•  Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim calls for a majority government that relies on representing the Iraqi people’s basic components in order to serve the homeland and the citizen.

    2012/ 10 /11 

    Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim calls for a majority government that relies on representing the Iraqi people’s basic components in order to serve the homeland and the citizen.

    Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, Head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), has called for the forming of a government of a majority of political forces comprised of the Iraqi people’s basic components, explaining that the three past years witnessed the failure of the political forces to reach a government of full national partnership. His Eminence pointed out that the political majority government may be the way out of the political crisis because it relies on a partnership of components in which the lead is taken by a team that is harmonious with several political movements representing the Iraqi people. He explained that the Supreme Council in particular and the Movement of the Martyr of the Niche in general did not reach a decision to participate in a majority government in the present term, stressing that everyone reached the conviction that partnership in its present form is no longer a successful and productive option; rather, slogans are raised here and there. This came up in the Weekly Cultural Forum which was held at the office of His Eminence in Baghdad on Wednesday, October 10, 2012. His Eminence called on the political forces to admit this conviction and to go to other solutions, warning that staying in the same whirlpool takes the country to slides which he described as being dangerous.

    Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim pointed out that the Movement of the Martyr of the Niche is one of the movements that advocate national partnership the most due to his belief in the country’s diversity. His Eminence retracted saying that the political reality is witnessing a big change at the present time, that the components are no longer represented by forces that are united in their political vision, granting a big opportunity to go to a majority government provided the basic components in the society are represented in it. His Eminence added saying that the majority government also permits fledgling political forces from all components to assume their roles in the country’s political development movement.

    His Eminence explained that the solution of the political majority government is harsh and painful as well as distant from the national ambition as some see it, and the movement of the Martyr of the Niche supports them, but a solution has to be found, and looking for a solution is much better than staying without a solution. He stressed that the present situation means that the political process is idled and paralyzed with a tiny chance for recovery for the three past years, stressing that talking to people, offering calming statements and courtesies no longer suffice in the shade of the matters arriving dangerous levels. He hoped the efforts of His Excellency the President of the Republic will be crowned with success to get out of the political crisis, and this solution may be one of the options submitted for deliberation in the national meeting of political leaderships.

    Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim stressed that in the majority government, one of the sides will bear the full responsibility, and this is better than its being lost among the sides in addition to the loss of the nation of Iraq, its hopes and aspirations in the midst of this unannounced political war. He explained that the Supreme Council in particular and the Movement of the Martyr of the Niche in general have not decided to participate in the majority government in the present term, retracting, “But we will support it strongly from the onset of our belief in the necessity of getting out of the bottleneck and to cause a quantum leap in the tense political process in Iraq. He stressed that non-participation stems from the inner conviction of the Supreme Council of the necessity of completing the process of the reform, political, organizational and ideological building of its institutions and bases that are regarded as a priority at the present time.

    Drone penetrating Israeli air spaces sends a message to decision makers and war generals:
    Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim regarded the penetrating by a plane without a pilot (drone) of the Israeli air spaces as an evidence that refutes the Israeli claims that it has an invincible army, pointing out that a plane commanded via remote control slowly penetrating Israel’s air spaces represents a clear gap in the structure of the Israeli army. His Eminence cited the example of the July war between the Israeli army and the Islamic resistance in southern Lebanon, stressing that this penetration carries security and political messages to decision makers and war generals to stop disseminating hatred among the area’s nation and not to go too far in involving the region in wars that push it to the worst. He demanded Israel to abandon its logic of superiority over the nations because such era is gone, and that the Arab peoples have reclaimed their stance, stressing that a day would come when the Palestinian people will win victory.

    University grant law: An opportunity to disseminate the banking culture

    The Head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq stressed that the university grant law, which has been ratified by the presidency of the republic, is the best opportunity for the Citizen Bloc that has carried the banner of the grant, leading to its enactment and ratification with the start of the academic year. His Eminence wished that this law would not be forced into delay procedures and complex routine. His Eminence wondered about the value of a law which is not employed in the direction of its legislation.
    His Eminence called on the concerned entities to notice the students’ need for this law, pointing out to the allotment by the parliament of fifty billions from the 2012 budget to carry out this law being sufficient to pay for the entitlements of the three past months. He stressed the necessity that the disbursement mechanism must be smooth so that the grant may not be turned into pain and long rows that exhaust the students. He called on the students to open bank accounts in the Iraqi banks to receive this grant, regarding these measures as an opportunity to disseminate the banking culture, enhancing the status of the banks and turning the banks into actual financial institutions that provide services to the citizen rather than quasi-exchange shops.

    Priority of higher education and scientific research:
    Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim demanded the higher education and scientific research must have a special budget in the 2013 budget, explaining that the 2013 budget would be bigger than that of the present year, calling for focus in the next budget on matters that concern the citizen. He pointed out that the ministry of higher education and scientific research had undertaken steps to raise the level of science, but the challenges remain big, placing us before the need to allot a percentage for scientific research, for supporting the scientific research by increasing scholarships, developing programs, raising the scientific level of universities and restoring them to the lead position on the regional level. He stressed that this can be done only through support for research and researchers, regarding the scientific research as the most important criterion to develop homeland. He demanded the Citizen Bloc in the parliament to focus on the scientific research and that the budget for higher education must not be confined to only operating it.

    Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim calls for establishing the library of the Iraqi council of representatives:
    Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim called for the establishment of a library in the Iraqi council of representatives (parliament) for the benefit of the parliament and the rest of Iraqi institutions as is the case with the Library of the U.S. Congress which contains millions of books. He explained that building a library for the parliament is better than the additional allotments for buying newspapers, magazines and stationery for each MP, stressing that the legislative institution must maintain the trust of the street in it in its capacity as the mother institution, calling for making the street feel that the legislative institution works to serve him through ratifying important laws, and this has been represented by the present term in ratifying such laws.