SAYYID AMMAR AL-HAKIM WARNS AGAINST FORCING NATIONAL CONSTANTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS INTO THE POLITICAL CRISES.
Iraqi Martyr Day holds concerned institutions greatly responsible for compensating families of martyrs and victims of terrorism.
The commemoration of the Iraqi Martyr Day has passed by, the memory of the martyrdom of the Martyr of the Niche, and of the departure of Iraq’s Aziz, the day when we bring to memory all Iraq’s martyrs who fell prey to the former despotic dictatorial regime and the victims of terrorism who were targeted by the paralyzed hand of terrorism, of blind terrorism which targeted the citizens, killing people on roads for many years. On the Iraqi Martyr Day, we bring to memory all those martyrs and stand up to honor, respect and regard their sacrifices, offerings and what they gave to this homeland, to what they achieved: defending and committing themselves to the affairs of this good homeland. On the Iraqi Martyr Day, we bring to memory all those martyrs from the peaks of Kurdistan’s mountains to the marshlands of the south to every governorate in Iraq where a martyr fell, where pure Iraqi blood was shed, everywhere, every governorate, from all Iraqi components. On the Iraqi Martyr Day, we bring to memory all those martyrs and remember their relatives and families and our responsibilities, as a people, a nation and a state, towards the families of the martyrs, for the constitution has secured rights for them which are still out of their reach. The laws in effect in our homeland set aside allotments, concessions, land plots, etc., but the process of granting the rights and compensating the families of the martyrs is very slow. This places the big responsibility on the shoulders of the concerned institutions which bear the burdens of this responsibility and compensate the families of the martyrs and victims of terrorism. These families live very tough conditions these days. The widows and orphans are living in unsuitable and inappropriate places and under very critical economic conditions. This makes us sympathize with their ordeal and pain on a day such as this on which we remember the Iraqi martyr. Honoring the families of the martyrs is not anyone’s favor but a legitimate and patriotic duty the responsibility towards which we all bear in order to remove injustice from these families. Who can compensate for the loss of a dear one a family lost? The matter is not to make up for that great soul that departed, the precious martyr, but it is dressing the moral wounds of these good families. The Iraqi Martyr Day must turn from its symbolic nature to a reality, a true endeavor that glorifies Iraq’s martyrs in all their hues, spectrums and diversities, ensuring dignified living for their families.
Repairing the Supreme Council’s institution, restructuring it and distributing the leading roles in it drew admiration of observers inside and outside Iraq.
The Martyr of the Niche Movement has been able on this occasion to carry out many quantum activities in the forefront of which is the 11th conference of the Supreme Council’s general board when this conference was held and discussions, in-depth and detailed deliberations took place in it regarding the internal affairs of the Martyr of the Niche Movement, in the Iraqi domestic affair, in the regional and global issues. It came out with important and big results on the level of the Martyr of the Niche Movement and on the level of repairing the Martyr of the Niche Movement, restructuring it and distributing the leading roles in it then going to the transparent and free elections of the political office, leadership board and the presidency of the Supreme Council before television screens and as the public see and hear in a modern and new initiative of which Iraq and the Arab world are proud. They will be proud that such a development takes place in the political forces, one that is transparent with regard to the performance of these forces when they deal with great responsibility in self-development, in showing their reality anew so they will be loyal to their people and to the big expectations anticipated of them. The news media covered this big event in all its details, and it was the object of admiration of observers inside and outside Iraq.
The consensus won by our nomination for the presidency of the Supreme Council places us before a historic and ethical responsibility to be loyal to this responsibility before the members of the Martyr of the Niche Movement and before our Iraqi people in general. We plead to Allah, the most Praised and the most Exalted One, to grant us success to perform the trust and to be on the level of responsibility and the good impression of citizens of our Iraqi people.
Great and distinctive work of organizations of the Martyr of the Niche Movement on the Iraqi Martyr Day places them before a big historic responsibility to serve the homeland and the citizen.
