Kuwaiti Daar Newspaper Meets Al-Hakeem

Kuwait- Council – Special Bureau - Badrtimes

 16-9-2008

Badrtimes - His eminence Sayed Ammar Al-Hakeem stressed that the Iraqi government is determined not to take a step before ensuring and promoting the national sovereignty of Iraq in any step to arrange the relationship with any of the countries.

His eminence also stressed that we, in Iraq today, are eager to build strong and solid relations with all of the neighboring, regional and world countries on a friendly basis. We are very careful not to interfere in their affairs and we wish all of these countries do not interfere in our internal affairs.

His eminence Sayed Ammar Al-Hakeem pointed out that he found the same good intentions with the Kuwaiti leadership towards Iraq through their desire to establish better relations with Iraq, standing by the Government and the people of Iraq.

This came during a meeting conducted by the Kuwaiti Daar Newspaper reporter with his eminence on Tuesday September 16, 2008, during his visit to the State of Kuwait.

The following is the text of the meeting:

 Reporter / In line with the new Iraq, these is a certain keenness, which has been translated by several countries,   to drop Iraq's debts to proceed at this stage. What has happened with the file of Iraq's debt to Kuwait?

 Al-Hakeem / Iraq respects all its international obligations towards the countries in the region, but, at the same time, Iraqis have some wish that the brotherly Arab countries would address this issue and find a settlement, and that more than $110 billion of Iraq's debt to the foreign countries have been dropped, and the public opinion in Iraq is looking forward to the Arab brothers to show interest in this matter. The United Arab Emirates' position was generous to drop the debts and we hope that our brothers, including the State of Kuwait, consider this issue and reach a satisfactory settlement to both countries.

 Reporter / Do you see that the Kuwaiti promises to solve this issue have long been awaited, that we heard this issue since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime?

 Al-Hakeem / there is a kind of Kuwaiti understanding for this issue. We have always found the same good intention from the leadership of Kuwait and therefore we hope that there will be adequate opportunities to review this matter.

 Reporter / concerning the borders, some belittle the issue of the borders disputes between Iraq and Kuwait believing the problem to exist among most neighboring countries. What is your comment?

 Al-Hakeem / Iraq is committed to the international resolutions in this concern, but the details of the border issues are not political rather technical deliberated by specialist teams between the relevant parties to discuss these details.

 Reporter / It is said that the Shiite leaders in Iraq recruit their agents in Kuwait, an issue raised recently. What is your response? 

Al-Hakeem / I have no information in this regard, and this issue concerns the Kuwaiti internal affairs, and that the Iraqi government is committed not to interfere in the affairs of other States, and so is the case with the major political forces in Iraq.

 Reporter / one of the Iraqi newspapers said through its editorial that Kuwait is part of Iraq and should be restored. What is your comment?

 Al-Hakeem / this speech does not worth comment, that Iraq is a pluralistic country where freedom of the press is wide. Such talk may appear here and there, but certainly this speech does not represent the government's or the political forces' position.

 Reporter / what is your interpretation of the delay in the exchange of ambassadors between Kuwait and Iraq and what are the causes?

  Al-Hakeem / I think that Kuwait has played an important role in the nomination of the Ambassador, and when we met with HH the Amir, he told us that he has approved Ambassador Ali Al- Mwmini.  Concerning Iraq, there is a kind of seriousness and will to nominate its ambassador to Kuwait. The problem may be technical not political, because there is a long list of ambassadors presented by the Council of Ministers to the House of Representatives for approval according to the Iraqi law. The nomination of the ambassador must be approved by the Iraqi House of Representatives and now we are witnessing the nomination of a large number of Iraqi ambassadors to the Arab, Islamic and world countries.

 Reporter / There are some visits by Iraqi figures to Israel, does this prove that there is a Zionist penetration in Iraq, and that some have the idea that the relations should be demonstrated to the public?

 Al-Hakeem / We believe that this intersects with the Iraqi Constitution and law, which does not allow building a relationship with Israel at this stage. Iraq will not surpass the Arab unanimity, will stand with the Palestinian people and their plight supporting this issue in its fair and legitimate demands, but for the Deputy, who visited Israel, We have seen that the parliamentary blocs, in the House of Representatives, cancelled his immunity and voted to prevent him from traveling outside Iraq, and called for the judicial authority to consider this matter and criminalize him, because his visit is a violation of the Iraqi law.

