Amnesty and Reconciliation...

When the first elections were held in 2005, I was very optimistic. I thought it was going to be the end of an era that filled our life with blood and disasters. I was very happy reporting at the day among people who really wanted to end the disasters. But as days were passing, I was proved wrong. Things moved from bad to worse.

One of the reasons that proved me wrong was Jafari's government whose failure was demonstrated in all aspects. Insurgent operations reached its peak. Many Iraqi people, Iraqi army and police, and U.S. forces were killed in an endless flow of blood in a country devastated by successive wars and sanctions.

Jafari leads one of the most famous Shiite religious parties that fought Saddam and had lost hundreds-if not thousands- of martyrs fighting Saddam and his gang. His winning to the power of leading Iraq was his chance to say "That's it. It's our turn now!" He fought every single thing that may return Sunnis or non-criminal Baathists to power, even for minor posts. He considered reconciliation with Baathists was a "red line".

During his era, many sides called for the unity of Iraq and the national reconciliation that was supposed to save Iraq from the continuous blood shed among political leaders who deceived the U.S. administration by claming they look for the benefit of Iraq which was later clarified as looking for their own interests.

On the other hand, Sunni politicians and religious men, who neither took part in the political process nor the elections, were pulling the rope from the other side. They worsened the situation claming that they were victimized by the Shiites denying the fact that they were giving the chance to participate in building the country but they didn't take it willingly.

Eventually, Jafari's Shiite government was pulling the rope from one side and the Sunnis were pulling from the opposite side. In all cases, the rope was neither pulled to one side nor was cut. It remained like this till today waiting for someone to do something to stop the pulling.

The very first serious attempt to prepare for plans of reconciliation in Iraq was marked by tension among the political and religious leaders. The meeting which was held on Nov. 2005 in Cairo failed in making viewpoints come close. Jafari stuck to the idea of having "no room for Baathists in Iraq." While Harith al-Dhari, head of Muslim Scholars Association in Iraq stuck to the fact that most of the insurgent operations in Iraq are done by resistance without denouncing the killing of the innocent Iraqi civilians committed by Zarqawi and his gang.

The disagreed factions came back to Baghdad with faces covered with failure and hatred to each other increasing the tension which caused in killing thousands of innocent people.

When the second elections came up, some Sunni political factions realized that it's their time to take part in this process. While others continued being stubborn and considered the whole thing a play or a game. The elections were held and as everybody knows, Shiites won the majority of the seats in the parliament which struggled to hold its first meeting and choose a speaker to monitor the government's performance for four years. The government was not formed immediately after the elections. As usual, the politicians were busy fighting of who is going to take which.

Since he was chosen as a president for a second term, Iraqi President, Jalal al-Talbani, stressed on the notion of NATIONAL RECONCILIATION. At the same time, Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, announced his will to control the situation "in an iron fist" which is the right thing to do at the mean time. He vowed to solve the problem of the militias which puts him in a difficult test in front of his people.

Until now, Maliki has shown some of his will to solve the deterioration of the security. The very first thing his government was cooperating with the US forces in killing Iraq's worst terrorist, Zarqawi.

Talbani is now moving in another road which leads to the same road Maliki is moving in.

In a televised speech on al-Hurra news channel, Talbani announced that the Reconciliation plan which was hammered out after extensive negotiations and deliberations by various parties will be announced by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the next parliament session on Sunday. The Washington Post reported that Maliki's new plan to promote reconciliation among Iraq's rival factions will offer amnesty to Iraqis who have "carried weapons" but not to those who have committed serious crimes, according to Iraqi politicians who have read the proposal.

"It says that the government will issue an amnesty for all those who have not committed crimes against the people of Iraq and the friends of Iraq," the paper quoted Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh saying.

This initiative came after months of secret talks involving Talabani, Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador, and seven Sunni insurgent groups, The Times reported.