After that, there was the million-man meeting of the Martyr of the Niche Movement which took place concurrently in 16 governorates as well as in 13 countries for the Martyr of the Niche Movement’s organizations for these countries’ Iraqi communities, four of them simultaneously and the others are independent celebrations because the timings were not suitable for those countries and regions. This represents a big transformation when such a million-man gathering takes place concurrently in this broad number of Iraqi governorates with synchronization and a high level of organization, with unified slogans clearly sending a unified message to our Iraqi citizens and to all observers in the world. Such a great and distinctive work may be the largest in Iraq since 2003 and till our day. Iraq never witnessed a gathering in such a size. This organization, this diversity which we have witnessed on this holy occasion, this great and distinctive work… places the Martyr of the Niche Movement organizations before a big historic responsibility. The Martyr of the Niche Movement has to bear this responsibility and stand to carry out its obligations towards its citizens since it has such a big, broad and effective organization, with great youthful energies, it has to have a presence to serve the public, the homeland and the citizen in a way that is harmonious with its clout, size and ability to move and be greatly effective, an example of loyalty for the sons and daughters of the Martyr of the Niche, the loyalty to the Iraqi people. These have taken a pledge to themselves and to their people that they would identify the mistakes and to deal with them, to rebuild themselves and instill in this Movement the youthful spirit, enthusiasm and resolve, and to serve the homeland and the citizen. They raised this slogan; they have undertaken the process of review, correction, development and self-building, offering themselves, as they had promised, for their own countrymen.
My thanks, appreciation and pride in all the Martyr of the Niche Movement organizations inside and outside Iraq for the epic which they have recorded and for the distinctive performance…
The openness which the Martyr of the Niche Movement witnesses on the youthful energies, Iraqi tribes, Iraqi woman and all social segments is to full the promises which we made to ourselves with Allah, the most Praised and the most Exalted One, and to our countrymen. Thus, this great celebration turned into an epic for loyalty for the organizations of the Martyr of the Niche Movement towards their people and nation. I express my thanks, appreciation and pride to and for all Martyr of the Niche Movement organizations inside and outside Iraq for this epic which they recorded and for this distinctive performance which they undertook, and for this enthusiasm through which they expressed their loyalty to the Martyr of the Niche and to Iraq’s Aziz, for this blessed path. In particular, I would like to thank, appreciate and laud hundreds of youthful leaderships in various areas of Iraq who stood and administered this process, achieving this great epic. My thanks and appreciation goes to all of them, and Allah’s thanks shall be even greater.
We did what we had to, and Allah, Glory and Exaltation are His, is the One Who supported us and enabled us to succeed, helping us win such a great achievement. But I would like to direct to them some recommendations on this occasion, too. Be informed, my dear ones, that this victory comes from Allah, Praise and Exaltation belong to Him. We have been raised Islamically to follow the path of the Messenger of Allah (Õ) and of his glorious Ahl al-Bayt (Ú), that if any victory or achievement takes place, we see that it is done through assistance and is destined from and by Allah, the most Praised and Exalted One, through His care, attention and affection, and only Him. He, and only He, has the favor in these achievements and victories. If a stumble or procrastination takes place, it is from ourselves. We need high determination to bypass these stumbles; therefore, we see that this victory and this epic is from Allah, the most Praised and Exalted One, and not from us. We have done what we should, and Allah, to Whom all the Praise and Exaltation belong, is the One Who guided and supported us, helping us make this great achievement.
As our strength grows, so does our humbleness, and we humble ourselves before the people, dedicating and employing our strength in serving the people…
O sons and daughters of the Martyr of the Niche and of Iraq’s Aziz! This magnificent, distinctive and broad attendance must make us feel more humble and modest to help the citizens. The slogan of serving the homeland and the citizen is one which you raised for yourselves, and you must be loyal to this slogan. We must be at the service of the homeland and the citizen in all our circumstances and conditions. Conceit, haughtiness and self-glorification as well as looking down at the citizens must be obliterated from our dictionary, while humbleness and modesty before the citizens and the serving of the public are our slogans, goal and objective and nothing else. The stronger we get, the more humble we become, the more modest and the more we look down at ourselves before the people, dedicating this strength to serve the people. I also commend you, my loved ones, to prepare yourselves to continue the project with resolve, insistence and firmness, for we are at the beginning of the beginning, and we are still getting further from our dissertations. We need a lot of time and effort to achieve the ambitions which make us all what our citizens hope, and all what we hope for ourselves: to be at levels of readiness and preparedness to serve this good people. Therefore, we have to continue to rehabilitate ourselves, develop our capabilities, provide the element of competence, commitment, straightforwardness and firmness in our souls. We now enter the phase of doctrinal and ideological building, the political building, and the preparedness to serve the citizens with all the power we have been given. We have to work hard to get our message to reach our countrymen so they may understand our project and get to know our intentions, so they may think well of us at a time when very few of people think well of politics and politicians in general.
