Nouri Al-Maliki’s new authoritarian theory: Blood for Blood

By Kamal Chomani:

Twitter: @KamalChomani

Since 2006 more than 250 journalists and academics have been killed in Iraq; their blood has gone for free. It was only a week ago that Iraq’s Premier, Nouri Al-Maliki, woke up and theorized an authoritarian theory for killing a journalist; blood for blood.

Maliki has been making propaganda for his emphasis on the rule of law in Iraq. He has even named his political entity as the “State of Law”. Yet, there are grounds to argue that his ‘rule of law’ has been imposed on his rivals only.

Manipulation and politicizing the killing of journalist Muhammad Bidawi and using this case to create tensions between Arabs and Kurds to gain more electoral votes: that was Maliki’s purpose in saying “blood for blood” after the incident.

Most importantly, our ruling parties and Maliki usually do a win-win game to fuel the masses through enthusiast-nationalist-rhetoric discourses before any elections that ultimately may lead once to real tensions. If Maliki approaches such cases as tribal cases of ‘blood’, the ruling parties here will benefit from it as in response they use the same discourse to show up how nationalist they are.

The tribal mentality is the most serious devastating issue for Iraq. Alas, it becomes even more terrible when a political figure brings tribal regulations into politics. Though Iraq’s society has been divided into tribes and each tribe is so committed to tribal obligations, yet they still understand diversities in Iraq. Tribal people were helpful when Kurds were displaced to South of Iraq. There have been hardly any problems between Kurdish tribes and Arab tribes that living in the same neighborhoods.

There is an internal coexistence between Iraqi people that politics has destroyed. There have been marriages between Kurdish and Arab tribes. People have not been aggressive to each other during the history but it was politics that has made enemies of the peoples. Even though this internal coexistence has disappeared between Shi’a and Sunni groups in Iraq, it has so far survived between Kurds and Arabs. This is what Maliki may not be happy about.

The disastrous paradox is that Maliki as a governmental leader tried to make the case a tribal issue, whereas the tribe leader of Shammar tried to give a chance for the law to work. Interference in the judiciary is always a very dangerous step by any political leader.

We, in the Kurdistan region, have a long and strong struggle to strengthen freedom of expression which has been under threat in our region for so long. Our three anti-corruption journalists have been murdered, yet no independent investigation has been conducted. We have had thousands of media campaigns, protests, and calling on the international community, even the parliaments of different countries of the world, and yet our struggle to bring justice to the murderers continues. We consider Muhammad Bidawi as one of our freedom of speech martyrs. Bidawi is no different to our own freedom of speech martyrs, but we are concerned that his case is being used for dirty politics. We have never allowed any political figures to decide on our behalf in our struggle to strengthen freedom of speech in the Kurdistan region.

Principally, we are concerned about any violations of human rights and freedom of speech in the whole of Iraq, but we are totally against destroying the bridge of friendship between the Arabs and Kurds; this is what Maliki has tried to do.

Of course, the case should be brought to the courts and the courts should decide on the incident, not Maliki.

Luckily, Maliki failed in his theorization so far. Maliki’s political conflicts with Kurdish political figures should not victimize the coexistence between Kurds and Arabs.

Such a statement by Maliki will leave a space for atrocities to happen against Kurdish people who are living in Baghdad; meanwhile, it puts the Arab residents in Kurdistan region in a difficult situation. If ‘blood for blood’ becomes the solution, thousands of ‘bloods’ will be lost.