Late Evening Iraq News 4-8-22

The new generation rules out holding a new parliament session

Baghdad - conscious - Nassar al-Hajj  The head of the New Generation bloc, MP Sarwa Abdel Wahed, confirmed today, Friday, that the political situation in the country is witnessing a complete blockage, while ruling out a new session of the House of Representatives in the coming days .

Abdul Wahed said in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The order to determine the holding of a new session of the House of Representatives is limited to the Speaker and his two deputies," pointing out that the political dispute between the blocs over the distribution of positions negatively affected the performance of Parliament, and it cannot continue in this way .

She added that "there is no expected date for a new session after giving the 40-day deadline for the coordination framework by the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr," noting that "the political situation is in a state of complete impasse .    https://www.ina.iq/153197--.html

Article 226.. Will Parliament Amend It, Or Will It Remain A Tool To Muzzle Mouths?

04/08/2022   Earth News/

There is renewed talk from time to time regarding the use of articles in the Iraqi Penal Code that contradict the freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed by the constitution. While experts in legal affairs described the Penal Code as one of the “highest” laws, they pointed out the need to amend these articles by Parliament, while referring to That it was not modified because it was exploited by some political parties.

Legal expert Amir Al-Daami told "Earth News", "The Penal Code is one of the finest and most knowledgeable laws, but it needs an amendment to the level of penalties in proportion to the size of crimes, especially waste of public money and thefts."

Al-Daami added that “regarding the penalty for freedom of opinion, it needs an amendment in proportion to the constitution, as guaranteed by Article 38, but this amendment needs legislation within the dome of the Iraqi parliament, and not by the executive authorities and institutions.”

And he indicated that "the Iraqi Council of Representatives, during the past years, worked on amending some paragraphs of the Iraqi Penal Code, but the amendment did not include the important and sensitive paragraphs of this law, but rather some paragraphs, which may not directly affect public life."

It is noteworthy that Article 226, through which arrest warrants are often issued against media workers and politicians, and the article states the following: Anyone who insults the National Assembly, the government, the courts, the armed forces, or Other statutory bodies, public authorities, official or semi-official departments or departments.

The media, Ahmed Mulla Talal, and the actor Iyad Al-Taei, were the last to have arrest warrants issued against them in accordance with this article, after they discussed the issue of space soldiers and the purchase of military positions.

It is noteworthy that the President of the Republic, Barham Salih, presented last year the new draft penal code to the House of Representatives, according to the statement of the Presidency of the Republic, after its arrival from the Supreme Judicial Council in the context of cooperation between the authorities, in the field of legislation laws required by the developments of the times, to replace the Penal Code of [url=tel:1969]1969[/url] . Saleh described the new law as “the most comprehensive amendment in 50 years to the Iraqi Penal Code.”

And last year, political analyst Ibrahim Al-Sumaidaie was arrested, according to this article, after he spoke about the Iraqi judiciary.

In addition, legal and constitutional expert Salem Hawass stated in a statement to "Earth News", that "the Iraqi Penal Code does not represent the system of government or the party that governs the country, but rather they are laws that are established by judicial and other specialized bodies, and the provisions of the current law are in force by the majority of countries of the world, and the law is one of the sober laws.”

Hawass pointed out that "every law, not the penal code, needs amendments and changes from time to time, according to the variables that occur at various levels, and for this the penal code needs to amend paragraphs or add new paragraphs, especially with the current Iraqi situation at various levels."

He pointed out that “the paragraphs of freedom of expression and opinion in the Iraqi Penal Code need to be amended according to the new Iraq. But frankly, some personalities and parties are with the restriction of freedom of expression and opinion, and therefore they do not want to make any possible amendment that prevents more freedom to criticize or reveal some files.

Among the most prominent arrest warrants issued according to this article, is the issuance by the Rusafa Court, in 2017 , of an arrest warrant against the Vice President of the Kurdistan Region and one of the leaders of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Kosrat Rasul, according to Article 226 of the Iraqi Penal Code, on charges of “incitement and insulting the Iraqi army.” .

