Jan 12, 2008 6:39 am US/Pacific
Iraq To Reinstate Ex-Saddam Supporters
BAGHDAD (AP) ―
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The Baathists who were members in Saddam Hussein's security agencies must retire — except for members of Fidayeen Saddam, a feared militia formed by Saddam's eldest son, Oday. (File)
AP
Iraq's parliament adopted legislation Saturday on the reinstatement
of thousands of former supporters of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to
government jobs, a key benchmark sought by the United States as a step
toward easing sectarian tensions.
The bill was approved by a unanimous show of hands on each of the
law's 30 clauses. Titled the Accountability and Justice law, it seeks
to relax restrictions on the rights of members of the now-dissolved
Baath party to fill government posts.
It is also designed to reinstate thousands of Baathists dismissed
from government jobs after the 2003 U.S. invasion — a decision that
deepened sectarian tensions between Iraq's majority Shiites and the
once-dominant Sunni Arabs, who believed the firings targeted their
community.
The strict implementation of so-called de-Baathification rules also
meant that many senior bureaucrats who knew how to run ministries,
university departments and state companies ended up unemployed in a
country where 35 years of Baath party rule and extensive government
involvement in the economy had left tens of thousands of party members
in key positions.
That, coupled with the disbanding of the Iraqi army, threw tens of
thousands of people out of work at a critical time in Iraq's history
and fueled the burgeoning Sunni insurgency.
The Bush administration initially promoted de-Baathification but
later claimed that Iraqi authorities went beyond even what the
Americans had contemplated to keep Saddam's supporters out of important
jobs.
With the Sunni insurgency raging and political leaders making little
progress in reconciling Iraq's Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish
communities, the Americans switched positions and urged the dismantling
of de-Baathification laws.
Later, enacting and implementing legislation reinstating the fired
Baath supporters became one of 18 so-called benchmark issues the U.S.
sought as measures for progress in national reconciliation.
The legislation can become law only when approved by Iraq's
presidential council. The council, comprised of Iraq's president and
two vice presidents, is expected to ratify the measure.
The draft law approved Saturday is not a blanket approval for all former Baathists to take government jobs.
The law will allow low-ranking Baathists not involved in past crimes
against Iraqis to go back to their jobs. High-ranking Baathists will be
sent to compulsory retirement and those involved in crimes will stand
trial, though their families will still have the right to pension.
The Baathists who were members in Saddam's security agencies must
retire — except for members of Fidayeen Saddam, a feared militia formed
by Saddam's eldest son, Oday. They will be entitled to nothing.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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