Patriotc Iraqi groups and factions, in addition to groups from the Resistance and the Revolution as well as factions from youth activists all of whom participate in the patriotic project, met together in a wide meeting to deal with the Abadi government announcement concerning its intention to convene a reconciliation conference in mid- February.
While we emphasize that reconciliation is the correct route to build a state in which justice and equality prevail , that achieves stability and balance that would produce prosperity and progress; on this occasion, however, we would like to point out that our experience over the past long 10 years with both the 1st and 2nd Maliki governments as well as that of the Ja’afari before them, has completely lost us any trust in any governmental actor. Whatever commitments are made by them, or whatever reform announcements are made, as a result of past experience, these would never be; these would be just empty promises and false allegations that the governments used to announce and continues to do so, to mislead international public opinion as well as to gain more time for these governments to push through their agenda and to complete its sectarian project that Tehran is directly supervising and that also has the blessing of the US and the silence of the international community.
Thus since the first government reconciliation initiative was launched in 2005, and to date, no change has ever taken place in the practice of exclusion, disqualification and expulsion that the government carries out in the country’s governance and administration.
This firm belief stems from the following:
First: The fact that the government did not uphold what it had committed itself to at the 2 Cairo Reconciliation Conferences which were held under the auspices of the Arab League and the international community, in 2005 and 2006, in addition to the fact that it did not practice in the spirit and content of the Mecca Agreement that was under the auspices of the of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Saudi Arabia, 2006, that was signed by all parties in the Haram Al Mekki, next door to the Holy Ka’aba.
Second: Non-compliance with any of the agreements entered into by the government itself with its political partners , and in particular the Erbil agreement as a result of which the 2nd Maliki government was formed, 2010, as well as the Political Agreement Document 2014, as a result of which the current Abadi government was formed and despite the fact that 6 months have already passed, the terms of the agreement have not been honoured.
Third: The double standards used by consecutive governments by embracing and backing the armed militias that are tied to Iran, on the one hand, and the manner it responded and dealt with the peaceful popular activities against the corrupt and sectarian government policies, on the other, which does not call for confidence that this government has honest intentions to build a national patriotic state based on justice and equality.
Fourth: The former and current governments’ ignoring and giving a deaf ear to the demonstrators and protestors in the sit-ins in the six provinces which rose up and revolted despite the act that all the sit-ins were peaceful and civilized throughout a complete year; on the contrary, they were rebuffed as well as weighed down by accusations in addition to orders being issued for the arrest of protest leaders followed by brutal attacks on the sit-in sites with heavy military equipment and vehicles, followed by setting fire to the sites as well as killing a great number of the protestors as in the Hawija , Mosul and Falluja sites and the Sariya Mosque Masscare in Diyala, as well as the storming of Pride and Dignity Square in Ramadi that actually lit the flames of war in the country.
Fifth: Current government’s continuation of the series of sectarian cleansing via its security and military forces, and the so called “popular mobilization militias” in an even more horrible manner than during Maliki’s time under the same pretext of fighting terrorism that has become Damocles’ Sword over the necks of innocent civilians as well as other facts that we will not recount for the shortness of time , here.
Based on the aforementioned, the current government, prior to proposing any project, should announce initiatives that demonstrate good faith on its part for the sake of a just solution for all the problems, by announcing that it is dealing with the known demands that were made by the protestors, and that were officially presented to it via intermediaries, by launching a package of laws that indicate that it is actually embarking on the implementation of these demands. It also has to immediately halt the intentional bombing of the cities; it should also start a new campaign to aid the displaced civilians, to provide homes for them to save their dignity and to allow them to return to their homes; as well as to immediately compensate those who are in need and to halt its policy of demographic change that it is carrying out throughout Iraq particularly in the Baghdad Belt (The Surrounds of Baghdad) and Jurf Al Sakhar, Diyala and Mosul, as well as desist from cutting up areas of land from Al Anbar and Sallahudeen provinces – a policy that is based on purely sectarian terms.
Further, it must also be stressed that the government in the state we mentioned is not qualified to lead any reconciliation project because of our lack of confidence.
And because it is part of the problem if not the whole problem, all of which led to the destruction of civil peace and peaceful social coexistence, thus this type of initiative needs a large conference to be held under international auspices and with wide Arab and Islamic participation with binding international guarantees. We believe that the European Union can be a prime focus and important guarantor for the success of such project.
In the light of the aforesaid, the patriotic nationalist Iraqi forces who are signatories to the statement , are in agreement about refusing this initiative or participating in any conference that does not possess these guarantees.
Signatories: on 13th February, 2015
Association of Muslim Scholars; Arab Ba’ath Socialist Party; General Command of the Armed Forces ( The Iraqi National Army); General Military Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries; Al Anbar Tribal Shaikhs’ Council; Ninevah Triabl Shaikhs’ Council; Revolutionary Tribal Shaikhs’ Council; Political Council for Iraqi Resistance; General Political Council for Iraqi Revolutionaries; Jihad and Change Front; Jihad, Liberation and National Salvation Front; Liberation and Saving Iraq Front; Islamic Army; Ansar Al Sunna; Corrective Movement; Salafi Association; Free Clans of Iraq; Al Jama’a Al Islamiya; Revolution Youth Council; Great Iraqi Revolution Youth; Nation of Goodness and Reform Stream; Popular Sunni Movement.
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