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Mr
Jaafari, Iraq is NOT an Arab country, by Khaled Salih
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Mr Jaafari, Iraq is NOT an Arab country,
by Khaled Salih
2.7.2005
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Khaled Salih |
Dear Editor,
Iraq's elected Prime Minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, is
wrong to write in his article (26th June, 'A new
Marshall plan for Iraq) that Iraq is 'an Arab
country'. Iraq has never been, and will never be, an
Arab country. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein Iraq
is moving towards a bi-national federation based on
TAL (Transitional Administrative Law, signed by
Iraq's Governing Council on 8th March 2004). |
TAL is the bases
of Jaafari's election as a prime minister. If he
does not recognise TAL, then he and his government
has no legal base, since TAL regulates the political
process until a permanent constitution is adopted in
a referendum. Aricle 7(B) of TAL states that 'Iraq
is a country of many nationalities, and the Arab
people in Iraq are an inseparable part of the Arab
nation.' Article 9 states that 'The Arabic language
and the Kurdish language are the two official
languages of Iraq.' TAL also recognizes two orders
of government in Iraq: one federal and the other
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Jaafari's
categorisation of Iraq as 'an Arab country' is
therefore unlawful.
Jaafari's reference to 'my people' is also
problematic, because if he regards Iraq as 'an Arab
country', then there is only 'one people' in Iraq,
that is the Arab people despite his talk of
'diversity'! Many, except Iraq's prime minister,
know that two different peoples with two different
languages live in what has become Iraq.
Imagine a British prime minister saying 'Britain is
an English country', a Canadian saying Canada is 'an
English country' an Indian saying 'India is a Hindu
country'! A friend of mine recently offered a
solution: Since Arab politicians will not easily
accept the reality of bi-nationalism in Iraq, and
since most people think that Iraq is 'an Arab
country', the new state should have a new name; he
proposed Arakurdia (like Czechoslovakia).
There is danger in Jaafari's statement, because he
also omitted two central concepts when he sworn in
himself and his government, namely 'federal and
democratic'. He is free not to mention the Kurds in
Iraq, but the political struggle in Iraq, long
before it became a religious issue, was a national
issue. By focusing on Saddam Hussein's repression
against religious groups, and by avoiding the
nationality question in Iraq, Jaafari confirms what
many Kurds fear in Iraq: Would the Kurds be subject
to a new form of repression by a Shia majority with
no memory of national repression?
This letter was sent to The Times Editor, but since
the editor did not want to publish it, it is posted
here.
Mr. Ibrahim Jaafari's Article published by "The
Times":26th June, 'A new Marshall plan for Iraq
About Khaled Salih:
Senior lecturer, Centre for Midde East Studies,
University of Southern Denmark, is advisor to KRG
and published The future of Kurdistan in Iraq
(together with Brendan O'Leary and John McGarry),
published by University of Pennsylvania Press (May
2005).
www.krg.org
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