4-09-05, 9:23 am

From IFTU

A NEW democratic and open Iraq is being born. The road has been bloody and remains fraught with danger.

Success will not only bring peace and stability to Iraqis but could have positive implications for the democratisation project in the Arab world and the region. So its success is of enormous global importance.

The development and consolidation of this positive political and social momentum is a key factor in isolating both foreign fundamentalists and Saddamite loyalists in Iraq.

Iraqis have openly elected a transitional assembly with a mandate to form a transitional legitimate government to govern for a year till the next general election in December 2005 or January 2006.

This is a fundamental political development that needs to be supported if this political process is to continue to have the trust of the majority of Iraqis.

It is generally agreed that democracy is neither an executive gift nor is it a proxy formula imposed by foreign intervention - although it is also widely acknowledged that positive external economic, diplomatic and political pressures can help speed democratic changes.

Democracy is a culture that has to be nurtured against the forces of bigotry, despotism and darkness. And people must become accustomed to democratic values if democracy is meant to last.

The imposition of democracy must come from within the country concerned and may take different shapes according to internal circumstances, but its basic values are universal.

These basic tenets are tolerance, respect for human rights and fair, transparent and accountable government, which must adhere to international conventions and treaties and requires an independent judiciary.

A free media is another key building block of democracy. The media should inform society and educate people on the issues of the day.

Under representative democracy, the state apparatus of violence - police and army - are placed under civilian authority to prevent political forces or individuals using them to sustain authoritarianism and dictatorship. In democracies, their job is to defend borders and preserve law and order.

All this is possible in Iraq and is currently under popular construction, despite loud claims by those who say that democracy is a Western invention, Arabs do not want it or that Islam is not compatible with it.

Stable democratic leadership is a necessary but not sufficient part of Iraq's democratic process.

Wider civil society, including free unions, must assume a greater role, for, beside its vital political support, it can campaign to promote social provisions such as equal access to health, education and housing as well as how best to create the economic environment for the social market to develop.

In other words, democracy requires active participation from below, by civil society organisations, by the people themselves and by democratic institutions, which they create and maintain. Democracy needs their direct engagement. Without their participation, democracy will die.

The acceptance of the post-Saddam state and support for the current democratic process as sanctioned by UN security council resolutions 1483, 1511 and 1546 is vital for social and economic cohesion and for democratic principles to take hold.

There could be no more powerful sign of the potential of the Iraqi people than the January 30 elections, in which 8.5 million Iraqis openly demonstrated their desire to embrace democracy and to reject violence, tyranny and dictatorship and, at long last, to have a say in the decisions that will affect their lives.

However, the fragile flower of Iraqi democracy is endangered by the current uncertain stand-off in forming a transitional government.

More than a month has elapsed since Iraq's first democratic elections, but key Iraqi political parties have yet to agree on a transitional coalition government.

Iraq is at a dangerous crossroads and any unwise turn could lead to catastrophic failure and constitute a gross betrayal of the people of Iraq.

It could give unwarranted credence to the argument put forward by cultural imperialists and those opposed to democratic change that the election is just an exercise to legitimise the occupation of Iraq and allow the Bush administration strength to promote its expansionist imperialist domination of the region and divide Iraq on national and ethnic grounds.

It adds weight to the notion that the US and British governments will not allow an unfriendly government in Iraq.

Iraqis are being killed and blown into pieces by extremist forces using such fake arguments.

Iraqi political leaders need to urgently demonstrate that the elections, in which so many brave people died and risked their lives, can create a pathway to security and democracy or they may lose the trust of the Iraqis themselves in the whole political process and plunge Iraq into more bloody strife.

The political process would be further strengthened with the removal of both foreign troops and their military bases.

But this decision should rest with the new democratically elected legislative body. No other authority has the right to decide otherwise.

Iraq, after all these years of turmoil and wars, should embrace a political structure that sees the formation of a united, democratic and federal nation. But it requires internal discipline and genuine external support for democracy to grow and flourish in Iraq.



--Abdullah Muhsin is a representative of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions.