MPs speak out against corruption, terror

 

By Sadeq Raheem

 

Azzaman, June 30, 2005

 

Death or torture awaited members of the former rubber stamp parliament if they ever had the courage to criticize the former regime. Today the country’s elected deputies openly pour their wrath on government officials in open sessions which many Iraqis hail as harbinger of a new era.

 

It was not surprising therefore to see the deputies adding the presence of U.S. troops in the country to their agenda this week as well as corruption in government ministries and terror attacks.

 

“Iraq’s sovereignty is an issue of paramount importance … It is the responsibility of this assembly to take a decision whether to approve or reject the extension of the multinational forces in the country,” declared Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi.

 

While the deputies freely discussed the pros and cons of the presence of U.S.-led troops in Iraq, there were no calls for their immediate withdrawal under current circumstances.

 

More important for other deputies were issues related to the reports of massive corruption in government ranks and the escalating terror and insurgent activities in the country.

 

Asmaa al-Mawsawi, a deputy for the low-income neighborhood of Shuaala told the parliament to ask the Interior Ministry to reinforce police and security forces in her area.

 

She said her constituents complain of random mortar attacks and asked the authorities to let the residents form vigilante groups to protect the area.

 

For Hadi al-Ameri, the issue of corruption was as important and critical as that of the surge in terror attacks.

 

Ameri heads the influential Commission on Public Integrity which has already issued two arrest warrants on fraud charges for two former ministers who served in the first post-Saddam interim government.

 

“Corruption is the second disease that has inflicted the country after terrorism,” Ameri declared.

 

Deputies urged the authorities to punish any official found guilty of corruption, but criticized the government for failing to do so.

 

“Former officials found guilty of corruption must be brought to justice and punished,” said Abduaziz al-Hakim.

 

Abbas al-Bayati said corruption was one of the main reasons for the spread of terrorism in the country.

 

“Every ministry must have an ombudsman with the right to ask and find out how the employees amass their wealth,” said Ali al-Dabagh.

 

Some deputies said corruption was tantamount to a form of occupation, urging the government to devise practical means to put an end to it.

 

Samia Aziz said there was “an urgent need” to seek ways to “root out corruption in government offices.”

 

It is not clear what the government could do to implement the MPs’ directives or whether any of their proposals will become law.

 

The government’s riding concern is how to stem the wave of violence in the country.

 

However, many Iraqis hope these free and open discussions will pave the way for the emergence of a civil and democratic society in the country.

 

This week’s parliament’s agenda was extremely busy with the deputies trying to raise questions regarding a variety of issues in their areas.

 

Deputies from Najaf wanted the parliament to order the Interior Ministry to pay overdue salaries of the 3,500 police officers in the city.

 

Baghdad MPs asked the government to protect private property and order political factions occupying government and private buildings either to evacuate them start paying rent to owners.

 

A proposal by some deputies to host ministers and senior officials in charge of public services for questioning was passed unanimously.

 

Minister of Electricity is expected to be the first to stand before the deputies to answer questions regarding outages that currently extend for nearly 16 hours a day in many cities.