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Most
Iraqis distrust the new government.
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The
mood of Iraqis regarding their interim government is a mix
between veiled hope, apathy, and deep distrust in
Baghdad
today. On June 1st
the new governing body was sworn in after a heated political
battle between the UN, the Iraqi Governing Council, and
US-proconsul Paul Bremer—the latter being forced to accept the
Governing Council’s firm nomination of Sheikh Al-Yawar as the
first president of
Iraq
since the removal of
Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship.
Several mortar blasts rocked the Coalition Provisional Authority
compound the morning of the ceremonies that instituted the new
Iraqi government. Further violence continued within minutes
after the new government was sworn in, as a huge car bomb
detonated near the
Baghdad
headquarters of the
pro-US Patriotic
Union
of
Kurdistan
Party, further marring
the historic event.
Iraqis’
reaction on the street finds most people reluctant to support
the governing body, as most Iraqis are aware of the limited
sovereignty their new leaders have.
“What
can they do without the approval of the Americans,” asked
Sattar Ali Mustafa, “None of these men would even be there if
they weren’t puppets.” Mr. Mustafa, 65, said he is
struggling to survive by selling tobacco and pipes on
Rashid Street
in Old Baghdad. “If
I don’t work everyday, I don’t eat,” he continued, “Our
economy is dead; there is no security, and where is the hope?”
Yet
at the same time, he felt better about having a well-known
tribal sheikh such as Al-Yawer as the new president, even with
the limited sovereignty. Al-Yawer, 45, lived in exile in
Saudi Arabia
, and has close ties to
Washington
D.C.
However, he has earned
a reputation for vocally opposing
US
policy in occupied
Iraq
, particularly during
the April siege of Fallujah where 800-1200 Iraqis were killed as
a result of heavy-handed tactics by the
US
military.
Being
the nephew of the leader of the large Shammar tribe, many Iraqis
are calmed by knowing that Al-Yawer has a good reputation and is
well known throughout the country. “I welcome the new
president, because he has a good reputation and is a sheikh,”
said 66 year-old Haji Thavid Zeki.
“We
will have full sovereignty for only five minutes, the
time it takes for the ceremonial ‘handover’” |
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Sitting
in a small café in Baghdad while drinking lemon chai, he then
added sadly, “But I have no money and no job, and it’s been
over a year and nobody has been able to fix our situation here,
so I don’t know if the new government will be able to help us
any.”
Ghazwan
Al-Mukhtar, a retired electrical engineer, expressed the
skeptical opinion held by so many Iraqis: “We will have full
sovereignty for only five minutes, the time it takes for the
ceremonial ‘handover’ and the signing of the troop
‘invitation!’”
Mr.
Al-Mukhtar referenced the fact that essentially any decision
made by the new interim government can be vetoed by the leaders
of the
US
forces in
Iraq
. Under resolution 1511
of the draft resolution of the interim constitution “…the
multinational force shall have authority to take all necessary
measures to contribute to the maintenance of security and
stability in
Iraq
…” This essentially
means that until
January 31, 2005
, the “multinational
force” has virtually unchallengeable authority to its
decisions, making it exempt from decisions made by the new
government.
Despite
the monopoly of power the US-led “multinational force” holds
in
Iraq
, the security
situation is most aptly described as a war zone, and weary
Iraqis will take hope anywhere they can find it. A 17 year-old
school student, Ali felt hopeful about the new government.
“It’s the first step out of this messy situation,” he
said, “I think it’s a good start,” holding the opinion
which appears to be the distinct minority amongst Iraqis.
“None
of these men would even be there if they weren’t
puppets.” |
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Most
Iraqis remain angry about the mess their country is in under
US
occupation, and feel
the members of the interim government are “puppets” of the
US
. “What is the
difference between Saddam and the last year,” Abdel Baki, a
54-year-old jobless merchant, asked. Referring to the lack of
power of the interim government which will essentially be
controlled by the
US
, he asked, “If the
vulture is leading the people, where will we be?”
“Some
think the Americans are bringing terror to
Iraq
,” said Mohamed Ali,
a retired police officer who lives near
Rashid Street
, “and I agree with
them. They destroyed our police and our army, so now our society
is full of people who are against them.”
Like
most Iraqis, he distrusts the new government, simply because
they have ties to the US-led occupation of his country. The
heads of the new government include Prime Minister Iyad Allawi,
a former Baath Party member who lived in exile and has
historically had close ties with the US and CIA. The interim
government has two vice presidents: Ibrahim Jaafari who is a
spokesman for the Islamic Daawa Party and Rowsch Shaways, the
president of the Kurdish National Assembly and member of the
Kurdish Democratic Party.
Many
Iraqis, like Abbas Rassim who works selling books on the streets
of Baghdad, have grown apathetic
and hopeless towards the possibility of any change in their
country. “I don’t know who the new government is, and I
don’t care,” he said disdainfully.
He
then added, “We didn’t have any choice with the Governing
Council, and we didn’t have any choice with the new
government. Where is the democracy?”
Nagem
Salam
is an American journalist of Lebanese descent who has worked in
Iraq
for a total of four months since the Anglo-American Invasion of
Spring 2003. His stories focus on Iraqis, and how the occupation
of their country affects their daily life.
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