunni.
(Q) Is it true
that Syria continues to pose a threat to you and
that it facilitates the infiltration of terrorists
into your country?
(A) You will not
be able to make me say any word against Syria. Syria
has done favors to me. If there is something, I will
keep it in my heart until I meet the brother,
President Bashar al-Assad. I will discuss it
directly with him, not through the media.
(Q) In light of
the US threats against Syria, will you allow Iraqi
territories to be used as a base for carrying out
military operations against Syria?
(A) I absolutely
reject the use of Iraqi territories as a base to
deliver a military strike against Syria or any other
Arab country. I make this statement in my personal
capacity as Jalal Talabani. In the end, however, my
capabilities in confronting the US force remain
limited. I cannot impose on it any opinion.
(Q) Some people
say that the federal system in Iraq is transitional
and that it is a prelude to separation, namely in
the Kurdistan province.
(A) They do not
understand the situation. Historically, federalism
unified various regions, provinces, and ethnicities.
Federalism unified a nation like Germany, which is a
federal state even though it is one nation that has
one culture.
Federalism and democracy proved their ability to
hold out and survive, while the states that were
forced to unite failed and disintegrated. Those who
understand federalism well know that it serves and
reinforces Iraqi national unity. Nevertheless, we
have our own federal system and circumstances and
imitate no one.
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