Talbani told The Times that after a “summit” in Baghdad about a month ago the groups made clear their willingness to commence talks with the Iraqi Government, although he was awaiting a formal response.

Many political leaders here say that the violence plaguing Iraq cannot be halted without engaging insurgents in political discussions. But Maliki's reconciliation plan does not include offering amnesty to members of al-Qaeda or to loyalists of former president Saddam Hussein who committed war crimes, Iraqi officials told the Post.

Before the forthcoming official announcement of the amnesty, some Iraqi and American officials objected on some of the points of the plan. Al-Hurra said sources had revealed that Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of SCIRI, and the head of the United Iraqi Alliance in Parliament had objected to some of the provisions contained in the plan, but it is expected that negotiations and talks on amendments will go on for some time.

The Times said that one big potential obstacle is whether the US would be willing to grant an amnesty to insurgents who have killed US soldiers but who are not members of extreme groups such as al-Qaeda. The Bush Administration is thought to be split on the issue. However, the Post said that earlier proposals suggested offering pardons to Iraqis who have attacked U.S. troops but not to those who attacked Iraqis, an idea the U.S. Senate strongly denounced. The new plan does not make that distinction, Iraqi officials said.

The conference of national reconciliation in Iraq, due to have opened on June 22, have been postponed until the first week of August. The Arab League's representative in Iraq said, “The commission will convene on July 1 to prepare for the conference, which will be held here in Baghdad during the first week of August." He justified that by saying that everyone wants "more time to prepare for the conference, and to be sure that it will produce results."

In my own opinion, things are moving in the right direction so far. No serious results have showed up yet, but it may by course of time. All we need is to support any good effort which we feel is for our benefit. We need to restore our Iraq back and stop the bloodshed. Let's wait and see. We've been patient for decades. It's not hard to wait more for the good results. For us, life is lost and is almost meaningless but let's hope and work to make it better for the coming generations.

baghdadtreasure@gmail.com

A trip to Kurdistan, Northern Iraq

Deciding to go

Whenever Baghdadis hear the name “north” of Iraq, they recall the natural resorts they used to visit. Nostalgia is part of Iraqis’ life. For thirteen years, they were deprived of going to this northern part of the country because of the separation the Kurds announced after they liberated themselves form Saddam’s regime in a bloody uprising in 1991. Baghdadis remained nostalgic to the old days for thrirteen years until 2003.

Stress is an inspirable companion for me and most of my friends. The current situation turned our life into hell. Thus, we decided to make a change. S., A., and I decided to go to Kurdistan for a break.

We decided to go to Sulaimaniya and Erbil and spend most of our time in the natural resorts more than the two cities themselves. The last time I went to Sulaimaniya was in 1990 before the uprising but I visited Erbil last year for work.

As we were smoking Hookah in A’s house, we talked about the road to Kurdistan and how dangerous it is for more than an hour. Finally, we decided to take the risk. If we have thought about it more than that time, we would have cancelled the trip. Our families were happy and afraid at the same time. They thought it was a great idea to escape from the unbearable stress for some time but they were worried about the road and its danger.

S. called his Kurdish friend who recommended a Kurdish driver to take us up there. The driver, Kaka Hamah, took us in his Toyota air-conditioned car in a 5-hour driving trip. I didn’t take my work ID. They may be enough to make insurgents behead me. My friends did the same. We decided to take only our national IDs which are less dangerous than the work ones.

The road to Kurdistan

As we left Baghdad, we entered Diyala province where Zarqawi was killed and where the 19 cut heads were found few days before he was killed. I can’t hide the fact that I was afraid they may stop and kill us. My father’s name is a Shiite name and this is what Zarqawi’s men want. I tried to keep myself strong by joking with my friends ignoring my fears.

