Baghdad streets scooped by Iraqi CP

The Iraqi Communist Party was the first to distribute a post-Saddam 
newspaper on the streets of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, only 10 days 
after the occupation of Baghdad by US troops. Tens of thousands of copies 
of Tareeq Al-Sha'ab (People's Path) were distributed in 
Baghdad and other cities and towns throughout the country. The Party also 
immediately opened offices in Baghdad and other cities.

This is a remarkable achievement given the many decades of severe 
repression and illegality that the Party suffered at the hands of the 
regime. Thousands of its members lost their lives in the struggle against 
the Saddam Hussein dictatorship. Despite this, it was able to retain 
organisation throughout Iraq.

This development will not be to the liking of the US occupationists. They 
did not occupy Iraq only to see the emergence of an influential Communist 
Party and a progressive government that will demand the US oil corporations 
keep their dirty hands off Iraq's oil resources and that US troops get out.

The first edition of the Party's newspaper, Tareeq Al-Sha'ab, called 
for the establishment of a Federal Democratic Iraq.

The following is a slightly abridged version of the newspaper's front page 
article:

At last the bloody, barbaric and repressive regime of Saddam Hussein has 
fallen!

With the collapse of the tyrant and his regime, the hopes and will of the 
overwhelming majority of our Iraqi people have been fulfilled. They were 
the first and main victim of his injustice and oppression, and the 
continuous fodder for his internal and external wars and military 
invasions.

They were the ones who paid the price for his reckless and foolish policies 
that had no regard for the people and homeland.

It is difficult today to describe the joy of the masses of the people at 
the fall of the dictator and getting rid of his regime despite all the 
tragedies and pain that accompanied this collapse as a result of invasion 
and war which should have and could have been avoided.

A hated and isolated regime

But there is no doubt also that the war was not the only reason for its 
fall.

This regime crumbled and collapsed for other fundamental reasons — the 
weight of its crimes against the people, its abuse of the interests and 
sovereignty of the homeland, the exposure of both the people and the 
homeland to a succession of catastrophes with no end in sight, the latest 
of which is the catastrophes of this last war itself.

The hatred and resentment towards the tyrant and his rule gave rise to the 
tough and relentless struggle waged by the people's patriotic forces, with 
tremendous and immeasurable sacrifices, in order to overthrow the 
dictatorship and get rid of its woes and effects.

It was only natural, therefore, that the people would distance themselves 
fr om the dictator and would not rush, or even think of rushing, to his 
defence thus leaving him and his clique to face their fate, which no-one 
had any doubt, would be defeated and would collapse.

Our people have punished the dictator and his clique for all the 
violations, excesses and crimes committed against them.

Incomplete joy

But our people's joy at the fall of the tyrant and his rule did not mean in 
any way that they are happy with the invasion and occupation.

From the beginning the people expressed, and continue to express in various 
ways, their condemnation of the war and the tragedies which it left behind, 
and the new calamities which they have suffered, especially as it ended, 
thereby spoiling the joy at getting rid of the dictator and his brutal 
regime.

They have also contributed, and continue to contribute day after day, to 
intensifying their rejection of what has been planned to be imposed on 
Iraq.

Yes, it was not possible for the joy at the fall of Saddam and his 
dictatorship to be complete, at a time when the suffering of millions of 
our people has been aggravated as a result of the loss of even the meagre 
essentials of living that had been available to them, such as clean water, 
electricity, medicine and food.

No attention was paid to ensure that these essentials were provided for the 
people, in clear violation of the obligations under international treaties, 
in particular the Geneva Convention, regarding the responsibility of 
occupying powers towards the population of occupied areas.

Total abandonment of this responsibility has led to a breakdown of 
security, widespread anarchy, the outbreak of looting of public property 
and setting fire to them, and the proliferation of acts of revenge and 
settling personal scores.

Looting and vandalism is not a sign of freedom

No action was taken against the gangs looting and vandalising. It seems 
that the cronies of the fallen dictator and agents of his secret services 
were not far from them. In addition professional criminals, which he 
himself had released from prisons about six months ago in accordance with 
the infamous "amnesty", also attacked hospitals, libraries, educational 
institutions and museums and removed their contents.

This irresponsible behaviour resulted in a grave deterioration in the 
conditions of hospitals and of water and electricity services. This in turn 
further deepened the suffering of millions of our people.

In the face of wide protests at taking no action to avert these serious 
criminal acts, American and British officials have considered what happened 
as being "a natural thing" which takes place in the aftermath of the 
collapse of every totalitarian regime.

The US Defence Secretary [Rumsfeld] went so far as to say that the Iraqis 
have become free, and that in acting as they did (looting and stealing) 
they were actually exercising their freedom — so why protest!

Seeking help from elements of the buried regime

Even worse is that the American and British authorities are trying to make 
use of the mounting public complaints of the breakdown of law and order, to 
justify seeking help from Saddam's police force and elements of the former 
regime's party, after having switched allegiance and put themselves at 
their service.

It is not forbidden of course to use some of the members of the former 
police force at a time when it is urgently necessary to tackle the security 
situation.

But care must be taken to ensure that there are not among them, those who 
have been involved in committing crimes against the people or had indulged 
in corruption and bribery. The police must be selected from among those who 
respect human rights and the law.

On the other hand, as the daily suffering of millions of Iraqis increases 
UN agencies and international humanitarian organisations, especially the US 
and Britain as the two occupying powers, must take urgent steps to provide 
drinking water and food for the people in addition to security and 
stability.

Under such conditions, efforts are being made to push to the forefront the 
process of setting up "an Iraqi administration" which is intended to 
operate as part of the military rule. The US is going ahead to establish 
such an administration in Iraq in accordance with its already prepared 
plan.

The people reject military rule

It is evident that military rule and occupation in general will not receive 
approval and support from our people, as a lot of evidence already 
indicates.

Our people have fought to get rid of Saddam's oppressive dictatorial regime 
so that they can build on its remains a democratic rule which expresses 
their independent will and fulfils their legitimate demands and not a new 
oppressive military rule.

It is clear that the democratic regime, to which our people aspire, in an 
independent and unified federal Iraq, will not be achieved at the hands of 
any military rule, whether foreign or Iraqi.

It has to be achieved by setting up an interim patriotic and democratic 
coalition government, broadly based in its representation of the forces of 
our people and their political parties that have fought for so long against 
the dictatorship and for the democratic alternative.

Occupation must end

In order to set up the transition democratic coalition government the 
occupation of our country must first end with power being handed to an 
interim UN administration.

Its task would be, first and foremost, to call for a conference of 
representatives of the forces of our Iraqi people, their political parties 
and other constituents, and to supervise convening this conference in which 
agreement would be reached on setting up the coalition government and its 
makeup.

Only such a government, which represents the interests and aspirations of 
our people, including all their political and national components, social 
classes and strata is really capable of ensuring the transfer of our 
country in peace, security and respect for people's freedoms and rights, to 
the desired stable and federal democratic era.

And only such a government can be trusted to prepare a new constitution for 
a democratic Iraq, and provide the prerequisites for conducting free and 
fair elections in which the people choose the government they want.

Congratulations and expressions of support may be emailed to the Iraqi CP: 
iraq@iraqcp.orgWebpage: http://www.iraqcp.org