A statement issued by the Central Information
Bureau of the Iraqi Communist Party on 30th August 2007 condemned the clashes
that erupted in the city of Karbala last Tuesday 28 Aug., 2007. More than 350
people were killed an wounded as a result, mainly innocent civilians who had
been in Karbala for religious ceremonies. Damage was inflicted on holy shrines
as well as public property. The statement said that armed clashes had spread
to some areas in Baghdad and to several central and southern provinces, with
more people killed, terrorising the population.
Iraqi CP's statement said:
"These events have aroused legitimate concern among our people, who have been
yearning to the restoration of security and stability. This is not only due to
the large number of innocent victims who have fallen in these clashes, but
also because of the grave consequences of resorting to arms and brazen
violence to resolve differences between political forces and as means for
expressing positions, with utter disregard to the principal rights of citizens
and their feelings, even when they are conducting religious ceremonies that
must be respected by all. These events
have also revealed a weakness in the performance of security forces, thus
allowing armed groups, some of which may have dubious connections hostile to
the whole political process, to violate the law, target citizens, burn public
property and spread fear."
While expressing "its condemnation for these
armed clashes" and conveying condolences to the families of victims and
residents of Karbala, the Iraqi Communist Party called in its statement on all
the patriotic forces of the Iraqi people and their influential social and
religious figures "to exert all efforts to calm down the situation, exercise
self-restraint, and urge all parties to adopt the principle of dialogue to
resolve problems." It also drew attention to "the enormous dangers entailed by
resorting to arms for the fate of the people and homeland, and for the
political process and its constitutional institutions." It called for utmost
vigilance to foil attempts to sabotage the political process and efforts to
correct its mistakes. " All the forces that supported the constitution and
participated in the political process and its constitutional institutions are
urged to employ peaceful political means and mechanisms allowed under the
freedoms that are stipulated in the ! constitution and in accordance with
democratic rules, and to discard anything contrary to that. These forces need
to take the initiative to give up the language of arms and violence, and
respond in action and practice to the aspirations of our people, with all its
components, for peace, reconciliation and the restoration of security and
stability to the homeland. Any policy and practice that inflict harm on the
people's interests must be shunned."
The statement concluded by pointing out that
these events "emphasize the utmost importance of activating national
reconciliation in order to eliminate the grave tensions in the country. They
also place a greater responsibility on the government to move forward towards
putting an end to the militias and to limit the possession of arms to the
hands of the state and its organs. The government also needs to act speedily
and take decisive steps to purge the security forces of rogue and corrupt
elements and others that penetrated them, and to rebuild these forces on the
basis of citizenship, professionalism and allegiance to the homeland."
