​​​​​​​Burhan Raouf: Iraqi people forced the government to take a stand against Turkey

Politician Burhan Raouf explained that the differences between the Iraqi forces opened the way for the regional and foreign powers to expropriate Iraqi lands, especially the Turkish state, which violates Iraqi lands on a daily basis. He stressed that the Iraqis' reaction, especially in Baghdad and Basra, forced the government to take measures against Turkey.

Iraq has been witnessing a real crisis for 10 months. Despite holding parliamentary elections, the conflicting forces in Iraq have not yet been able to form a government, not even to determine a new president for the country. What worsened the Iraqi situation was the withdrawal of the largest bloc (the Sadrist Movement) from parliament.

Politician Burhan Raouf confirms that one of the wonders of the Iraqi political process is that the entire forces (the Sadrist Movement), which won the highest percentage of seats in the Iraqi Parliament, submitted their resignations, and their replacements took the constitutional oath from the coordinating framework and thus became the majority.

Burhan Raouf explained, during an interview with ANHA’s agency on the Iraqi situation, that the tense Iraqi political situation opened the doors to foreign interference, especially Turkey, and said: "The Iraqi people will not accept Turkish oppression and humiliation against their land, sky and people, and forced the government to submit a complaint to the Security Council."

The following is the text of the interview:

* For more than ten months, Iraq has witnessed a crisis in forming a government, as a result of political conflicts between the forces. What made the Iraqi scene more complicated was the withdrawal of the Sadr’s bloc from Parliament. What is the reason behind all this, in your opinion?

Reality; The main reason for these problems, crises and political obstruction is the deep political differences between the components of the Iraqi people, and within the component itself. In the past, there were differences between the components, but now the differences have expanded to be among the sons of one component, as is the case for the Shiite component now, as the differences between the coordination framework and the Sadr movement have widened, and within the Kurdish house there are differences over the presidency.

The deepening of these differences led to a delay in the formation of the government, and the expiration of all constitutional deadlines. Iraq is now suffering from a constitutional and legal vacuum, and the Iraqi land has turned into a free-for-all for regional and foreign interventions.

* In your opinion, what are the ruling parties and influential forces wrestling with in the current political process in Iraq? Does this conflict have anything to do with the sincere patriotic quest to address the aggravating suffering of the vast majority of Iraqis, or is it the continuation and growth and increase of influence and power and the sharing of positions, spoils and privileges?

Disagreement over the spoils and privileges of power, over the sorting of departments and agendas, and attempts to converge the views of some other forces ten months after the elections were unsuccessful, and the preference for narrow partisan and factional interests prevented the formation of the government. Not taking into account the higher interests of Iraq and Iraqis, and the national interest of Iraq is absent in the talks of these political parties and forces, and political intransigence has led to the political blockage occurring in the country, and there is no prospect of hope to break this blockage and complex political barrier.

* There is a big plan against Iraq at the hands of the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, as the Turkish state seeks to expand its occupation of Southern Kurdistan through the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and to benefit from the Iraqi crisis, what are your views on that?

The Turkish state is violating Iraqi lands daily, and these violations are a violation of the sovereignty of the Iraqi state as an independent state and a member of the United Nations. Turkey committed a massacre on July 20 against innocent Iraqi citizens in one of the resorts of the city of Dohuk, and the Iraqi reaction, especially the people of Baghdad and Basra, forced the Iraqi government to take action and summon the Turkish ambassador.

The great condemnation and denunciation and submitting a complaint to the United Nations are good signs, and there is a need for more coordination between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG, although preserving the sovereignty of Iraq is one of the tasks and prerogatives of the federal government, but in the past period, there was leniency and negligence in front of the breaches and the Turkish attacks against Iraqi sovereignty and the Kurdistan region, which encouraged the Turks to continue killing Iraqi citizens and committing massacres against the Iraqi people.

And what has emerged from the recent reactions, indicates that there will be a strong response to Turkish violations, at the political, diplomatic, international and military levels, if necessary.

* On July 20, Turkey bombed the village of Barkh in Dar Kari in Zakho, and committed a massacre against the residents, which led to the loss of 9 lives and the injury of 23 others. Iraq called on the UN Security Council to withdraw the occupying Turkish forces from Iraqi lands, but the UN Security Council it hasn’t moved yet. What do you think is the reason, and what is needed now?

Regarding the bombing of the village of Dar Kari in Zakho, the Security Council held a session in this regard, according to a complaint submitted by the Iraqi government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Security Council, which included denouncing the bombing, massacres, and Turkish criminality against Iraqi sovereignty and its defenseless citizens.

In the past, no one has raised calls against the Turkish government in the Security Council. The popular demonstrations in Iraq against the backdrop of the heinous Zakho massacre were clear evidence that the Iraqi people will not accept Turkish oppression and humiliation against their land, sky and people, and the government was forced to submit a complaint to the Security Council.

T/S

ANHA