Iraqi Premier Addresses Nation, Bans Political Activity Within Armed Forces

Iraqi TV station Al-Iraqiyah TV at 1010 gmt on 6 January began to carry live a ceremony from an unspecified location in Iraq on the 86th anniversary of the founding of the Iraqi army. The live coverage began by showing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki inspecting the guard of honour.

After a short ceremony during which wreaths were laid, Al-Maliki began to deliver a speech on the occasion. He said that the army had been the protector of Iraq. He said that the army should be for all the Iraqis and should not be biased towards any political or sectarian leaning. Al-Maliki announced that no political party shall be allowed to exercise political activities within the armed forces. He said that there should be equality and non-discrimination because the new army must encompass all sections of Iraqi society. He added that this would constitute a “real guarantee” for the unity and power of the army. He noted that under the defunct regime, the Iraqi army had turned into a tool of oppression against the people, citing the examples of several uprisings. He said that the Iraqi army did not believe in the destructive wars in which the “tyrant” had involved it.

He noted that the Iraqi army was exposed to “defeat” in the Kuwait war and in the 2003 war, saying that Iraq is determined not to allow a repeat of these “tragedies” that “afflicted” the people and its institutions. He said that the Iraqi army would not be a tool for attacking Iraq’s neighbours, as the case had been the case in the past. Al-Maliki appealed to Iraq’s neighbouring countries to activate the security pacts that had been signed with Iraq. He criticized negative practices that had characterized the former army, such as bribery, favouritism and other ills. He said that the government would not allow any political party to weaken the army, saying that would delay the handover of security duties from the multinational force. He said that the government would deem any such action as encouragement of terrorist organizations. He added that the armed forces should act to eliminate terrorists, including “Saddamists and takfiris”.

Al-Maliki said that Iraq was determined to defeat the “forces of evil and darkness”. He added that the national unity government was determined to expedite the building up of the armed forces and to provide them with everything that was necessary to provide security for the citizens and protect the country. He said that he would not allow any militias to carry arms in place of the Iraqi army and to attack the citizens and that he would forcefully oppose them.

Al-Maliki also spoke about government efforts to improve the standard of living of the Iraqis.

Referring to the hanging of Saddam, Al-Maliki said that the “execution of the tyrant was not a political decision”, adding that the execution was carried out after a “fair trial”. He added that the government would implement the law against any person who committed a violation and whose hands were “smeared” with the blood of the Iraqis. He called for “turning over a new leaf”.

Al-Maliki condemned statements by governments that protested the execution of Saddam. He said that the Iraqi government would review its relations with any country that did not respect the interests of the Iraqi people.

In conclusion, Al-Maliki said hat the Baghdad security plan wan now ready for implementation. He asked for cooperation from the citizens of Baghdad.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Middle East. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.