Editorial of “Tareeq Al-Shaab” (People’s Path), the newspaper issued by the
Iraqi Communist Party – 14 August 2014
On the occasion of nominating Haider
al-Abadi to the post of Prime Minister
We call for completing the peaceful transfer of power
and the formation of a broad national unity government
and the formation of a broad national unity government
After an
intense and difficult struggle among political
parties and leaders, especially among the parties of the National Alliance, in addition to various
external pressures and interference, the Iraqi President Fuad
Masoum nominated Haider al-Abadi, the candidate
of the National Alliance, to form the
new government. This nomination comes after
the election of the Speaker of Parliament and the
President, thus signifying another important step on the
path to complete the process of peaceful
transition of power. This is a welcomed success for the political
process which remains stumbling and
requires rectification and reform.
The nomination of the new prime minister has been widely welcomed by political
circles inside Iraq and
on the Arab, regional and international
levels. These are positive signals
and reactions that constitute a significant political and moral asset for the prime
minister-designate as he embarks on the formation of a government with a broad political base, as stated when he was nominated by the President.
It is certain that the new
government will be facing unprecedented
challenges, especially on the political and security
levels as Iraq is confronting a terrorist onslaught of
utmost viciousness and brutality that is targeting its
existence as an entity and homeland, a people and
society, and a culture and civilization. The
new government will also find itself facing a heavy
legacy of outstanding and
deferred problems and issues that
need to be urgently tackled and resolved.
In order to confront the forces
of terrorism and anti-people
forces, and to defeat them and their evil plans,
it is necessary to adopt a new approach
and style of thinking in dealing with the political forces and with the problems and issues; based on openness, dialogue, consultation, genuine
participation and instilling confidence. It
requires taking into account national
consensus in line with the Constitution and the higher interests of
the country and people, and exerting serious effort to resolve the knotty issues and speed up
the implementation of solutions
that are reached.
The relationship between
the federal government and the Kurdistan
region is of distinct importance that emphasizes the
need to restore the language of
dialogue and consultation, and referring
to the Constitution and national
common ground to tackle the existing
problems and explore ways to
find solutions for the benefit of
everyone. There is also an urgent need
to raise the level of coordination and
cooperation in the military field
in the face of the gangs of Isis and
terrorism.
We, along with the broadest
masses of our people, look
forward to the forthcoming phase opening
up a new page in the relations
between the various political forces
and working to improve the overall
political climate. Joint action is
needed to restore and strengthen national unity, to
reject the discourse and practices that fuel intolerance and religious, confessional and
ethnic extremism, and all forms
of discrimination between our people,
and to uphold the principle of citizenship in word and deed.
The process of forming
the new government cannot overlook the lessons of the past experience
which have shown unequivocally the
enormous damage inflicted on the performance of the state and its institutions as a result of reliance on the logic and
basis of sectarian and ethnic power-sharing. Therefore, the standards
of integrity, efficiency, professionalism
and dedication to the causes of the people must not be relinquished again in the process of selecting ministers and allocating of responsibilities. This applies
to all state-building which needs to be
reviewed and reformed, away from the prevailing approach and practice of
sectarian and ethnic power-sharing.
The intensification of the war against
gangs of Isis and other terrorist organisations, and the efforts
to stop the brutal crimes which have claimed the lives of thousands of our people and the indigenous
ethnic, religious and confessional components, also requires
speeding up the formation of a broad and
all-encompassing national unity government that
undertakes to mobilize all the national
capacities and potential against terrorism, and proceeds to dealing
with the crises and problems facing
the country. In this context, the
Iraqi Communist Party welcomes every step that strives to achieve cooperation between the political forces that adhere to the Constitution and the
political process and brings them
together in order to develop joint patriotic visions and positions that find their way into the government's program.
To stress this goal and to
achieve it, we renew our call for the convening of
a National Conference of the forces that
founded and participated in the political process, in
parallel with the efforts to form
the new government. This conference should review the political process, ridding it of the mistakes and defects revealed by the past experience
and returning it to the proper path that leads to building a prosperous
federal democratic Iraq.
We hope that those who are sceptical
and opposed to the constitutionality of the process of
nominating Mr Haider al-Abadi to form
the government avoid anything that would threaten
stability and disrupt the process of peaceful transition
of power, and spare the country
further crises and divisions while it is locked
in a fateful struggle against the evil forces
of terrorism.