Reporter / Shiites of Iraq are accused, like other Shiites, of being loyal to Iran and not to their countries, which is broadcast by opinion leaders in our Arab societies. What is your comment?

 Al-Hakeem / the abuse for a large segment of Arab and accusing them of being traitors and loyal to outside their countries is a very dangerous phenomenon and will lead to undesired problems and intersections.  

The Arabs in the Arab world, whether they were Shiite, Sunni or other religions, are proud of their Arabism and homelands.

Such accusations are extremely regrettable, especially if they come from figures of a religious or cultural nature, as we have heard in some recent statements.

Reporter / Some doubt reaching  a solution to a security pact that would preserve the sovereignty and independence of Iraq and that the U.S. dash to sign the agreement will lead  Iraq to lose some features, what do you think?

  Al-Hakeem / I think that the Iraqi government is determined not to take a step without ensuring and strengthening the national sovereignty of Iraq in any step to arrange the relationship with the United States and other countries in the world, that's why the drafts submitted had extensive discussions by the Iraqi side and had been developed for many times, as was the case with the recent draft, about which so many observations have been made and handed over to the U.S. team. The Iraqi government is waiting for the U.S. team's view point and final opinion to determine the extent of its consistency with the national sovereignty according to which negative or positive attitudes towards this agreement can be taken to be submitted to the House of Representatives as well.

Reporter / A senior Iraqi official said that the legal protection of U.S. forces in Iraq is the most difficult issue and that "immunity" is the most controversial and highly sensitive issue, what is your response?

 Al-Hakeem / within the agreement , there was a formula for the articles  and items that specify the nature of the powers of the foreign and U.S. troops until their complete withdrawal  from Iraq. One of the issues to be discussed is whether the American soldiers will have immunity other than in combat missions, which are performed according to a request made by the Iraqi government.

 The Iraqi side asked that the judicial custody is for Iraq in such cases, and the U.S. team considers such a request. We will find out what would be their final position on this issue.

 Reporter / Some believe that the law ratified by the Iraqi government regarding oil and gas wealth is the one that the U.S. administration of President Bush hoped to achieve of its entry into Iraq both at the economic level and to meet its promises to the companies that supported the war on Iraq?

 Al-Hakeem / We believe that there is an elected Iraqi government keen on the interests of the Iraqi people that deals with any agreements with others from the standpoint of the national interest of Iraq and today we try hard to develop oil installations, but the Ministry of Oil has measurements and certain controls and conditions which ensure the national interest.  If this interest exists in an American, French, Russian or Chinese company, we work according to the standards of the Oil Ministry to open up to other companies that use its expertise to develop the oil installations.

 Reporter / Do you believe that the Kurds were able to make big advances in the political stability?

Al-Hakeem / There is a growing understanding among Arabs in Iraq, Shiites and Sunna. In addition, we have gone through difficult circumstances for some obvious reasons, but Iraq overcome this crisis and the political forces there understand each other better. The withdrawing forces also returned to the government and are exercising their role in a good way and we hope that we succeed in promoting and establishing rules and frameworks that regulate the relationship between all the Iraqi components to foster the partnership, which will greatly help them make a unified work team to defend Iraq, work for reconstructing it and achieving welfare of the Iraqi people away from the sectarian and political backgrounds of each group of the Iraqi factions.

 Reporter / But the Kurds have good experience in the management of their territory and in reaching a good state of security and economic recovery at different levels. In addition, they have big ambitions regarding the Kurdistan region, which explains their concern of the governmental troops entering into its territory and being accused by some to be living independence?

 Al-Hakeem / Kurd brothers in the Kurdistan region had formations a long time ago since 1991 and obtained autonomy in the province of Kurdistan.

They had formations and institutions, and they are present on their land not like other areas that were under the pressure of the regime. After the fall of this regime, forces returned and began organizing their affairs again.

 Consequently they were able, through their formations and active presence, to fill important gaps some of which was the responsibility of the federal government in Baghdad, but the government was preoccupied with terrorism and the many problems.

 Now, getting rid of terrorism, regaining its strength, building its formations and moving to fill those gaps, as a federal government it is required to fill those gaps and sometimes some difficulties occur in the distribution of the roles concerning the nature of powers of the federal government and the regions.

 These difficulties could be addressed through dialogue and discussion between the political parties, and the Kurd brothers represent a key partner in the political process. They are key partners in the country and have a chance to participate, but the distribution of roles is a very important issue and we depend on the Iraqi constitution and laws in force in Iraq in stating the distribution nature of these powers.

