Iraqi Democratic Current statement on terrorist crime in Paris

Statement of the Iraqi Democratic Current

 on the terrorist crime in Paris

The terrorist attack which took place in Paris on Wednesday 7 January 2015 was a terrible crime that is condemned by all free people in the world. We, in the Iraqi Democratic Current, declare our utter condemnation and denunciation of this terrorist act. We also express, as Iraqi democrats, our sympathy with the victims, their families and loved ones, and with the French people. We declare our solidarity with all the victims of terrorism, and our defense of the right of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

What makes this terrorist act more serious and dangerous is that, in addition to the killing of 12 innocent French citizens, it constitutes a flagrant targeting of the freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and the values of tolerance and respect for diversity. The condemnation is stronger in view of the fact that that it was committed by people who had been hosted by the country in which this massacre took place, granting them full citizenship rights and enabling them to enjoy freedom to an extent which most of them had not enjoyed in their own countries.

This terrorist operation, which is only one episode of global terrorism, should be another alarm bell for countries around the world to make them aware of the grave danger posed by terrorist forces. Hence the need for a responsible international stance to confront this danger, especially since terrorism has turned into an international phenomenon, such that no state can any longer feel immune to it. Concerted efforts are therefore required in the fight against terrorism.

Confronting and defeating global terrorism cannot be achieved in isolation from the international community's responsibility to support Iraq in its war being waged against the so-called “Islamic state” organization (Isis). Iraq is at the forefront of this war which has expanded to include all the continents of the world, not only because of the mass murder that it is facing daily, the violation of all human rights and values at the hands of terrorism, and suffering from extremism, religious obscurantism and the weakness of the culture of tolerance, but also because Isis, the most brutal and obscurantist among terrorist forces, has seized control of a an area close to a third of Iraq, striving to turn it into a base and center for the forces of terrorism in the world, offering them all kinds of support to carry out terrorist operations. Defeating terrorism in Iraq will therefore weaken a lot the effectiveness of these dark forces in the region and the world.

In order to eradicate terrorism, the fight against it must not be confined to security and military measures, but should include the political, socio-economic and cultural factors which provide a favorable environment for the emergence, growth and spread of obscurantist and extremist ideas and movements. In the forefront of these factors are political tyranny, oppression, social and economic discrimination, the erosion of rights and principles of citizenship through
policies that lead to the marginalization of broad social strata and the exclusion of groups on grounds of ethnic, religious, confessional and political affiliations or for their thought and convictions, and denying or restricting the right of expression and the demanding of rights. In this context, it is of utmost importance to provide support for the democratic forces, of all shades, which operate under difficult conditions and in an atmosphere charged with various kinds of ethnically and religiously-encapsulated fanaticism, in order to spread and consolidate the principles and values of citizenship, respect of diversity, acceptance of the Other and other pillars of democracy, and for building a civil democratic state.

We in Iraqi the Democratic Current, while affirming our sympathy with the victims of this massacre, proceed from a stance of responsibility as democrats in the defense of the right to life as the most sacred human right, followed by the right to freedom of expression, as two of the loftiest human values among all free people of the world. Regardless of the agreement or disagreement of some with the method of cynical expression employed by Charlie Hebdo journal, nothing can justify terrorist acts

We declare that the massacre in Paris is not a cause of concern to the Europeans alone, but is the cause of all freedom-loving people, the defenders of freedom and human’s life, security and dignity, and the defenders of the values of democracy, human rights and peace.

Defeat to the forces of darkness and terrorism that are hostile to freedom, life and human values

Victory and freedom to all peoples

Glory to the victims of the struggle for freedom in Paris, in Iraq, and everywhere in the world.