An hour after we left Baghdad, we reached a small rural town. A big sign written on a brick wall explained where we were. “Hibhib town welcomes you,” the sign read. Hibhib is the town where Zarqawi was killed. When I read the sign, I was about to ask the driver to take us to where Zarqawi was killed. I was so curious to see the place, but when I thought about it more I realized that it was a very stupid idea to subject myself, my friends and the driver for the danger of being kidnapped or killed.

As we were driving and when I saw the watermelon farms, I realized that we are in Uthaim, an area where everybody said it is dangerous enough for people to be killed, robbed, kidnapped, or beheaded. Few weeks ago a roadside bomb killed about 14 laborers. Few days after that armed men stopped two buses and executed 20 civilians, 12 of them were high school students heading to have their exams in their schools.

I imagined what happened to these people and how I may face the same fate. I said to myself if I am lucky, I may survive but if not, I may be killed like those innocents and will be mentioned in history as one of the hundreds of thousands that are being killed. In all cases, I didn’t think seriously of death. I had a faith that I am going to survive.

Luckily, we passed Diyala province unharmed. Kirkuk province was the second province we arrived before reaching Sulaimaniya. Tuz Khurmatu, a town in the province was our first step in Kirkuk.

Police checkpoints were more than usual in the town, the driver said. A police officer at a checkpoint stopped our car and asked, “Where did you come from?”. “Baghdad,” he answered. Then the officer asked us to get off the car to be searched. I didn’t feel bothered at all like other people who were being searched as well at the checkpoint. This made me feel that these people are doing their job perfectly. However, I should be cautious because these may not be police. They may be insurgents in police uniform.

I asked the officer why there are more checkpoints here than in other town and cities we passed through. “Explosions rocked Kirkuk this morning,” he said.

After we were searched, the driver turned on the radio in order to hear the news about the bombings. Kirkuk was supposed to be our second step after Tuz Khurmatu. Radio Sawa’s news bulletin came with the first news headline. “More than 15 people were killed and dozens were wounded in five car bomb explosions targeted civilians in the oil-rich Kirkuk,” the anchor said. “I have to report on this!” I joked with my friends who believed it for a second. “Don’t worry! We have a correspondent in Kirkuk and a good one,” I told them.

Kirkuk was crowded, not with people but with checkpoints. The security forces were all alerted after the five explosions. We were stuck in traffic for more than hour because of the checkpoints. Army and police were forces were nervous shouting at people and pointing their guns at the crowd in a scary way we call normal in Baghdad.

It was the first time for me to see Kirkuk. I always read and heard about it. “Oil” is the first thing that comes to any Iraqi’s mind whenever Kirkuk is mentioned. But the city that lies on a lake of oil is neglected, filthy, and dusty.

Azadi hospital was on our way. It seems that an Iraqi should see dead and wounded people even if he or she wants to have fun. Women wailing and men crying were gathering at the main gate of the hospital while other men were carrying the dead in the wooden coffins to be buried.

Arriving Kurdistan

Beautiful mountains and valleys welcomed us as we arrived in Sulaimaniya. At the checkpoint, Peshmerga stopped our cars and asked for IDs. Politely, he asked us to get off the car and stand near a building where Iraqi and Kurdish flags were flapping high. He searched the car and let us in.

The first thing I did was asking Kaka Hamah to turn off the AC. I wanted to breathe the fresh air that came from the mountains. I wanted to smell the scent of the trees. The sight was amazing. It was heaven on earth. Huge mountains are lined up with a green cover of fruit trees and birds soar high in the clear sky.

In Sulaimaniya city center, life was so urban and nice. We rented a furnished apartment and took rest for few hours before starting the first trip in the city.

At 7 p.m., the three of us started our first trip in the city. We asked the reception of the apartment building of what the most beautiful places in the city are. He mentioned several places including “Parki Azadi”, an amusement park where most of the tourists go to as the first thing to do.

S waved to a taxi driver. “Do you speak Arabic?” S. asked. The driver said he does. As we stepped in the car, he said, “Every Kurd was born before 1980 speaks Arabic because all of us were forced to join the military under Saddam while the new generation did not. They did not speak for 13 years [the period from the uprising to the start of the occupation].”

