Statement of the Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party:

Evacuation Day is Triumph of People’s Will along the Path towards Complete National Independence and Sovereignty

Today,
31st December 2011, marks the evacuation of the last American soldier
from the territories of our country in accordance with the agreement on
the withdrawal of military forces signed between the Iraqi government
and the U.S. government. This big and important event comes as an
embodiment of the will of our people and the struggle of their national
forces and organizations, along with the Iraqi Communist Party, against
the invasion and war and for the departure of all foreign occupation
forces from our territories, the restoration of sovereignty and
independence, and the eradication of the heavy legacy and consequences
of occupation.

The withdrawal of foreign forces constitutes a
prominent national landmark in the life of our people, and an
achievement of great importance and significance along the path of
consolidating national sovereignty and exercising full control by Iraq
over its resources, waters and airspace. It also opens the path wide
towards complete sovereignty by removing our country from the provisions
of articles of Chapter VII of the UN Charter and its restrictions,
which constitutes a violation of national sovereignty and is totally
unjust to our people because it is no longer justified. It also paves
the way forward towards abolishing the remaining penalties and heavy
obligations that were imposed on our country by more than 30 UN Security
Council resolutions after the invasion of Kuwait by the Saddam’s
dictatorial regime.

This historic achievement by the Iraqi
national will could not have been possible without the combined efforts
of the national forces, and the unification of their positions on
official and popular levels in demanding an end to the presence of
foreign forces on the territories of our country. It is also a fruit of
the patience of the masses of our people, and their steadfastness and
sacrifices. What has been achieved today is truly the triumph of the
positions of the national forces of all tendencies, and for policies
that coincide with the interests of the people and safeguard their
lives. Those positions and policies had called for and worked to remove
the occupiers and force them to withdraw their troops, by resorting to
all the diverse options and possibilities of peaceful mass and political
struggle which were provided by the atmosphere of public freedoms after
the fall of the dictatorial regime.

The withdrawal of foreign
forces puts the government, and its military and security institutions
in particular, in front of new and grave responsibilities, to achieve
full readiness and training, consolidate their reconstruction on the
basis of the principle of citizenship, efficiency and fidelity to the
new Iraq and respect for the Constitution, away from the practice of
sectarian “balance”, power-sharing and narrow regional and partisan
tendencies. However, achieving and maintaining full sovereignty and
seizing complete independence of Iraqi national decision-making, in the
face of external pressures and interference, requires the strengthening
of national unity and consolidating the process of building a democratic
civil state on the basis of citizenship and respect for human rights.

These
big historical challenges have put all the national forces
participating in the political process, and those forces that dominate
political power in particular, to a serious test, requiring them to
enhance their sense of responsibility towards the destiny of the people
and the homeland, by overcoming factionalism, sectarianism, and narrow
partisan calculations, and abandoning the policy of competing to share
the positions of influence and the spoils which is rejected by the
masses of the people.

Unfortunately, the policies and positions
of the blocs that are dominating political power at this stage have
exposed them, in front of the masses of people as well as their own
constituents, as being determined to behave in a strange irresponsible
manner. They have been shown to be unconcerned about drawing lessons and
averting dangerous consequences that may be caused by their rivalries
and disputes.

Instead of thinking about the need for all the
participants in the political process to sit at one table to deliberate
and discuss the obligations of the post-occupation phase and the
mechanisms and tools for its administration, accusations have escalated
between the forces that are in control of power and the political
situation has exploded once again. It is, this time, a dangerous crisis
between the two biggest blocs in the government and parliament, the
Iraqiya and the State of Law. A climate of escalating sectarian and
regional tensions has developed, with widespread fear and anticipation
among all citizens. The fate of the country has once again been held
hostage to the conflict between these two blocs and their bickering.

This
new reality has revived evil plans of terrorist forces, and provided
them with a convenient opportunity to commit a new heinous crime on
Thursday, 22nd December 2011, with hundreds of people killed and
wounded.

The present dangerous situation in Iraq has impelled the
living forces of society and the parties and personalities that are
concerned for the fate of the country, including the Iraqi Communist
Party, to speak out to condemn this dangerous game, reaffirming their
calls upon the competing parties to realize the gravity of the situation
into which they are pushing the country. They have called for starting a
national dialogue that includes all the participants in the political
process in order to prepare for a broad National Conference which would
diffuse the current crisis, correct the path of the political process,
and formulate a concrete joint program of action that emphasizes the
common national positions among political forces and serves as a road
map that is binding on everyone for running the country during the
current phase. This conference would also develop real mechanisms for
national partnership in government, away from the infamous
sectarian-ethnic power-sharing policy.

In this regard, our Party
calls upon all political forces and parties, which are concerned for the
fate of Iraq and the future of its people, to respond favorably to the
sincere calls that have emanated recently from many political and
governmental quarters and reflected the desire of broad masses of our
people, which have called for everyone to sit at one table and engage in
mutual dialogue to diffuse the ongoing crises, search for an effective
solution to the current crisis, and save our country from the unknown
fate into which it may slide.

Central Committee
Iraqi Communist Party

31st December 2011