We used to live in a restricted society in which there was only one voice and maybe that is the reason why we now see everything upside down.
Today, we feel the freedom in Iraq and no one can deny this, except those who have never wanted to accept the truth or those who act maliciously. You can vote and express your ideas freely and whenever you want; what’s it if it’s not freedom? You can get a passport and travel freely in this situation. You can sleep in your own car without being arrested for what’s called “violation of security and social order”. I can well remember a day when I was traveling with my friend on the road of Basra and my friend was rebuked only for sleeping on his seat. The officer acted like Saddam. He took my friend out of the bust and arrested him but he was lucky and later freed, otherwise no one knows what would have happened to him. All this was for being asleep when the car stopped at checkpoint. Do we now fear from being asleep?
I know the meaning of freedom and I know that its definition is wider than what I said; I was just giving an example. Today, we can speak freely in front of employees, teachers and other people of this society. We can criticize ministers and some people even insult them.
We now enjoy freedom and we should preserve it. But freedom is not anarchy; it’s order and fidelity. We should be faithful to Iraq and its people.
On the other hand, the government should also know that freedom is not the same as anarchy and disorder. Free and democratic countries have practical plans and regulations they act according to which. Iraq should not bear big threats and dangers under the name of freedom.
The issue of the settlement of armed paramilitary groups in Iraq is also important. Some paramilitary groups in Iraq have been disarmed but other international terrorist organizations still possess weapons and everyone, familiar with politics, understands how dangerous it is for Iraq.
There’s no doubt that these terrorist groups are linked to each other and there are secret ties and cooperation between terrorist MKO, Al-Qaeda and Zarqawi and other remnants of ousted Saddam regime.
We are all aware of strong ties between Mojahedin-e khalq and Saddam Hussein. Some people try to clean this from the minds of Iraqis. They even hold meetings to do this, which has undesirable consequences.
Cleansing Iraqis soil from paramilitary groups, such as MKO, Zarqawi and Al-Qaeda, is as important as destroying weapons. Freedom and democracy and recognizing the rights for political asylum is not the same as welcoming terrorist groups.
Abbas Sarhan – Al Naba Website