Standing Fast

Another scene from the crowd, with a banner reading, “We support a comprehensive national campaign to defeat terror and terrorists.” Photo courtesy Iraqi Communist Party.


Nearly 10,000 people attended recent celebrations of the 73rd anniversary of the Iraqi Communist Party in Baghdad. Cold war hang-ups aside (the ICP is more Enrico Berlinguer than Che Guevara anyways as one can see from the violent denunciations of it by the ultra-left), the ICP is the leading political force in Iraq committed to a democratic, social, and secular Iraq. It is a leading force in the struggle to rebuild a strong and independent civil society -- it plays a leading role in many of the trade-unions and women's groups -- that US progressives should take a look at. Historically one of the most important political forces in 20th century Iraq that suffered tremendously under Saadam Hussein, the fact that the ICP can pull out 10,000 in the middle to Baghdad to a political rally shows it continuing importance. It is also inspirational to see Iraqis standing up against ethnic sectarianism, religious fundamentalism and murderous militias. As this account of the events shows, The ICP is one of the leading political force in the building of a democratic opposition to the forces of violence and authoritarianism.

"The response to the celebrations shows the “gradual rise of the democratic forces as a distinct political pole in the Iraqi political spectrum,” Ali said. Before the U.S. invasion, he said, Iraqi politics had three main trends, which he identified as democratic — left and liberal, Islamist, and nationalist Arab and Kurdish. Under Saddam Hussein, the Baathists dominated the nationalist camp, liquidating other pan-Arab nationalist groups. Both the democratic and nationalist trends were weakened by the U.S. occupation’s fanning of sectarian division. “Once the American presence is out or weakens, the old political map will come into play — these big political groups will gradually come back,” he said. “This is the real Iraqi political scene. All the nonsense of ‘Shia vs. Sunni’ doesn’t hold much ground.”

On April 9, the anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to U.S. forces, the Shiite Islamic organization led by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr mobilized tens or hundreds of thousands for a march in the holy city of Najaf protesting the U.S. occupation and calling for Iraqi sovereignty.

The mass march tapped the nearly unanimous Iraqi opposition to foreign occupation. Many commentators saw it as primarily a move by Sadr, whose forces have displayed fractures recently, to show rival Islamic groups that he is still a force to reckon with. Sadr was not present at the march and his whereabouts are unknown.

Sadr’s militias are reviled by many Iraqis for brutal sectarian killings and ethnic cleansing, seen as contributing to destabilizing the country and helping perpetuate the occupation.

The ICP sees national reconciliation and unity as necessary to ending foreign occupation and regaining political and economic sovereignty. Sadr draws support from among the poorest and most marginalized people of the countryside and Baghdad’s Sadr City. In the Iraqi Communists’ view, this underscores the fact that security and sovereignty require immediate economic and social measures to meet the needs of the people including the most downtrodden."

Labels: Iraq, Iraqi Communist Party