Allah, the most Praised and Exalted One, says the following in His Holy Book: “Once you are through, declare your enmity (towards evil), and towards Your Lord should your desire be.” Whenever we end a round, we complete an achievement, we must get ready for the next round and be prepared for the other step, relying on Allah, the most Praised and the most Exalted One, from Whom we derive the strength to remain firm, to be clear, and to solely dedicate ourselves to serve Him, the most Praised and the most Exalted One that He is, to go forward and make our way. Allah, to Whom Glory and Exaltation belong, is our Protector and Refuge; He is the One Who shall grant us victory because this is His promise. Allah, the most Glorified and Exalted One, promised those who believe in Him to grant them victory, so let us be believers, and let us bear our responsibilities towards our people so we may earn the victory of Allah, the Praised and the Exalted One.
We thank and appreciate all dignitaries and leaders who participated in person or who sent delegates representing them and who participated in this great celebration with us.
The official meeting was held on the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Martyr of the Niche at the peak of the political crisis and political tension among Iraqi leaderships. But we noticed in this celebration the attendance of all respectful Iraqi leaderships in their various trends and tastes. We must express our thanks and appreciation of all the dignitaries and leaders who participated in person or sent representatives on their behalf and shared with us this big and important celebration. After that, there was a meeting with the great religious authorities. Thus are we accustomed after every achievement: We go to our great religious authorities to acquaint them and inform them of what we do, think and make plans. We noticed a great deal of appreciation, respect and understanding of the paths of the Supreme Council by our great religious authorities. This made us glad, and we sense the weight of the responsibility on our shoulders. We plead to Allah to enable us to always be worthy of the good impression of our great religious authorities and of that of our citizens. We renew our commitment to our noble Iraqi people that we shall loyal to them, safeguarding the trust, defending the project and serving this people, standing in the face of those corrupt with all types of corruption, be it financial, administrative or anything else, so we may be loyal to our people and fulfill our promises to ourselves and to our people.
We are passing a phase which is extremely sensitive, requiring more wisdom, terseness, care, vision and the precise calculation of steps.
The fever of fiery statements escalates among the political contenders as the proposed solutions magnify from every side and so does the inability to reach a unified result to resolve the present political crisis in the country. We have to be frank with our countrymen and admit that the crisis has reached limits that ring the danger knell. We are passing through a very sensitive phase which requires more wisdom, terseness, care, vision and the precise calculating of the steps so we may not miss the opportunity to keep ourselves together, tackle the crisis and return to accord, stability, love, toleration and affection among the Iraqis. Without this, the citizen will drown in fears and obsessions which he lives as a result of this aggravating crisis, seeing how matters continuously deteriorate, the crisis turning into a chronic political complex that is difficult to resolve and disentangle. The solutions have become difficult. Each part of the problem renders the other part idle. They turn into breaking the wills. This makes us very much worried because the citizen will thus lose and so will the homeland; we all will lose the project for which we sacrificed the pure blood of the honest and patriotic citizens of this homeland.
Involving the Iraqi street in the political crises, hinting at getting down to the street and getting people out in order to rank themselves with this or that in these crises is a big unforgivable sin.
