| [ history ] in KIDS 글 쓴 이(By): 구르미 (구르미) 날 짜 (Date): 2004년 6월 8일 화요일 오전 02시 43분 13초 제 목(Title): 이라크 공산당의 입장 다음 글은 이라크 공산당이 작년 10월 25인으로 구성된 이라크 과도통치 위원회에 참여하기로 결정하면서 발표한 글입니다. 이라크 공산당은 사담 후세인 통치시절 집권당인 바트당 다음으로 가장 잘 조직되어 있는 정치정당이었다고 합니다. 공개적으로 활동했던 후세인의 손이 미치지 않았던 북부 쿠르드족이 지배하는 곳을 제외한 곳에서는 지하조직으로 활동을 했었다고 합니다. 작년에는 후세인정권에 의해 처형당한 258명(여성 16인 포함)의 공산당원의 명단을 찾아내어 발표하였습니다. 올해 1월 24일에는 바그다드의 당사무실 밖에서 폭탄이 터져 두명의 당원이 죽었는데 미국이 만든 과도통치원회에 참여한 것에 대한 테러공격일 가능성이 크다고 합니다. ----- http://www.iraqcp.org/framse1/0031022letterfromtheiraqicommunist.htm Letter from the Iraqi Communist Party About Political Developments in Iraq Dear Comrades and Friends, During the past six months, Iraq has witnessed exceptional developments giving rise to a totally new situation. It is extremely complex, and fraught with enormous dangers, as well as holding real potential for leading our country out of its prolonged ordeal towards the democratic alternative our people aspire for. We had been fully convinced that there was no way out of the comprehensive crisis engulfing our country and people, no end to catastrophes and tragedies, and no hope for any reconstruction except through achieving internal change and getting rid of Saddam’s dictatorial regime. That regime had long exhausted any justification for its existence, with its social base shrinking, turning into the biggest obstacle preventing our people from breaking out of its crisis. Its sole aim had become to stay in power at any cost. We also recognised the exceptionally repressive nature of Saddam’s regime and the abnormal growth of the totalitarian state it had built, oppressing society and depriving it of all forms of independent and free organisation and expression. This was demonstrated by its abhorrent violations of human rights and bloody repression of all opposition forces, over three decades, in addition to the human and material devastation caused by three destructive wars and the unjust international economic blockade which lasted more than 12 years. Our Party opposed the war, considering it to be the worst alternative. While joining in the worldwide anti-war movement under the slogan “No to War .. No to Dictatorship”, Iraqi Communists stressed the need for distinguishing between the people and Saddam’s regime, warning against one-sided positions which overlooked the regime’s responsibility for the dangers and tragedies suffered by our Iraqi people. While stressing the need for denying the regime any chance to use the enormous worldwide anti-war movement to serve its own interests. Thus we called for clarity in positions and slogans, as well as pressures on the dictatorial regime to avert war through dealing in a responsible manner with its international obligations and by opening up to the people and releasing democratic freedoms. When war loomed and became the most probable outcome, as a result of Saddam’s utter disregard for the fate of the people and country, and also the determination by the US administration to pursue its policy, our Party called upon democratic and progressive forces, and the peace movement, to support the alternative we favoured most. It was a national democratic and patriotic alternative, which relies on the struggle of the Iraqi people and their armed forces, as well as the unity of patriotic opposition forces, backed by legitimate international support. Such an alternative, supported by pressures to force the dictator to step down, would have averted war and its tragic consequences. The outcome of the war, the speedy collapse of Saddam’s military institution, and even the whole Iraqi state, exposed the bankruptcy of the regime and its hollow claims. Furthermore, all this revealed our people’s overwhelming desire to get rid of the regime. Thus in an unprecedented development, of enormous significance for Iraq and the region, the people chose to stand aside, watching a fight between a foreign power, which they knew only too well, and a deeply hated regime. The 9th of April, the day when the dictatorship eventually collapsed, has come to embody the complexities and contradictions of the new situation. Deliverance from brutal dictatorship was achieved, but the reality of occupation has replaced it. The overwhelming majority of our people were overjoyed at the regime’s shameful collapse. But it did not bring about the emergence of the democratic alternative they desired. A dangerous political and security vacuum resulted, with serious political, economic and social consequences that are still with us today. Tackling this situation is a top priority at present. The country has faced a host of urgent and interconnected tasks, the essence of which is creating the conditions for ending the occupation and putting Iraq on the path of national and democratic development. In order to confront the new situation, our Party called upon all Iraqi patriotic forces to convene a broadly based National Conference representing the political, social, national and religious spectrum of Iraqi society. Such a conference would have formed an Iraqi transitional coalition government with full powers, to administer the country during the transitional period, prepare a draft constitution and an election law, and embark on negotiations with the US to end the occupation. But this legitimate demand, that had received wide support from the people, and also regionally and internationally, was rejected by the occupation powers. The US and Britain received further support with Resolution 1483 adopted by the UN Security Council, effectively conferring international legitimacy on their occupation. Furthermore, some Iraqi political parties, pursuing narrow political agenda and displaying a hegemonistic tendency, also contributed, as well as other factors, to preventing the establishment of a broad alliance that would have enjoyed internal and external support, and could have exerted pressure on the US and won the support of the UN. Attempts by the US to impose an Iraqi “Political Council” of only consultative nature were firmly rejected by the people and political forces. Eventually a compromise was reached in mid July 2003, with active mediation by the late UN special representative, Mr Sergio Vierra de Melo, by setting up a Governing Council, with limited but important powers. Our Communist Party participated in the final round of deliberations with the American and British sides, at their invitation. Attempts, ideologically motivated, to sideline the party and exclude it from these discussions failed. This result was a reflection of political reality and our party’s position in the current balance of forces. The outcome of the process, with the occupying American power being forced at the end to accept