Democracy..not possible in Iraq

This post comes from: "Inside Iraq" which chronicles daily life in a war zone through the words of Iraqi journalists in McClatchy's Baghdad Bureau as they risk so much each day to survive. These are unedited first hand accounts of their experiences. Their complete names have been withheld for security reasons.

There located at: http://washingtonbureau.typepad.com/iraq/

February 10, 2007
Democracy..not possible in Iraq

The Iraqi political parties that formed the current Iraqi government claim to seek establishing a democratic system in Iraq.

The very same political parties don’t practice democracy. The main five political parties that rule the country are:

1. The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) … a Shiite political party known with its military wing Badr organization. The party was founded in 1982 in Iran. The founder and leader of SCIRI Ayatollah Mohammed Al Hakeem was killed in August 2003. The late leader led his party for 21 years.
The new leader is his brother Mr. Abdul Aziz Al Hakeem (who is preparing his son Ammar to lead SCIRI after him).

2. The PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) one of the two main Kurds political parties founded by the current Iraqi president Jalal Talbani in 1975. Since then Talbani is the head of the party and no democratic change have ever occurred.

3. The KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) was founded by Mr. Mustafa Al Barzani in 1946. After Mulla Mustafa death in 1979 the new leader of the party is his son Mr. Masoud Barzani.
Both PUK and KDP leaders were re-elected by the general congress of their parties since then as leaders to their parties. Mr Barzani for 28 years and Talbani for the last 32 years.

4. The Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) a Sunni political party that was not well known for many before the 2003 war. the party was founded in 1960. The leader of the party Mr. Muhsin Abdul Hameed gave away his position to Mr. Tariq Al Hashimy, for many, this was the first change in the leadership of an Iraqi political party since ever… but later sources from the party said it was a coup not a democratic process.

5. Dawa party, a Shiite political party, the party was founded in 1957. The spokesman of the party is Mr. Ibraheem Al Jaafari since 1989. he is leading his party for the last 18 years.

The Sadr party is also effecting the Iraqi situation. It cant be described as a political party but it is headed by Muqtada Al Sadr, his followers pay him loyalty in favour of his late father Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Al Sadr.

A small comparison:

Saddam headed Baath party for 24 years and he was re-elected by the party since 1979.

As a matter of fact if you want to be the speaker of any Iraqi political party you have to be either the founder of the party or his son. Maybe you will have a chance to be the speaker if your grandfather was the speaker but you have to wait for long long time.

After all of that, many want us to believe that these political parties will fight to protect democracy in Iraq even when they are not practicing democracy in their own parties.

To all Iraqi political parties… You can not give what you don’t have … you can not