 Reporter / specialists classify the armed groups in Iraq into three groups -1 armed groups inside Iraq working against the occupying forces. -2 armed groups linked to foreign parties outside Iraq -3 kidnapping guerrilla and armed robbery groups. Why then politicians in Iraq look at them in the same way?

 Al-Hakeem / There is no clear cut distinction between those who target the foreign troops and those who target Iraqi civilians, troops or the like. The logic that we talk about is that there is a government elected by the Iraqi people and not appointed by the foreign parties. This government is running the affairs and there is an Iraqi security and military institution composed of the police and army shouldering the responsibility.  This elected government is the only authorized side to restore the sovereignty, because it is mandated by the Iraqi people themselves.  In any country, not any person can take up arms claiming resisting the occupiers that in many Arab countries, we sometimes witness the presence of military bases or foreign forces. In such a case, can an Arab citizen in this or that country carry a weapon and go to take a position?  This is not true, in addition to that Iraq exited from the legitimized occupation by the international resolutions that Iraq was connected to international resolutions, but then regained the legitimate sovereignty and foreign forces today are present in Iraq at the request of the elected Iraqi government and therefore if we dispensed with these forces , the Iraqi government can ask them  to withdraw, and for these considerations we believe that arms  should be in the hands of the state and its institutions are the ones that are engaged in the restoration of its sovereignty and ending  the foreign presence within the known frameworks.

Reporter / What is the role played by Iran in Iraq in the light of the accusations by the Arab countries that are themselves accused of funding terrorism in Iraq, of interfering in the Iraqi affairs?

 Al-Hakeem / we, in fact, are eager to build strong and solid relations with all neighboring, regional countries and the world and organize the relationship between Iraq and the other countries on a friendly basis. We are keen not to interfere in their affairs and we wish that all of these countries do not interfere in our internal affairs. If we find a violation or an indication here or there for something contrary to that, we believe that the media statements can not be a gateway for treatment, rather discussing such things on table of open, direct and constructive dialogue with any of the other countries is the real treatment.

 Reporter / what is your view about the Sadr current after all the phases it has been through?

 Al-Hakeem / Sadr current is one of the deep-rooted political currents that we respect and appreciate. We might sometimes differ in some details in diagnosing the political situation, but they one of a large national   force present on the ground and presents its project and people have to choose and place their trust in this or that. Thus we look with respect to the Sadr current.

Reporter / How do you see the future of the political forces, government, parliament, armed groups and civil society organizations in after the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq?

Al-Hakeem / Iraq's strength is in the extent of the cohesion of its people and in building its  institutions, that's why we focus on the Constitution,  building  a country of institutions and law ,  developing the  frameworks and policies governing the relationship of the Iraqi political forces with each other, the distribution of powers between the institutions of the Iraqi state so as to ensure the widest participation of all, regulating  the relationship between the elected government and the local ones  in the provinces and territories and so forth. All that is intended in order to create foundations that make Iraqis able to deal with each other, build their country and maintain their interests without having to resort to foreign troops and others.  We wish that the Iraqi government accelerate the provision of full readiness, and by doing so we would have dispensed with the presence of those troops in Iraq.

Reporter / what is your message to the people of Kuwait?

 Al-Hakeem / it is the message of love and respect from their brothers in Iraq, whom we consider with appreciation, and know that Kuwait stood in an earlier time to advocate and support the Iraqi people in its launch, after diagnosing the nature of the former regime and its hostile positions towards its people in Iraq or towards the Kuwaiti people and the peoples of the region. Kuwait also has had an honorable position in helping the Iraqi people to topple the former regime and support the political process in Iraq over the past five years and the Iraqi people consider these lofty positions with respect.

We look forward to widely strengthen the bonds of relationship and mutual interests and we hope to find Kuwaiti companies, investors and businessmen present with us in the process of reconstruction of Iraq wider than what we see now, at the time where the foreign and some Arab companies compete to do so.

I think that some of the votes rising inside Iraq or in Kuwait, which speaks in a way that is not in line with the friendly atmosphere, neither with strengthening the fraternal relationship between the brotherly peoples, should not take the broad range in the mass media. Whenever someone talks in a certain direction, that speech emerges to us. This will create unhealthy climates for the solid and strong relationship and we must deal cautiously with that. Many people talk but not all of the talk reflects the Iraqi will and aspirations of the Iraqi people. The same applies to the other Kuwaiti side.