Saudi Arabia records over 21,000 residency, labor, and border violations in latest inspections    PIF seeks to expand US investments despite restrictions, says governor Al-Rumayyan Saudi sovereign fund launched 103 companies across 13 sectors, aims to attract more foreign talent to Saudi Arabia    Saudi minister holds high-level talks at FII Miami to boost AI, tech, and space partnerships    Saudi Media Forum concludes with key industry partnerships and award recognitions    Hamas hands over six Israeli captives in latest prisoner exchange    US and Ukraine near deal granting US mineral rights in exchange for military aid    Israeli forensic institute confirms remains of hostage Shiri Bibas    Australia presses China for answers over reported live-fire exercises near its coast    Al-Ettifaq stuns Al-Nassr with late winner as Ronaldo protests refereeing decisions    King Salman: Our nation's path has remained steadfast since its founding    Imam Mohammed bin Saud: The founder of the First Saudi State and architect of stability    King Abdul Aziz: Founder of the Third Saudi State and leader of modern Saudi Arabia    'Neighbors' canceled again, two years after revival    Al-Tuwaijri: Not a single day has passed in Saudi Arabia in 9 years without an achievement Media professionals urged to innovate in disseminating Kingdom's story to the world    Proper diet and healthy eating key to enjoying Ramadan fast    Saudi Media Forum panel highlights Kingdom's vision beyond 2034 World Cup    AlUla Arts Festival 2025 wraps up with a vibrant closing weekend    Al Hilal secures top spot in AFC Champions League Elite, set to face Pakhtakor in Round of 16    Al-Ettifaq's Moussa Dembélé undergoes surgery, misses rest of the season    'Real life Squid Game': Kim Sae-ron's death exposes Korea's celebrity culture    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



What Al-Maliki Did Not Say
Published in AL HAYAT on 15 - 09 - 2010

There was not one sign in Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's interview with Al-Hayat yesterday pointing to his defense of the interests of one particular sect in the face of other competing sects. The man rather presented himself as a national and legitimate representative, rising above the sects toward an open horizon before a participation in the authority that would be fair to all the Iraqi components.
Al-Maliki's main concern is to avoid seeing Iraq return to a near past that was filled with civilian-sectarian infighting, and one which is a bit farther away and was characterized by the tyranny exercised by one side over the other. His goal is to build a state which has “unfortunately” not gotten rid yet of the quotas of the sects and the people, but is free from corruption and capable of managing its own affairs with the minimum level of foreign interference. The political stalemate which has been prevailing over the country for the last six months and which allowed the resumption of the brutal killings is, in Al-Maliki's opinion, a side-effect that will dissipate after concord is reached among the major parliamentary blocs.
The statements of the Iraqi prime minister might reassure readers who only perceive the direct meanings of words. However, a second reading into Al-Maliki's interview reveals that the situation is more complicated than it appears. Indeed, the new government's refusal to be born is not just about diverging opinions over the division of the prerogatives as it could be understood from the context of the interview. It rather points to a deep flaw affecting the mechanism of the rotation of power in Iraq in the post-Saddam Hussein stage. The government that should be formed will remain – regardless of the names of its members – too weak to handle a “wall of mistrust, concerns and differing viewpoints.” This wall rises high among the Iraqi sects and was not built by Saddam Hussein alone, as he was preceded in placing the foundations of the wall of sectarian fears by centuries of persecution and segregation, which a faction of the Iraqis believe the time has come to end once and for all.
While Al-Maliki proposed dialogue with the Iraqi List and an understanding with the other wing in the National Alliance as a way out of the crisis, he disregarded the fact that such a dialogue and such an understanding will only produce a temporary settlement that will uphold the flaw while awaiting the next elections or the new wave of violence that will detonate the worst explosion. In this context, the experiences in Lebanon and Yemen are standing before our eyes.
Today, Iraq is probably the clearest expression for a series of overlapping Arab crises, namely the crisis of the identity torn between national, sectarian or ethnic belonging, the crisis of transition from a state of tribal and sectarian tyranny to a modern Arab state for which it is difficult to find a good model, and the crisis of upholding independence in the vicinity of ambitious and hostile foreign powers. Moreover, his talk about the failure to prevent the suicide operation staged before the old Defense Ministry was fascinating, as it contained signs pointing to the lack of the element that unifies and justifies the presence of the state institutions, i.e. responsibility pure and simple, whether for the lives and security of the citizens or the submission to their accountability, seeing how it is said that “the people” are the source of all authorities.
Al-Maliki's visions for the handling of these crises were merely limited to a few general statements that would fit all times and places, while at the same time void of any content that could cure a deteriorating state of illness. Moreover, Al-Maliki's abstinence from tackling these details reveals something else, i.e. the spread of a general “rhetoric” that floats over the facts and realities and deals with them through allusions and signals, and not through touching and treatment. The disastrous aspect of the aforementioned rhetoric lies in the extent of its propagation throughout the Arab countries.


Clic here to read the story from its source.