Sayyid Ammar Al Hakim Calls for a Political, Media and Public Mobilization Tantamount to the Military Mobilization to Fight ISIS
Sayyid Ammar Al Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, called for a political, media and public mobilization tantamount to the military mobilization to fight ISIS, explaining that victory requires the integration of roles and adding that some are still providing modest support although it has become impossible to remain impartial or in the middle. His eminence warned that the blood of the martyrs and the wounded is not cheap, so their sacrifices should not be the target of attempts of public opinion misleading and false news aiming to influence the residents of the usurped regions and stir up their confessional feelings. He also assured that the security forces and heroes of the popular crowd have come to free their country, protect their parents in these regions and preserve their honor and money, insisting that the cohesion of Iraqi tribes at this delicate time reflects their distinction and real stance in their war against the dark terrorism causing havoc in their regions and messing with the minds of some of their sons. Furthermore, his eminence stated that the current phase is a valuable opportunity to prove the credibility and patriotism of many Iraqis who haven’t have the chance to express their positions regarding terrorism by deed not by word. He called upon the heroes of the popular crowd and combatants of the armed forces to protect the civilians and the properties of citizens, and to avoid as much as possible clashes in crowded regions. His eminence also highlighted that the terrorism of ISIS has nothing to lose and that it is heading towards defeat and working on diffusing the culture of death and destruction. He explained that Iraqis of all ethnicities, sects and religions have a lot to preserve, firstly, the souls of citizens and combatants of the popular crowd and other armed forces. His eminence insisted that giving an efficient role to the residents of usurped regions in the liberation of their regions could protect a lot of souls, achieve a qualitative domination over the enemy and instill the principle of the one common enemy.
This came during the weekly cultural forum held in his eminence’s office in Baghdad, on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
The International Coalition is Not Showing Enough Seriousness and Efficiency in the War on Terrorism in Iraq
Regarding the role of the international coalition in the war on terrorism, Sayyid Ammar Al Hakim affirmed that the coalition is not showing enough seriousness and efficiency compared to the barbaric and cruel attack that terrorism is launching on Iraq and Iraqis. He pointed out that dozens of countries have announced their adherence to the international coalition against terrorism, but their participation is semi-symbolic, as if we were in a military parade and not in a fight against the most repugnant terrorist group ever known by history. He added that they talk about embarrassing timeframes that are not aligned with their tremendous military capacities. The international coalition is dealing with the events as if they were related to an armed military conflict subject to the rules of battle and time. His eminence indicated that terrorism is disesteeming the coalition every day and is responding to its air operations with more destruction of historical sites, more killing of Iraqi citizens and more terrorist campaigns. He also expressed his trust that the coalition can provide more military, intelligence and logistic support to Iraq and can increase the efficiency of its operations and air strikes to destroy ISIS’ military structure in more than one place. Sayyid Al Hakim underlined that the members of ISIS have proven to be against history, civilization and humanity as they are destroying monuments after robbing them. Thousands of innocent victims have been killed since the outset of this barbaric attack, millions were displaced, hundreds of villages and dozens of towns were destroyed. His eminence assured that the security forces, the popular crowd, the members of tribes and the Peshmerga forces are starting to assume more roles and to take the lead, for they’ve realized that they have to fight this decisive battle relying mainly on their own capacities and will.
Iran was the First One to Respond to Iraq’s Call to Fight Terrorism
On the Iranian role in this fight, his eminence highlighted that the Islamic Republic was the first one to respond to Iraq’s call for help, on all fronts, starting from the Baghdad belt up until the border of Erbil, without any political conditions or reservations.
He pointed out that the Islamic Republic did not wait for terrorism to commit its crimes to send assistance, but rather anticipated the gravity of the situation since its start. His eminence explained that the announced goals of ISIS are the expiation and extinguishment of Shias, thus, it is normal for Iran to play an efficient role in this war because it is in fact its direct war against terrorism just like it is the Iraqis’, adding that it is also the war of the region and of the entire world. His eminence expressed his regret for seeing that some in the region cannot feel the danger until it knocks on their door, and do not take terrorism seriously until it hits their cities and kill their sons.