Contrary to all the rumors that were spread in Baghdad and other cities that the Kurds hate Arabs, I noticed how they still like Iraqi Arabs.

The park was another copy of a bigger version in Baghdad. It was very much like the former Baghdad Island which was turned to be a U.S. base after the occupation. The Baghdad Island is now neglected empty of people but with stray cats and dogs.

We spent two hours there and then went to another place, Salim Street, where people walk and enjoy beautiful weather and then returned back to our apartment. Like any reporter, news flow in my veins. I asked my friends to let me watch the news in case I missed something. As usual, the news was all about killings, bombings, shootings and a new scandal committed by US soldiers. Al-Sharqiya TV channel broadcasted footage of a US soldier playing on his guitar and singing happily about the death of Iraqi civilians. I watched the whole news bulletin and drank my beer. “It seems nothing wants to be changed,” I told my friends. “C’mon! Drink your beer and forget. Nothing is new!” they said.

The next day, we went to Dokan Lake, a beautiful lake surrounded by a series of mountains. We swam, took photos and enjoyed the nature and the beautiful sight which we’ll miss a lot. After we swam, I stood at the edge of one of the mountains and gazed silently at the beautiful valley that leads to the lake. The peaceful and quiet sight made me feel so comfortable. Peace is something precious. It is what we need.

The next day, we went to the Sulaimniya University as S wants to apply to get his masters in Law there. In the afternoon, we went to the Sulaimaniya huge markets where hundreds of people were shopping and having fun. I bought a collection of Sulaimaniya famous sweets to give to family and friends.

We spent the next day in Sarchinar resort. It was one of the most beautiful areas I’ve ever seen. Casinos, restaurants, wedding halls and amusement parks made up our day and night. The flowing of the spring water clustered the people around it. Some of them put the Hookah in its cold water and others put watermelon to be ready to eat cold. For us, we preferred to spend the day in one of the cafes smoking Hookah and drinking alcohol. It was one of the best nights I ever enjoyed.

After the short beautiful trip in Sulaimaniya, we decided to go to Erbil’s resorts. To be frank, I don’t like Erbil, the city itself. It is boring and the people there are more reserved than the ones in Sulaimaniya.

After two hours of driving, we reached Erbil checkpoint. No Iraqi flag was seen. It was only the Kurdish one. People say it is an order by Masoud Barzani, the president of the region, who controls Erbil and Duhok 100 percent and is known of his hatred to Arabs although he called for Saddam to help him back in the 1990s against Jalal Talabani when the two leaders fought each other. But in Sulaimaniya, the Iraqi flag was flapping high beside the Kurdish one on every government building. People say it is because Sulaimniya is the hometown of Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president.

At the checkpoint, a group of Iraqi Arab travelers were gathering around a Peshmerga officer. “I said Arabs are not allowed, unless they know someone living here. That’s it.” I heard him shouting. When he saw our IDs, he dismissed us like the dozens of families and people. For about two hours, I was able to get a cell phone and call a friend of mine who knows the director of the security in the city. By one phone call, the officer gave us a face of hatred. He was forced to let us in. the phone call came directly from the head of the security.

As we arrived downtown Erbil, we booked in a hotel, took showers, and left for lunch. After lunch, we had a wonderful trip in the Erbil natural resorts: Bikhal and Gali Ali Bek waterfalls and Shaqlawa resort.

Shaqlawa resort was the last step in our trip. The weather was very cool and the dinner we had was very delicious. As we finished dinner, the waiter came to collect the dishes and said, “Shlonak Eini?[How are you, in Iraqi Arabic]” I asked him, do you speak Arabic? He smiled and answered, “of course, Kurds and Arabs are brothers but not Zarqawi.” We all laughed out loud and said, “of course, not.”