an Iraqi governing body with powers, has revealed the potential for expanding these powers, as part of its natural struggle with the occupying powers. Our Party, which decided to join the Governing Council, along with the majority of other political forces, has regarded the Council as an arena of struggle rather than being a final, fixed and definitive authority. The Party took into consideration the following facts when it decided to join the Governing Council: · The majority of other political parties and forces, and national and religious groups in the country, agreed to join the Council. If some did not become members, it was because they were excluded against their wishes. The Council includes most of the forces our party could be allied with to achieve its democratic and patriotic program. · The general desire which could be sensed among party organisations and supporters that it should act positively in the current sensitive and complex phase our country is going through, and should not give any pretext to those who want to entrap, isolate and even subject it once again to repression. · Participating in the Council in its present form, does not mean, in any way, accepting it as an alternative to the desired Iraqi transitional coalition government. It is seen instead as a step in the direction of achieving an independent national Iraqi government, with a patriotic democratic program, to rid the country of its present plight and move ahead towards building a unified democratic and federal Iraq. · The Council represents one of the main elements of the political process with the final objective of achieving the country’s independence and putting it along the path of democratic development. Our Party can play more influential role from within this process, to push in the required direction, while struggling, from without, to mobilise the people to effectively ensure that the process develops in the right direction. It is, in this sense, an arena of struggle because diverse forces and sides are influencing the political process both inside and outside the Council. Dear Comrades and Friends, Our people, despite rejoicing at the fall of Saddam’s regime, did not embrace the foreign troops or receive them with flowers. They look forward to a speedy end of the occupation, and the restoration of the country’s full sovereignty and independence. Resisting occupation is a right enshrined by the UN Charter. The Iraqi people, therefore, have a legitimate right to resort to various forms of struggle to end the occupation and restore national sovereignty. But resisting occupation is not limited to employing violent means in struggle, but rather includes various forms of peaceful political struggle. The lessons of history teach us that peoples only resort to armed struggle when they are forced to do so after exhausting peaceful means. Today, various possibilities and options are available to our people to exercise political struggle. Tens of political parties and organisations, trade unions, vocational and democratic organisations, associations ..etc, have emerged. In the current circumstances, under the existing climate of freedom, the Iraqi political forces, including our Party, are in almost unanimous agreement that violent means are not the most appropriate and effective, as long as peaceful means have not been exhausted. As a matter of fact, armed operations in our country’s current circumstances inflict harm on the desired aim: to get rid of the occupation as soon as possible. Such operations actually provide the pretext for the occupying forces to prolong their presence, as well as perpetuating the state of tension, concern and fear among the people. Acts of sabotage against basic services, electricity networks, gas supplies and oil pipelines only aggravate the suffering of the people. Such armed operations, including criminal acts of assassination, are exploited by remnants of the ousted regime to nurture their hopes for regaining power. Violations and violent acts against the people by the occupying forces have also led to violent reactions by the latter, giving rise to spontaneous armed operations. It is important, therefore, to distinguish between groups and forces that carry out such acts. Tackling the security situation, however, requires urgent political, economic and social measures. First and foremost, prerequisites must be provided for a speedy handover of power to the Iraqi people and building a democratic regime in Iraq. Developments in our country since the collapse of the dictatorial regime have also emphasised the importance of activating the role of the United Nations and expanding its direct participation in supporting and guiding the on-going political process in Iraq, as well as its role in relief operations and reconstruction. This is an increasingly urgent matter. The UN has an accumulated experience qualifying it to play an active constructive role in providing speedily the prerequisites for setting up an independent national government and ending the occupation of our country. Furthermore, enhancing UN role will provide an international legitimacy now lacking and preventing the participation of many world powers in the process of reconstruction, as well as obstructing the return of the situation to normalcy. Dear Comrades and Friends, Iraq is witnessing today an extremely complicated political process. It has become a volatile battle front, where regional and international interests and strategies interact with the internal situation, pushing it in directions against people’s interests and their aspirations in restoring security and stability, retrieving their national sovereignty, achieving the democratic alternative and speeding up comprehensive reconstruction. During this transitional period, when contradictions and struggle over the future direction of development intensify, it is essential, more than ever before, to have multifarious international solidarity by the forces of peace, and progressive and democratic movements, to support and consolidate Iraqi patriotic and democratic forces in their struggle to foil attempts to sabotage the political process and push the country towards chaos and internal strife. This solidarity is also essential to enable the Iraqi people to bring about a speedy end to occupation and open up prospects for democratic development in Iraq, empowering them to decide their political future and social system in accordance with their own free will. The future of Iraq, and the whole region, depends to a large extent on the outcome of the on-going political process in our country Yours fraternally, International Department Central Committee - Iraqi Communist Party 18 October 2003 |