He explained that Iran is not of that type and that it has stood by the Iraqis in the far and near past and today is standing by them with all its capacities, maintaining that Iraq will evaluate its future relations with all parties through the positions they adopt towards this pivotal war. He also said that those who pretend being concerned about the fate of Iraq and the Iraqis’ life must prove it by showing their public, direct and effective support for Iraq and Iraqis in this war in which the Iraqis are engaged to defend themselves and in proxy for the countries of the region and the world, recalling his call to all the generous people who are willing to support Iraq to form a wide regional front to exterminate the extremist thought and behavior away from the sectarian sensitivities, so as to restore security and stability in the region.
National Reconciliation… A Step to Rebuild the Country
Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim stressed the need for a real global, strong national reconciliation based on a comprehensive, full array of security, political, community and developmental solutions, stating that the reconciliation must be in favor of Iraq and not at its expense. His Eminence also said that it is necessary to determine on what we must agree on, under what conditions, with whom and with what guarantees, and that these questions are essential to identify the routes and the roadmap of the reconciliation, adding that the pragmatism and the self-frankness are the main factors of success and stability, and that although it might cause pain and hurt, frankness is the only way to find real, satisfying results to the problems we are facing in the country. According to him, the Iraqi community has been under pressures that no people in the regions have ever gone through before; however, albeit their severity, they couldn’t compromise the basic structure of the Iraqi society. The previous attempts of reconciliation were controlled by moodiness and narcissism, as well as by the interest and the instantaneous need of a specific party. In his view, the reconciliation is a concept, a vision, a project, and not an item we buy or a slogan we uphold. Here, he said that by identifying the concept, putting in place the vision and believing in the one united Iraq project, Iraqis can start with the real, correct reconciliation with effective results that would be observed all over the Iraqi community.
West-Iran Nuclear Agreement
Moreover, his Eminence said he welcomes any agreement between Iraq and the western powers concerning the Iranian nuclear program, for such agreement would increase the trust, preserve all parties’ rights and spare the region more tension, and if signed, the West-Iran deal will reinforce the anti-terrorism front and constitute an important step forward. He said the Islamic Republic of Iraq vowed, before the whole world, to use its nuclear project for peaceful purposes, and not to produce or use nuclear weapons, and the world, in general, and the West in particular must respect such vow and deals with it with trust and good faith. According to him, risking the loss of this big chance will open wide the door to lots of risks and unfavorable possibilities.
Iraqi Diplomacy and Terrorist Crimes
His Eminence requested the Iraqi diplomacy to work as quickly as possible on encouraging the international community and the Security Council to issue a law that incriminates the destruction of the Iraqi ancient artifacts and considers it as war crime, saying such acts prove that if those criminals take over the land, they would be worse than plague and than any bacteria humans have ever known, and that such acts are the outcome of the perverted mind and the falsified doctrine. He added that our leaders and imams have fought them throughout the history because they recognized how much dangerous they are and therefore, they must be nipped in the bud. According to him, the erosion of the thousands year old archeological cities is an act that no mind can grasp and no criminal has ever dared to loot archeological artifacts and sites.
Halabja… Eternal Image in the Human Memory
On the other hand, his Eminence describes the painful tragedy of Halabja as the crime that claimed thousands of innocent civilians who were killed by the fiercest authoritarian regime that disregarded the value and dignity of the human being, calling on the international community to assume its big responsibility and put an end to such heinous crimes by preventing the tyrants and authoritarians from dominating the innocent people and exterminating them to feed their sadism and foster their illegal power.
The Scholarship Students
Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim thanked the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for its right decision to back down on the reduction of the costs of the scholarship students. He also thanked the supreme religious authority, all civil society bodies, the media and everyone who contributed in explaining and exposing the serious damages caused by such decision. He added that this common effort confirms the strong ability to change and to correct the mistakes whenever there is a correct vision, diligent follow-up and effective collective participation, hoping that the scholarship students return to the country to compensate their people and their country alongside the other students in the Iraqi universities for all the years of destruction, ignorance and deprivation.