The next day, we packed our luggage and headed back to Baghdad where a day curfew was imposed and a suicide bombing killed dozens in a famous Shiite mosque.

Hamas and Aljazeera, granted Terrorists for Ever

It irritated me hearing that members of the ruling Palestinian faction Hamas deploring the killing of Zarqawi, describing him as a “casualty of a crusade against Arabs and Muslims.”

This morning, my friend and colleague Omar, author of 24 Steps to liberty, told me that a member of Hamas was interviewed on one of the Arab channels strongly criticizing the killing of the worst terrorist history has ever witnessed.

I immediately recalled how Palestinians well treated in Iraq and realized how ungrateful they’ve become to the country that provided home and shelter for them. It made feel so angry to feel that after all what we’ve done for them, they bit our hands.

For fifty eight years, Iraq was and is still a home for the Palestinians who once were dismissed from their lands. They lived, worked and joined Iraqis in almost everything except to suffer the terrible life Iraqis went through. They were favored on Iraqis themselves in everything starting from schools, jobs and salaries. Saddam, who deserves to be spit at, made them kings in our country, not theirs. Now after all of this, Hamas officials show up with all this hatred to the Iraqis who once suffered because of them and say Zarqawi is a “martyr”. I wished I could see him in person and spit at his face and beard that hides a demon underneath. That’s all I want to do. I don’t need words to tell him what I really feel about this. How can I speak to a person who considers the killer of thousands of innocent Iraqis a martyr? What language I should use with him?

The Palestinian people did a terrible mistake by choosing this group to be their leaders. I don’t even know whether this is going to be an official statement in the name of the people. If so, I would be so sad and angry. I hope this man was not talking on their behalf.

Now I know why this group was branded as terrorist by the U.S. and the European Union. They deserve it and they are really worthy of it. Let them dance on the blood of the innocent children, women, and elderly who had no guilt but being helpful to the homeless.

Zarqawi’s killing made me realize many things I wasn’t really convinced of or let’s say, confirmed to me how spiteful some Arabs are regarding the situation in Iraq. Aljazeera, for instance, played a big role in increasing the violence and killing any hope for a better future.

The propaganda Aljazeera did for al-Qaeda turned 90 percent of Iraqis against them after years of respect to this news channel. Aljazeera was the very first channel that broadcasted the beheadings of the innocent westerners by Zarqawi and his criminal men. The footage encouraged increasing the violence and the fear inside everybody and worsened the situation that was supposed to be positive, not negative.

When Zarqawi’s death was announced, most of the Arab and western TV stations and news agencies mentioned the crimes he did except aljazeera. On the contrary, they showed and talked to all those who believe that he was a “holy warrior and a martyr”.

No wonder why Aljazeera is also branded as a channel having a terrorist propaganda. They also deserve it.

One last thing I want these two little things, Hamas and Aljazeera, to know that they let us down and helped in more killing of innocent Iraqis. The day will come when both of them regret the days they rejoiced the killing of the Iraqi innocent citizens.

The Thousand-Miles Road Starts with One Step

The cluster of journalists and cameramen at the convention center is a normal scene every time the country’s lawmakers gather for a parliament session or for an important press conference. I was assigned today to cover the parliament session where we expected the Prime Minister, Maliki, to announce his candidates for the interior and defense ministries along with the State ministry for National Security.

It was burning hot. The AC in one of the most important places in Iraq was broken down and seems impossible to be fixed. We were gathering to cover the parliament session and the afterwards press conferences. As I was leaning on the black leather coach in the hall talking to another journalist and friend, some journalists ran towards a small TV set which al-Iraqiya correspondents and cameramen use to check the live broadcasting with. I immediately ran after them to see what was the thing that made them run hysterically like this.

“Prime Minister Maliki announced that the Jordanian terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed north of Baghdad,” a breaking news bar read. We were all surprised despite the fact that the rumor was already spread among us before we read it. However, this rumor wasn’t accurate until it was confirmed. Some thought he was caught or wounded and others thought he was killed which was later verified.

