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Iraq Presidency Enacts Law Allowing Former Saddam Officials to Return to
Government
Sunday, February 03, 2008
BAGHDAD - Iraq's presidency council issued a law Sunday that will allow
thousands of Saddam Hussein-era officials to return to government jobs,
legislation viewed by the Bush administration as central to mending deep
fissures between minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds and the majority Shiites who
now wield power.
The measure was the first of 18 key U.S.-set benchmarks to become law after
months of bitter debate. But it was issued without the signature of the
Sunni vice president, and the presidency council cited reservations and
plans to seek changes in the bill, clouding hopes it would encourage
reconciliation.
It was uncertain how many former members of Saddam Hussein's ruling
political apparatus would be affected by the new law, with estimates ranging
from 23,500 to 38,000.
Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi objected to provisions in the
law that would have pensioned off 7,000 low-level members of Saddam's former
secret police and intelligence agents who still worked in Iraq's security
apparatus.
Top al-Hashemi aides also said he wanted decisions on exceptions to the law
to be handled by the presidency council rather than parliament as the law
currently requires.
The presidency council, which also includes President Jalal Talabani, a
Kurd, and Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite, issued the law 10 days
after receiving it for consideration, as required by Iraq's constitution.
But in an apparent face-saving gesture to al-Hashemi, Talabani and
Abdul-Mahdi promised they would agree to send amendments back to the
275-member parliament.
"This law allows thousands of Iraqis purged by the de-Baathfication law to
return to their jobs, with the exclusion of the bad elements and those whose
crimes were proven," the council said in a statement after issuing the law.
The presidential council also expressed concern "over some items that would
hamper the national reconciliation project," pointing to the measure that
would "lead to the exclusion of employees with high qualifications of which
Iraqi is in dire need."
The law is the first of 18 pieces of benchmark legislation demanded by the
Bush administration to promote reconciliation among Iraq's Sunni and Shiite
Arab communities and the large Kurdish minority.
It will allow thousands of former members of Saddam's ruling Baath party to
return to government jobs, and those who have reached retirement age will be
able to claim government pensions.
Legislators also stressed the law would protect people in the future from
atrocities like those committed by Saddam Hussein and to ensure those who
were damaged by his Sunni-dominated regime had a means of seeking
compensation.
The law included an explanation that it was passed "due to the severe
suffering of the Iraqi people for 35 years during which they were subjected
to the ugliest forms of repression, oppression and deprivation at the hands
of the most criminal of regimes."
U.S. officials have pinned great hopes on the measure and its passage by
parliament was welcomed with fanfare by President George W. Bush as Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki's U.S.-backed government has been heavily
criticized for failing to take advantage of a recent lull in violence to
make progress on the political front.
Other draft legislation, including measures to divvy up the country's vast
oil wealth, amend the constitution and define rules for new provincial
elections, remains stalled.
But many Sunnis in Iraq were skeptical.
Abu Wisam, 51, a former employee in the Ministry of Higher Education who
said he was sacked in late 2005, noted the law's continued emphasis on
punishing past regime members found guilty of crimes.
"This law brings nothing new. It still chases Baathists because of past
events. The government should be busy fighting current criminals and
corruption instead of settling old scores with us," said Wisam, who
currently owns a computer store in Baghdad's predominantly Sunni
neighborhood of Amariyah.
"I am not willing to go back to my work because I fear assassination," he
added. "Government institutions are controlled by anti-Baathist people. I do
not expect good from a law that was written and will be implemented by
anti-Baathists."
An official in al-Hashemi's office, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the subject, said the Sunni leader would work
to expedite the amendments because he believes "that some items in this law
create obstacles on the march toward national reconciliation and they
exclude employees whose expertise is vital to the Iraqi state."
Still, the move was seen as a key step in the reconciliation process. The
decision to outlaw the Baath party was the first official act of L. Paul
Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority, and along with his order to
disband the Iraqi army has been widely blamed for setting in motion the
Sunni insurgency in the fall of 2003.
Miranda Sissons of the International Center for Transitional Justice said
the law was an improvement over early drafts but raised concerns over its
implementation, questioning whether the members of the security ministries
will be immediately dismissed or whether the move would be delayed.
"It's not going to make the fundamental grievances go away, you've still got
a system that is largely based on guilt by association," she said.
Estimates varied on the number of people who would be affected.
The New York-based International Center for Transitional Justice said a
common number was 38,000, while noting the actual number of returns would be
lower because reinstatements have been occurring since late 2006.
Ali al-Lami, a senior official who has worked on the legislation, has said
3,500 former high-ranking Baathists would be offered retirement and pensions
in addition to the 7,000 now holding government jobs but who had been
members of Saddam's security service. He said 13,000 lower-ranking Baathists
would be offered reinstatement.
The measure also sets up a seven-judge appeals panel for those who have been
dismissed in the de-Baathification process and strikes an old clause that
forced them to surrender pensions automatically if they appeal previous
dismissal.
The strict implementation of so-called de-Baathification rules meant that
many senior bureaucrats who knew how to run ministries, university
departments and state companies were fired after 35 years of Baath party
rule.
