he Collapse of Dictatorship!/A News Bulletin issued by the Iraqi Communist Party /20-4-2003

http://www.iraqcp.org/framse1/0030420iraqnewsE.htm

IRAQ NEWS

A News Bulletin issued by the Iraqi Communist Party
Information Bureau Abroad

BM Al-Tarik, London , WC1N 3XX, UK Fax: 01895621733
Tel: 07939529280 E-mail: iraq@iraqcp.org Internet: www.iraqcp.org

Date: 20-4-2003

"Tareeq Al-Sha'ab" - the Central Organ of the Iraqi Communist Party April 2003 - No.9, Year 68

The Collapse of Dictatorship!

Our People Aspire to an Independent and Unified Federal Democratic Iraq

The first edition of Tareeq Al-Sha'ab (the central organ of the Iraqi Communist Party) since the collapse and demise of Saddam's dictatorial regime, has just come out .. Tens of thousands of copies of the paper have been distributed, openly, in the capital Baghdad and other cities and towns throughout Iraq.

The following is the main article, published on its first page:

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

The most brutal dictatorship in Iraq's modern history has collapsed. It was also one of the most tyrannical dictatorship ever known in the modern history of the area and the world, and perhaps the only one which has inflicted or caused all this damage, destruction and devastation to its country and people, materially and morally, as well as economically, socially, culturally and psychologically, in every field and sphere of life!

With the collapse of the tyrant and his regime, the hopes and will have been fulfilled of the overwhelming majority of our Iraqi people, who 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, first and last, the price for his reckless policy which had no regard for the people and homeland, and the price for his foolish policies .. and their sacrifices to get rid of the dictatorship were enormous and almost with no parallel.

If it has been difficult, until the very recent day, to describe the suffering of our people and how deep was their pain and sorrow under Saddam's tyranny and his barbaric rule, it is also difficult today to describe the joy of the masses of people with the fall of the dictator and getting rid of his regime, despite all the tragedies and pain which accompanied this collapse as a result of invasion and war, which should have, and could have, been avoided.

There is no doubt that it was the invasion, backed with the latest military technology and the most destructive means of classic warfare, which made it possible to smash the regime's military capabilities, tearing up and fragmenting the formations which it had been relying upon, that led directly to the fall of the dictatorship.

A Hated and Isolated Regime

But there is no doubt also that it was not the only reason for its fall. This regime has crumbled and collapsed for another fundamental reason: the weight of its crimes against the people, its abuse of the interests and sovereignty of the homeland, and exposing both the people and the homeland to a succession of catastrophes with no end in sight, the latest of which have been the catastrophes of this last war itself.

The reason for its fall is also what all this has generated: a total and deep schism between the people on one hand and the dictator and his clique, on the other hand. And also the hate and resentment towards the tyrant and his rule which it deepened among the people .. giving 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 from 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 that it would be defeat and collapse.

The People Punish the Dictator

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

It was, therefore, natural that the people were not sorry for the fall and collapse of the dictatorial rulers, and that no one shed a tear for them as they met this fate!

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, they 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 brute regime, and almost dissipating it! They have also contributed, and continue to do so day after day, to intensifying their rejection of what has been planned to be imposed on Iraq!

Incomplete Joy

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 which had been available to them, such as clean water, electricity, medicine and food .. which no attention was paid to ensure that they are provided for the people, in clear violation of the obligations under international treaties, in particular the Geneva convention regarding the responsibility of occupation powers towards the population of occupied areas.

Total abandonment of this responsibility has even led at the end 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.

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

Looting and Vandalism .. a Sign of Freedom?

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 went as far as saying 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!

But what has especially caused utmost anger and protest among our people, as well as on international level, was what this irresponsible behaviour resulted in: a grave deterioration in the conditions of hospitals and of water and electricity services, as a result of acts of looting. This in turn further deepened the suffering of millions of our people.

Seeking Help from Elements of the Buried Regime!

Even worse was that 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 there is increasing need for urgently tackling the security situation. But care must be taken to ensure that these few are not among those who had been involved in committing crimes against the people, or had indulged in corruption and bribery, and must be among those who respect human rights and the law.

On the other hand, as the daily suffering of millions of Iraqis aggravates, and UN agencies and international humanitarian organisations call upon nations of the world, especially the US and Britain as the two occupying powers, to take urgent steps to ensure providing drinking water, and food for the people because what they had stocked continues to run down, in addition to providing security and stability .. Under such conditions, efforts are being made to push to the forefront the process of preparing for setting up "an Iraqi administration" which is intended to operate as part of the military rule which the US is going ahead with establishing 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 does already point out.

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 through setting up an interim patriotic and democratic coalition government, broadly based in its representation of the forces of our people and their political parties which have fought for so long against the dictatorship and for the democratic alternative.

Only such a government, which represents the interests and aspirations of our people, including all their political and national components and 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 the new constitution of a democratic Iraq, and provide the prerequisites for conducting free and fair elections in which the people choose the government they want.

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 .. one whose task would be, first and foremost, to call for a conference for 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.