For Kurdish leader, there can be no dialogue with Baathist cutthroats and assassins
Paris (AsiaNews) -- Baathist "kidnappers, torturers and cutthroats" are the problem facing Iraq today. It is a question of "extremist terrorists" who want to "destabilize the country to the core," and with whom "there can be no dialogue." This according to Paris-based Saywan Barzani, Kurdish government representative in Europe, in an interview with AsiaNews.
Barzani, nephew of Massoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, calls on Iraq's government and coalition troops to increase efforts against a network of 3000 Baathist militants, and their secret service abetters. Just yesterday, American General John Abizaid, head of the US Central Command in Iraq, stated that during the January 30th elections, some 3,500 rebels attempted to sabotage voting through violent attacks.
Here is the interview Barzani granted to AsiaNews.
Who is against Iraq's renaissance and what's their strategy?
They are cruel professionals of crime and torture. Baathist structures still exist: at one time, they had entire neighbourhoods at their disposal. Now these same people "work" out of small homes and other less conspicuous locations. The problem is that neither the Coalition nor the Iraqi government is able or wants to stop them. Should all this be tolerated? Or should we not take greater action against them?
What do the Baathists hope to gain with such violence?
Their strategy is extremist terror. Beyond Islamist fundamentalists, who commit suicide attacks, the Baathist strategy is to destabilize the country to the core, so that people end up saying: "without you, Iraq can neither move forward nor find stability." The Baathists want us to forget that they killed 4 million people under Saddam. They are working to m make people recognize that Baathist-governed Iraq was a stable country.
Baath members today accept neither democracy nor that Kurds and Sci'ites share in power. Today in Basrah, there are people who think that, once the Americans leave, the Baathists will come back with such a vengeance that they'll grab back power. This is an inconceivable position for those who are abroad or in the Kurdish zone; but Arabs and Sci'ites, who experienced the utter harshness of Saddam's regime, have this fear.
Do the Baathist really believe they can win their battle?
They believe so. I don't: it would take a year, perhaps two a lot of blood may be shed but we will crush them. The government still thinks it can incorporate Baathists into political life; many of them have been included in new state structures. But a distinction must be made between Baathist figures who served the state and those who killed and slit throats. Secret service agents, who tortured tens of thousands of people, must be arrested.
Iraq is the only country where state workers are afraid to talk on the phone. Usually, in other states, it's the people who are afraid that the state might be tapping their telephone conversations. Instead public workers cannot refer to the when and how of their activities, while talking on the telephone, as a Baathist could be tapping the line and prepare an attack against them.
But are there enough forces in Iraq to contrast terrorism?
At the moment, yes. Syria has decided to curb Baathist groups who, from their territory, penetrate into Iraq. If Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia collaborate in controlling their borders, then there will definitely be improvement, as such action will stand in the way of fundamentalist kamikazes.
Counting the military, police, national guard, etc, there are 300,000 armed people in Iraq. The Baathists operating in Iraq are not more than 3,000; counting their secret service, they amount to 7 or 10 thousand. Yet, the 300,000, along with over 150,000 foreign soldiers, must defeat these 13,000 Baathists. There is a 12,000-strong security force in Mosul, consisting in soldiers and policemen; every governorate has 10,000 armed people.
So what is lacking is the political will to counteract the Baathists?
The state needs to have greater resolve, and to be tougher and more organized against Baathist terrorists. The government thinks there's room for dialogue: but with whom? With cutthroats? With people who blow themselves up in the streets and kill those passing by? Dialogue is needed, but with those who know how. The Baathists are the last to want dialogue: what the world sees happening in Iraq today is only 1% of what happened previously. Under Saddam, torture and killings took place out of sight, behind closed doors, in veritable torture cities.
What are living conditions like in Iraq?
Things are tranquil in the Kurdish zone; they're not bad in the south either. In Sunni areas, like Hillah and Baqubah, people fear attacks. Then there's Baghdad, an area with 6 million inhabitants. Generally, people live normally, but women fear being kidnapped and raped; the rich fear being blackmailed. Public workers live under very difficult conditions: they're in constant terror. High-ranking positions, such as those in the judiciary, are dangerous assignments indeed.
In Sunni areas, there is more fear now than previously. People did not vote in these areas; those who did and had their finger stained in the voting process were kidnapped or killed. There are Baathists everywhere in that region: the cities of Ramadi and Dambah are terrorized, half of the citizens of Mosul live in fear.
How's Iraq holding up economically?
The economy is stagnating because it's marked by terrorism which is getting in the way of reconstruction. There is a certain improvement even at the economic level: something like 80% of Iraqis are better off, but 10% of the people is not doing at all well. Because of terrorism, foreign companies have all but disappeared, no one is investing. If a specialized engineer needs to come and work in Iraq from abroad, he needs very expensive life insurance and, for this reason, very few can come. Petroleum in the south is being marketed, but in Kirkuk it's not going anywhere: pipelines in the Sunni Arab areas suffer attacks every day.
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