We held our breath for a second and then a loud “Mabrook” [Congratulations] was said by one of the radio stations reporters. Few minutes later, journalists started congratulating each other. Some danced in the hall, female journalists halulated, and others rushed to call their offices of the braking news. The news of his death made up our day.

I called the office immediately to confirm to them the rumor that was spread. After I hang up, a flashback of images of people died in the terrorists attacks came to my mind. Um Bashar, whom we all miss, was among the pictures. She was all dressed in white smiling as if she was telling me. “I can rest now, B. tell Bashar that I am comfortable now.” Then she disappeared but the other images did not.

I remembered my mother’s cries and voice when I called her after a car bomb exploded in front of the school where she used to teach. I recalled the TV images of the burnt children and their parents in the middle of a huge flame.

The image of the collapsed apartment building and the pile of bodies I saw in a restaurant bombed by Zarqawi’s car bombs came among the other images that will never leave me rest even if I die.

Finally, he is dead. I couldn’t believe one day this pig will be killed. Finally, the brutal Zarqawi, whose bloody campaign of beheadings and suicide bombings made him the worst terrorist in the world, was killed. Finally the thousands of families and victims he killed will rest in peace.

I have to say that I haven’t been happy like this for a long time. When I met my other colleagues back in the office, I waved the victory sign, which I also haven’t done since a long time ago.

I know that attacks will increase. I know more people are going to die. I know mistakes are going to be continued. I know everything will not be fixed soon like in the fairy tales. But I am happy that this man is killed. I believe his death is the real first step: the thousand-miles road starts with one step.

“Are you happy?” an American colleague of mine asked me. “I am very happy,” I replied. “Are you as happy as you were when Saddam was captured?” he continued. “No,” I replied. “Saddam was a criminal but not as brutal as Zarqawi,” I said. In all cases Saddam also should be killed, not tried. I wish I could see him hanged along with his henchmen and the other terrorists in “al-Tahreer Square” where he hanged innocents. It would make many Iraqis happy. These criminals need to be executed to make others know what being a terrorist means. Trials are not enough.

Although everybody knows that I am against the U.S. occupation to Iraq, I believe what they did in helping the Iraqis kill Zarqawi was a good real step for a better Iraq after three years of destruction and struggle. It’s only now that I feel the US forces are really serious and want to get rid of the terrorists who came as a reaction to their occupation to the country in a way or another. It’s only now I felt that they really want to accomplish their mission and go back home soon. I really hope that what I am feeling is right.

When I saw Maliki in the conference, I wished I could shake his hands to thank him and tell him how I want his government to be strong. I have a feeling that this man is really serious in taking Iraq to the safe side. I really feel that he is doing his best to do a better job than the ones preceded him. Killing Zarqawi is a good omen that Maliki’s government is no longer silent.

It occurred to me that this time, Maliki and the U.S. officials did not let us down when the criminal Zarqawi appeared on TV in his latest video that provoked all Iraqis. They all said his days are numbered and they will get him dead or alive and they did. Thank you all. Afiya [good job]…

Finally, congratulations to all Iraqi people. “Eid and love, all the people are partying,” as Kadhum al-Sahir sings. Let’s dance choby, guys.

baghdadtreasure@gmail.com

CONGRTUALTIONS TO ALL IRAQIS FOR ZARQAWI'S DEATH

Today is a great day in Iraq. The most brutal criminal and terrorist in Iraq is killed. It's been a long time since we haven't heard good news. But today's news along with the PM's success in completing the formation of his government made me so happy and made most Iraqis unbelievably happy.

I will talk about how I felt when I received the news in the coming post as I have to finish working on the news I reported.

Congratulations to all the Iraqi people and to all those who suffered from the Zarqawi terrorism…

baghdadtreasure@gmail.com