State of Law MP claims ‘Baathist infiltration’ in state institutions

BAGHDAD — Some Baathists have exploited Iraq’s “fragile situation” to infiltrate state institutions with the help of senior officials, aligning themselves against the country and joining terror groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, State of Law MP Aref Al-Hamami claimed in a televised interview. “Fighting them is a duty,” he told Alawla TV.

Al-Hamami said former Prime Minister and head of the State of Law Nouri Al-Maliki “wants to implement the law in a real way without favoritism or forgery.

The Baath Party ruled Iraq from 1968 until the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and was officially banned following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. The party is widely associated with widespread human rights violations, including genocide against the Kurds and the violent suppression of dissent.

In November 2024, Al-Maliki alleged renewed threats posed by Baathist remnants and other extremist groups amid rising regional tensions. “The government and political leaders must prioritize strengthening Iraq’s security and political stability to counter threats from terrorism and criminal groups,” he said in a televised address.

Excerpts from Aref Al-Hamami’s  interview with Alawla TV:

Some Baathists were able to exploit the fragile situation and use senior officials to infiltrate state institutions. Throughout this period, many Baathists aligned themselves against the country and the political process, and joined ISIS and Al-Qaeda, so fighting them is a duty.

Nouri Al-Maliki wants to implement the law in a real way without favoritism or forgery, and he does not want to bypass the laws. What does it mean to see a list of ambassadors that includes Baathists? This is an ambassador representing the state, the backbone of the Iraqi state and the political system. If you even sense a trace of Baathism in him, we should not approve his name. I am not saying he should be dismissed from his job, but he should not be made an ambassador. This is a flaw for which the government is responsible.

Is it reasonable that a Baathist with suspicions against him is expelled from the south [of Iraq], then coordinates his affairs in Salah Al-Din to obtain an acquittal from a court? This is what we mean by the need to enforce the law. Some candidates are also Baathists.

Al-Maliki stresses the need to apply the law in a real way so that these criminals do not infiltrate state institutions and spread their poison, sometimes through sabotage and sometimes through obstruction.

There are MPs who joined the Construction and Development Bloc [belonging to PM Al-Sudani] who were expelled from the State of Law, while others are independent and respectable, with the freedom to choose, and may return to the State of Law after the elections.

No party member has left the Islamic Dawa Party, despite the offers. I myself was offered a nomination with Sudani, and there were many and great temptations, but no, a thousand times no — we refused.