Al-Kazemi warns of “real dangers” … and Washington calls for a return to the constitution

Al-Kazemi warns of “real dangers” … and Washington calls for a return to the constitution

8-24-2022

The development of events in Iraq prompted Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to cut short a visit to Egypt and return to the country.
A statement from his office stated that the latter “cut his visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt, and returned to Baghdad following the developments of the current events in the country, and for the direct follow-up to the performance of the duties of the security forces in protecting the institutions of the judiciary and the state.”
He warned, according to the statement, that “disrupting the work of the judicial institution exposes the country to real dangers,” stressing that “the right to demonstrate is guaranteed in accordance with the constitution, with the need to respect state institutions to continue their work in the service of the people.”
He called on all political forces to “calm down and take advantage of the opportunity for national dialogue; To get the country out of its current crisis, he called at the same time for an “immediate meeting of the leaders of the political forces; In order to activate the national dialogue procedures and defuse the crisis.”
Al-Kazemi also received Hadi Al-Amiri, head of the Al-Fateh Alliance.
According to a second statement by his office, during the meeting, they “discussed the latest developments in the Iraqi political arena, and followed up on the progress of understandings and rapprochement between the political blocs.”
The meeting witnessed an emphasis on “the importance of dialogue, exchange of views, and viewpoints between the political blocs in the Iraqi scene, and the need to strengthen ways of understanding, dialogue and points of convergence as the only path out of the current political crisis, as well as the importance of keeping state institutions away from all forms of political conflict.”
They reviewed “the most important developments in the Prime Minister’s initiative for national dialogue, paving the way for the political blocs to reach national agreements that meet the aspirations of citizens to enhance security and stability throughout Iraq.”

“Uncharted Labyrinths”

In parallel, the President of the Republic, Barham Salih, warned against the situation in Iraq going into “unknown labyrinths,” calling for the preservation of democratic paths in the country.
He said in a presidential statement, “The developments of events in the country require everyone to abide by calm and prevail over the language of dialogue, and to ensure that it does not slip into unknown and dangerous labyrinths in which everyone is a loser, and opens the door for those intent on exploiting every loophole and problem within our country.”
He explained that “peaceful demonstration and expression of opinion is a constitutionally guaranteed right, but disrupting the work of the judicial institution is a serious matter that threatens the country, and work should be done to protect the judicial institution, its prestige and independence, and that dealing with demands should be in accordance with legal and constitutional frameworks.” He believed that “the country is going through a delicate circumstance that requires uniting the ranks and preserving the peaceful democratic path for which our people sacrificed, and it should not be neglected at any price, and work to avoid any escalation that might affect societal peace and security.”
In the same context, the Speaker of Parliament, Muhammad al-Halbousi, warned against the international community withdrawing its recognition of the Iraqi political process.
He said in a statement that “we had previously participated in the elections at the end of last year, after popular protests demanded a change of government and early elections.”
He added, “Our goal was to reform the situation, give space to the emerging forces in political participation, take their role in political decision-making within the parliament, add stability to political work, and implement real reforms through constitutional institutions.”
He continued, “Unfortunately, what we have reached today is a more regression than we were previously, through the disruption of constitutional institutions: a broken parliament – a broken judiciary – a caretaker government.”
He stressed that “we must all resort to the constitution, and be up to the responsibility to get the country out of this suffocating crisis that is heading towards the absence of legitimacy, and may lead to a lack of international recognition of the entire political process, the structure of the state and its outputs.”
And before his statement, Al-Halbousi confirmed, in his “record,” that “our dispute should not be with the judiciary, to which we all resort if we quarrel.”
He said, “We support the demonstrations in accordance with legal and constitutional contexts, in a manner that preserves the state and its institutions and protects its existence, but our dispute should not be with the judiciary, to which we all resort if we quarrel.”
Meanwhile, the UN mission in Iraq, UNAMI, expressed its position on the development of protests in Iraq, saying in a “blog”: “The right to peaceful protest is an essential element of democracy. No less important is the affirmation of constitutional compliance and respect for state institutions, stressing the need for “state institutions to work without hindrances to serve the Iraqi people, including the Supreme Judicial Council.”

Refrain from violence

Also, the US embassy in Baghdad called on the demonstrators to respect the property of Iraqi government institutions, stressing the need to resolve political differences in a manner based on the Iraqi constitution.
“We are closely monitoring reports of unrest today (yesterday) in Baghdad around the Supreme Judicial Council,” she said in a statement. We urge all parties to remain calm, refrain from violence and resolve any political differences in a peaceful manner based on the Iraqi constitution.
She added, “We also call on the demonstrators to respect the procedures and properties of Iraqi government institutions, which belong to the Iraqi people and serve their interests.”

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