We do not want a solution in which the citizen loses while some politicians win. The homeland and the citizen must be the basis, the first issue on the basis of which all other interests and issues are organized. We stress once more the need to show flexibility and reliance on the principle of mutual concessions among the political sides within the frame of the general national interests and the serious dialogue, and to go forward towards the national conference around the table of which all political sides get together to seriously and responsibly discuss with a true will the basic outstanding issues and come out of this crisis which the country lives. Thus, we put the interests of the homeland, the citizen and the country’s general interests above any other interest. We do not know any doable and acceptable solution that ensures the country’s general interests and prevents more crises, not expanding the crisis, not adopting patching and incomplete solutions…, other than through these steps about which we talked so much, reminding others of them. We plead to Allah, the most Praised and Exalted One, to enable us to continue this path and to see more political stability and concord among the political groups. We also warn against involving the national constants, the constitutional and public rights in the present political crisis. Whenever we stand at a crisis, some people come out of this governorate or that to call for federalism, hinting at pressuring the other partners to turn federalism from a constitutional reality into a political pressure card which each side brandishes in the direction of the other. Whenever matters stabilize, some people come out to say that federalism is the reason for dividing Iraq, for partitioning Iraq, and we must avoid it. And whenever the crisis intensifies, the same people go back to talk differently, regarding federalism as a constitutional right, and that it is the path towards achieving citizens’ rights. Such a double standard in the criteria and the use of these constants and constitutional rights for our citizens within the political argument card and the exchanged political pressures abuse the constitution and abuse these constitutional rights. So is the case with the subject of Iraq’s unity and involving it in the political crises. Whenever a crisis takes place, some people from here or there hint that this jeopardizes Iraq’s unity. Everyone must know that the rulers came and went in a long history whereas Iraq has remained untied, that the crises came, went and are gone, whereas Iraq remains as a unified unit without being fragmented. So, we must not confuse Iraq’s unity with formalities and daily political crisis which we live in our homeland and also involving the ethnic and sectarian trends and the ditching behind ethnicities and groups in a political struggle and argument. This harms the security and stability of this good country and will increase the complication of these crises. When we involve new sids in the crisis, it will be difficult to control them. This will create more problems. Also, involving the Iraqi street in the political crises, hinting at getting down to the street and getting people out to rank themselves with this or with that in these crises is a very big unforgivable sin. Everyone has the street. If each leadership wants to get down to its street in order to get the other street out, and we thus make the dispute move from one among the politicians to one among the people on the ground, especially with the ethnic, sectarian, tribal and regional diversity which we live in Iraq. This means planting hatred and animosity among the people, going to the unknown and entering a dark tunnel. The full responsibility for this is borne by those who move towards the street and get down to the street in order to “resolve” the politicians’ crises here and there.
We once more stress the pivotal role of the religious Marji`iyya, its sponsorship of matters and public affairs in the land.
Lately heard statements by the representative of the religious Marji`iyya, expressing the latter’s disappointment for the political blocs ignoring the Marji’iyya’s pieces of advice and directions and the harms this results to the interests of the homeland and the citizen. We emphasize once more the pivotal role of the religious Marji`iyya and its sponsorship of the public matters and affairs in the land, and that its moral position, its direct contact with the public, makes it one of the most important sources of identifying people’s problems and concerns, the street’s pulse and that of the public opinion, making it the conscience of the nation, enabling it to sense the citizens’ general pains and suffering; so, the directions and guidance of the religious Marji`iyya must be adopted in order to develop matters, improve the conditions, serve the citizen and enhance his trust in the officials.
What is important in Imam al-Khomeini’s personality is inclusiveness.
The anniversary of the departure of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) is approaching, that of the great authority who left his footprints on our contemporary history not on the level of the Iranian people only, and not on the level of the region and of that of the Islamic countries, but he left his fingerprints on our international reality in general, standing in the face of the despotic Pahlavi regime, bearing a great deal of suffering living exiled from his homeland for fifteen years during which he migrated to Turkey, Iraq then France. The return to the homeland took place thereafter. He returned victorious following a lengthy period of suffering, a serious predicament and pain which he tolerated during the period of the exile from the homeland and the monitoring of the continuous confrontation of the despotic and dictatorial Pahlavi regime in Iran. The firmness of Imam Khomeini and his insistence on his project, constants and vision to save the Iranian people, his great belief in Allah, the most Praised and Exalted One, and in Allah’s victory to the faithful did not let him shake, nor did he hesitate for one moment despite the lengthy suffering through which he passed and his true leadership of millions of the citizens of the Muslim people of Iran during very complicated conditions, his uniting the Iranian opposition in all its spectrums, trends and affiliations…, all this enabled Imam Khomeini to achieve this great victory for the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and that he would become an authority that leads the people and this good state in the direction of prosperity, building, reconstruction and affluence on the religious and service levels. The religious authority has always been a support, a lighthouse, an axis for the national unity, for facing injustice, oppression and the standing in the face of despotism, bearing all pains and difficulties for the sake of the prosperity and freedom of the Islamic nations. What is important in the personality of Imam Khomeini is the inclusiveness of the character of this great man. He was a faqih who was able to renew fiqh, providing important and new theories especially on the level of political and global fiqh. He was also a Gnostic who was able to establish a Gnostic school in the light of the School of Ahl al-Bayt (Õ). He was a philosopher, a social reformer, a brilliant political leader who was able to stand in the face of all dangers and challenges and make a great achievement for his people, for the Islamic nations and for the downtrodden in the world. Thus, he became a lighthouse to be emulated, and his experiment was useful for others, not only his experience in Iran but in all places of the world. And he demonstrated a great deal of interest in the youths and in woman for his project and movement.
