EXPLANATORY NOTE (from al-Bab): The main context of this document was a debate
among exiled officers about the role of the army in a post-Saddam Iraq - it
makes a clear commitment to allowing civilian rule once regime change has been
achieved. This view was opposed by some officers (not present at the meeting)
who had argued in favour of military rule, mainly on the grounds that this would
be necessary to preserve the territorial integrity of the country.
Article 1 makes a commitment to "democratic, federal and plural"
government. Interestingly, it does not mention retaining the republican system -
thus allowing the possibility of a constitutional monarchy.
There was also debate at the meeting, especially
between the Kurdish and Turkoman
representatives, on the question of federalism. The Kurds, who acquired de facto
autonomy after the 1991 Gulf war, insisted on a federal system. The Turkomans,
who suspected they would be disadvantaged by that, sought a national referendum
on the issue.
Article 2, in effect, is a compromise wording
inserted to placate the Turkomans. As a result, the document contains a built-in
inconsistency: while Article 1 prescribes a system of government, Article 2 says
the matter will be left for the Iraqi people to decide.
Article 5 - about welcoming foreign intervention
to overthrow the regime - illustrates a problem faced by many in the opposition
who risk losing credibility inside Iraq if they appear too close to the
Americans. The subtle wording of this article makes its point without mentioning
the United States.
Article 8 may be interpreted as confining any
punishments for atrocities in Iraq to the highest levels of the regime. Its
intention may be to reassure those at lower levels and encourage their
defection.
Iraqi National Coalition: Military Covenant of Honour
Our
beloved homeland, Iraq, faces a complicated crisis owing to the policies of the
ruling regime. This regime has turned the Iraqi armed forces to a tool for its
own protection and for threatening and terrorizing the people of Iraq as well as
to wage wars of aggression against neighbouring countries, thus causing the
destruction of our homeland Iraq and the wrecking of sound military standards
and values, and therefore, hampering the role of the Iraqi army in the
protection of our homeland.
The
patriotic Iraqi military who are concerned about the destiny of their country
and of its national army have called upon each other and exchanged views in
order to agree on a Military Covenant of Honour enclosing the following
articles:
1. Express full
willingness to take part in the opposing military effort and shoulder the
responsibility in the quest to change the dictatorial regime, to participate in
laying the foundation of a democratic, federal and plural Iraq based on the rule
of law and to establish the civilian society institutions.
2. The Iraqi
military shall be committed to the wishes of the Iraqi people in deciding the
ruling system for the country.
3. The role of
the Iraqi military shall end after the process of change, as soon as agreement
is reached on the format of the civilian rule and the pursuit of building the
civilian institutions.
4. Reject
ethnic, national and sectarian segregation and the spirit of revenge, work
towards the removal of injustice caused to Iraqis as a result of deportation,
forced migration and expulsion and reinstate their rights and property as
stipulated by the law, and spread the spirit of religious tolerance and secure
the national, cultural and political rights of all the citizens of Iraq,
including Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians and other minorities.
5.
Welcome all
regional or international support to the Iraqi opposition aiming at the
deliverance of Iraqi people from dictatorship and the establishment of the
aspired democratic alternative.
6.
Confine the
power of general call to arms and mobilization in any case of defending the
homeland after the process of change to parliament alone. Confirm,
within a limited period of time, a new permanent constitution for the country,
which shall secure the unity of Iraqi territories, the peaceful transition of
authority and full freedom of all the citizens of Iraq to practice their
religious rites in accordance with the principles of human rights.
7.
Reform the
military and civil legal system and reorganize the armed forces to secure their
ability to defend the homeland in accordance with a sound military doctrine,
which forbids the interference of the army in the internal affairs and political
orientations of the country.
8.
Charge the
leadership of the regime and its hierarchy with the responsibility for crimes
committed by the authority during the years when they were in power, whether
such crimes were committed against Iraqi citizens or on a regional or
international level.
9.
Set down a
foreign policy in which Iraq shall be an active element of regional stability, a
participant in the international peace, an example of good neighbourly relations
and a base for forming friendships, which shall secure the interest of its
people without any infringement to the interests of others.
Whereas,
we the Iraqi officers of the Iraqi armed forces, confirm the above as a charter
for our current work and endeavour in the future, we declare to our brother
members of the Iraqi armed forces inside Iraq and abroad and to our Iraqi people
our commitment to this Covenant of Honour and full solidarity in the quest to
its realization.
Iraqi
Military Council
14
July 2002
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