Iraq's military already had worked through the Baath Party problem,
declaring that anyone who had served above the rank of major in Saddam's
time would be automatically retired and put on pension. Those who held the
rank of major or below were allowed to return to the military if qualified
Iraq Presidency Enacts Law Allowing Former Saddam Officials to Return to
Government
Sunday, February 03, 2008
BAGHDAD - Iraq's presidency council issued a law Sunday that will allow
thousands of Saddam Hussein-era officials to return to government jobs,
legislation viewed by the Bush administration as central to mending deep
fissures between minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds and the majority Shiites who
now wield power.
The measure was the first of 18 key U.S.-set benchmarks to become law after
months of bitter debate. But it was issued without the signature of the
Sunni vice president, and the presidency council cited reservations and
plans to seek changes in the bill, clouding hopes it would encourage
reconciliation.
It was uncertain how many former members of Saddam Hussein's ruling
political apparatus would be affected by the new law, with estimates ranging
from 23,500 to 38,000.
Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi objected to provisions in the
law that would have pensioned off 7,000 low-level members of Saddam's former
secret police and intelligence agents who still worked in Iraq's security
apparatus.
Top al-Hashemi aides also said he wanted decisions on exceptions to the law
to be handled by the presidency council rather than parliament as the law
currently requires.
The presidency council, which also includes President Jalal Talabani, a
Kurd, and Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite, issued the law 10 days
after receiving it for consideration, as required by Iraq's constitution.
But in an apparent face-saving gesture to al-Hashemi, Talabani and
Abdul-Mahdi promised they would agree to send amendments back to the
275-member parliament.
"This law allows thousands of Iraqis purged by the de-Baathfication law to
return to their jobs, with the exclusion of the bad elements and those whose
crimes were proven," the council said in a statement after issuing the law.
The presidential council also expressed concern "over some items that would
hamper the national reconciliation project," pointing to the measure that
would "lead to the exclusion of employees with high qualifications of which
Iraqi is in dire need."
The law is the first of 18 pieces of benchmark legislation demanded by the
Bush administration to promote reconciliation among Iraq's Sunni and Shiite
Arab communities and the large Kurdish minority.
It will allow thousands of former members of Saddam's ruling Baath party to
return to government jobs, and those who have reached retirement age will be
able to claim government pensions.
Legislators also stressed the law would protect people in the future from
atrocities like those committed by Saddam Hussein and to ensure those who
were damaged by his Sunni-dominated regime had a means of seeking
compensation.
The law included an explanation that it was passed "due to the severe
suffering of the Iraqi people for 35 years during which they were subjected
to the ugliest forms of repression, oppression and deprivation at the hands
of the most criminal of regimes."
U.S. officials have pinned great hopes on the measure and its passage by
parliament was welcomed with fanfare by President George W. Bush as Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki's U.S.-backed government has been heavily
criticized for failing to take advantage of a recent lull in violence to
make progress on the political front.
Other draft legislation, including measures to divvy up the country's vast
oil wealth, amend the constitution and define rules for new provincial
elections, remains stalled.
But many Sunnis in Iraq were skeptical.
Abu Wisam, 51, a former employee in the Ministry of Higher Education who
said he was sacked in late 2005, noted the law's continued emphasis on
punishing past regime members found guilty of crimes.
"This law brings nothing new. It still chases Baathists because of past
events. The government should be busy fighting current criminals and
corruption instead of settling old scores with us," said Wisam, who
currently owns a computer store in Baghdad's predominantly Sunni
neighborhood of Amariyah.
"I am not willing to go back to my work because I fear assassination," he
added. "Government institutions are controlled by anti-Baathist people. I do
not expect good from a law that was written and will be implemented by
anti-Baathists."
An official in al-Hashemi's office, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the subject, said the Sunni leader would work
to expedite the amendments because he believes "that some items in this law
create obstacles on the march toward national reconciliation and they
exclude employees whose expertise is vital to the Iraqi state."
Still, the move was seen as a key step in the reconciliation process. The
decision to outlaw the Baath party was the first official act of L. Paul
Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority, and along with his order to
disband the Iraqi army has been widely blamed for setting in motion the
Sunni insurgency in the fall of 2003.
Miranda Sissons of the International Center for Transitional Justice said
the law was an improvement over early drafts but raised concerns over its
implementation, questioning whether the members of the security ministries
will be immediately dismissed or whether the move would be delayed.
"It's not going to make the fundamental grievances go away, you've still got
a system that is largely based on guilt by association," she said.
Estimates varied on the number of people who would be affected.
The New York-based International Center for Transitional Justice said a
common number was 38,000, while noting the actual number of returns would be
lower because reinstatements have been occurring since late 2006.
Ali al-Lami, a senior official who has worked on the legislation, has said
3,500 former high-ranking Baathists would be offered retirement and pensions
in addition to the 7,000 now holding government jobs but who had been
members of Saddam's security service. He said 13,000 lower-ranking Baathists
would be offered reinstatement.
The measure also sets up a seven-judge appeals panel for those who have been
dismissed in the de-Baathification process and strikes an old clause that
forced them to surrender pensions automatically if they appeal previous
dismissal.
The strict implementation of so-called de-Baathification rules meant that
many senior bureaucrats who knew how to run ministries, university
departments and state companies were fired after 35 years of Baath party
rule.
Iraq's military already had worked through the Baath Party problem,
declaring that anyone who had served above the rank of major in Saddam's
time would be automatically retired and put on pension. Those who held the
rank of major or below were allowed to return to the military if qualified
