9-04-07, 9:24 am

A statement issued by the Central Information Bureau of the Iraqi Communist Party on 30th August 2007 condemned the clashes that erupted in the city of Karbala last Tuesday 28 Aug., 2007. More than 350 people were killed an wounded as a result, mainly innocent civilians who had been in Karbala for religious ceremonies. Damage was inflicted on holy shrines as well as public property. The statement said that armed clashes had spread to some areas in Baghdad and to several central and southern provinces, with more people killed, terrorizing the population.

Iraqi CP's statement said: 'These events have aroused legitimate concern among our people, who have been yearning to the restoration of security and stability. This is not only due to the large number of innocent victims who have fallen in these clashes, but also because of the grave consequences of resorting to arms and brazen violence to resolve differences between political forces and as means for expressing positions, with utter disregard to the principal rights of citizens and their feelings, even when they are conducting religious ceremonies that must be respected by all. These events have also revealed a weakness in the performance of security forces, thus allowing armed groups, some of which may have dubious connections hostile to the whole political process, to violate the law, target citizens, burn public property and spread fear.'

While expressing 'its condemnation for these armed clashes' and conveying condolences to the families of victims and residents of Karbala, the Iraqi Communist Party called in its statement on all the patriotic forces of the Iraqi people and their influential social and religious figures 'to exert all efforts to calm down the situation, exercise self-restraint, and urge all parties to adopt the principle of dialog to resolve problems.' It also drew attention to 'the enormous dangers entailed by resorting to arms for the fate of the people and homeland, and for the political process and its constitutional institutions.' It called for utmost vigilance to foil attempts to sabotage the political process and efforts to correct its mistakes. ' All the forces that supported the constitution and participated in the political process and its constitutional institutions are urged to employ peaceful political means and mechanisms allowed under the freedoms that are stipulated in the constitution and in accordance with democratic rules, and to discard anything contrary to that. These forces need to take the initiative to give up the language of arms and violence, and respond in action and practice to the aspirations of our people, with all its components, for peace, reconciliation and the restoration of security and stability to the homeland. Any policy and practice that inflict harm on the people's interests must be shunned.'

The statement concluded by pointing out that these events 'emphasize the utmost importance of activating national reconciliation in order to eliminate the grave tensions in the country. They also place a greater responsibility on the government to move forward towards putting an end to the militias and to limit the possession of arms to the hands of the state and its organs. The government also needs to act speedily and take decisive steps to purge the security forces of rogue and corrupt elements and others that penetrated them, and to rebuild these forces on the basis of citizenship, professionalism and allegiance to the homeland.'

--A statement of the Iraqi Communist Party.

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