We can sum-up the political theory of Imam Khomeini, which became the basis in the philosophy of the Islamic state and in the practical framework of the present political system in Iran, in 12 points:
ONE: Sovereignty of the divine laws. Imam Khomeini saw the need for the ruler to be Islamic, that he would refer to the Islamic legislations and that they should be the basis for the legislations and laws that run the good country.
TWO: The masses control their destiny, the public play a role in the country’s various fate and affairs with regard to all the decisions and trends.
THREE: Leadership of the just faqih scholar of this state so he may rule with equity, and so people will be at ease that the undertaken decisions are harmonious with the Islamic understanding.
FOUR: The employment of the principle of service rather than that of authority and presiding. We find this heavily in the speeches and statements of His Holiness the Imam.
FIVE: Building the Islamic political system on the voices of the masses and on their polling. We find how within thirty years, there were close to this figure of elections which were carried out in the Islamic Republic. He expressed a great deal of interest in the elections, in the polling boxes and in returning to the people to settle many options and outcomes.
SIX: The cancellation of all types of discrimination, monopoly and social classes.
SEVEN: The cancellation of all types of despotism, coercion, dictatorship, the forcing of an opinion and the hegemony at home and abroad, on the domestic and foreign levels.
EIGHT: Freedom, fighting injustice, iniquity and arrogance. His Holiness had famous roles on this level.
NINE: The cancellation of all forms of idols and for the polarization of the single individual, and this is what we find in his theorizing on a broad level.
TEN: Affecting the rights of all people and achieving social justice.
ELEVEN: Emphasis on Gnosticism, introducing the genuine Islam of Prophet Muhammed (Õ). He believed that Islam is misread and misunderstood. He had a sound reading represented by the genuine vision of our Prophet Muhammed (Õ), and this sound reading of Islam must be read.
TWELVE: Unity among all generations, segments, sects, ethnicities and components. He was the source of unity among all components of the Iranian people and of all Muslim peoples. He also advocated unity and complementation between the Hawza (religious seminary) and the university as two basic fountainheads of Gnosticism.
These were the basic buildings from which Imam Khomeini set out in his project.
Egypt represents the palpitating heart of the Arab world, and we want it to be strong, dignified, cemented and amalgamated.
We have monitored the Egyptian elections with a great deal of interest and noticed the high rate of voter turnout. This reminded us of the epics which the Iraqis recorded after 2003 in many electoral processes. This reveals that Egypt and the brotherly people of Egypt have all undertaken one step after another to deepen and strengthen the democratic system and to fulfill its entitlements. We congratulate the Egyptian people on the success of the first phase of the presidential elections, and we hope the second phase will meet a great success. We hope not only the unity but the harmony and national unity will be for the citizens of the brotherly people of Egypt. If the candidates are many, one of them will have to succeed. If any of them succeeds, and those who love the other candidates get down to the street and object to the results, this means jeopardizing the national unity of the brotherly people of Egypt. Egypt represents the palpitating heart of the Arab world, and we want it to be strong. We want it to be dignified, and we want it to be cemented and that the results of the elections in the second phase will be accepted no matter what the results may be, and that we will witness more political stability in this good country.
We wish success for all good Arab peoples.
We also monitored the Tunisian presidential elections before, and we are expecting the general national conference elections in Libya. Thus are the conventions of the democratic work strengthened and deepened in the good Arab countries. This expresses an increasing awareness by the Arab countries in restoring their rights and enabling their will to administer the affairs of their countries. We wish success for all thee good Arab countries.
