Jordan Times
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Iraqi political, tribal
leaders met in Amman to establish new party
By Mahmoud Habboush
AMMAN — Iraqi political and tribal figures on Tuesday inaugurated in Amman a new
political movement sworn to end mounting sectarian violence and safeguard unity
in the war-torn country.
“Our goal is to stop bloodshed,” said Hameed Gaood, chairman of the Patriotic
and National Forces Movement, shortly after the 85-member council of founders
elected him along with the other party leadership.
“We will encourage all Iraqis involved in this movement to stop the bloodshed
among the Iraqi people,” said Gaood.
Hasan Bazaz, the movement’s vice chairman, said the group aims at “putting down
the fire of sectarian feuding, which threatens the very existence of Iraq.”
“We want to unify all the segments of the Iraqi society, because this is the
first step towards ending internecine fighting,” he told The Jordan Times.
The liberal group immediately faced accusations of ties with ousted former Iraqi
leader Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, as some of its founders are former military
officers.
Gaood, a businessman and son of a tribal leader, vehemently denied any
connections with the former regime’s party.
“None of the movement’s members are former members of Baath,” he told reporters.
The closing statement of the movement’s inaugural two-day conference, however,
called for abolishing the national committee for the eradication of the Baath
Party.
Once Saddam’s regime was toppled by the US-led 2003 invasion, coalition forces
disbanded the country’s security forces and issued a law on the eradication of
the party, which Gaood maintained “is used as a justification for hostilities
against some Iraqi figures.”
The newest political movement brought together nearly 500 of the country’s
political, tribal and intellectual figures from different ethnic and religious
sects.
Gaood voiced pride of the old Iraqi army and described it as the core of Iraq’s
national unity.
The conference’s statement called for dismantling the insurgency militias and
reconstructing the security forces based on the “traditions of the long-standing
[old] Iraqi army.”
Gaood said his group would not go against the current government, but would
rather ask them to “listen to our voice.”
“Though we have some reservations about the constitution, and we don’t support
the occupation, we are in favour of the political process and the liberation of
Iraq,” he said.
“We are going to have good relations with the British and American governments
as well as the Arab governments,” he added.
The self-financed group is planning to mobilise at the grassroots level to enter
the next parliamentary elections.