In [url=tel:2018]2018[/url] , the Karkh Investigation Court issued an arrest warrant against the journalist Hashem Al-Aqabi, according to Article 226 of the Penal Code, on charges of “offending the judiciary through social media.”   LINK

Al-Hakim Presents A 9-Point Initiative To End The Political Blockage

Al-Hakim presents a 9-point initiative to end the political blockage Calendar  04/08/2022

 Views  24   Baghdad / Al-Mawrid News   Today, Friday, the leader of the Wisdom Movement, Ammar al-Hakim, put forward a 9-point initiative to end the political blockage .

During his speech on the thirteenth anniversary of the departure of Mr. Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim (may his secret be sanctified), Mr. Al-Hakim said: “From a position of moral and patriotic responsibility, I call on the opposing forces representing the largest social component and all our partners in the country to get out of the reality of the existing political blockage, but this is achieved through Through several steps and in a purely patriotic spirit, and according to the following :

1- All parties sit at the dialogue table and discuss solutions and treatments without prior conditions or restrictions .

2 - Name the largest bloc according to what the constitution stipulates through the forces representing the largest social component .

3 - The issue of the three presidencies was resolved through the understanding of the sons of each component among themselves, and everyone deals with the candidate of the Sunni majority, the Kurdish majority and the Shiite majority to pass the concept of a reassuring majority for all, with an agreement that rejecting the candidate of one of the other components does not mean an intersection with the component, but rather allowing him to present Other options, and the three presidents are representative of all and enjoy the support and respect of all .

4 - Formulating the service and political program for the next government, setting realistic time limits for its implementation, and setting criteria for selecting the hoped-for ministerial team .

5 - Distribution of roles, whoever wishes to participate in the government joins the majority group and commits to supporting the government with the agreed program and declares taking full responsibility for his participation and decision, and whoever does not wish to participate takes the House of Representatives as a starting point for his constructive opposition and officially announces it to obtain the required cover .

6 - The majority pledges to provide a safe cover for the opposition while empowering it in parliamentary committees and independent oversight bodies to perform their tasks. The opposition also pledges not to disrupt parliament sessions and actively attend in it and allow the majority to complete the constitutional dues .

7 - The agreement of the ruling majority and the constructive opposition on permanent consultation and periodic deliberation on the basic issues in the country to come up with national and social decisions on crucial issues and suspended laws .

8 - Renouncing negative media debates and the language of blasphemy, treason and accusation, and I call on all government media institutions and others to adopt a national charter binding on all to confront the language of hatred and accusation and purify the discourse addressed to the public with accurate information that is not misleading. It is not possible to build the state without a keen national media responsible for the unity of the country Respect for the original values .

9- Adopting governmental reform as a material for political competition in performance and discourse , and for each political entity and each coalition to present its programs and its economic, cultural, political, development and security visions in front of the media, and for political speakers representing their entities to express their vision of the forged solutions and the strengths or weaknesses in them and how to extricate the country from Its difficult reality and its advancement again, so that there is room for public opinion to see the plans and solutions of all entities and support what it deems appropriate for the country .  https://almawrid.news/contents/view/details?id=48092

The Foreign Ministers Of Iraq And Iran Discuss A Package Of Issues And Agree On A Soon Meeting

04/08/2022   47   Earth News/ Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein discussed, in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, views on a range of issues of concern to bilateral, regional and global relations.

The ministry said in a statement received by Earth News, "The two sides discussed the latest steps taken in the framework of bilateral relations, and discussed issues of common interest, including regional and international developments, the Vienna negotiations and ways to strengthen bilateral relations."

Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein congratulated his Iranian counterpart, Amir Abdollahian, “on the Iranian New Year and the blessed month of Ramadan, and gave a presentation on the latest developments,” referring to his “recent visit to Moscow and his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Reviewing developments in Ukraine.

For his part, Amir Abdollahian congratulated his Iraqi counterpart “on the blessed month of Ramadan,” stressing “the need to focus on dialogue and a diplomatic solution to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and the need to address the roots of the current crisis as a key to establishing peace and stability in the region.”

The two ministers agreed on the necessity of meeting in the coming days.

https://earthiq.news/archives/61191

The Controversy Over Iraq’s Entry Into A Constitutional Vacuum Was Resolved

article at link    https://baghdadtoday.news/ar/news/185805/A

Al-Hakim Proposes Several Steps To Get Out Of The Political Impasse

1- All parties sit at the dialogue table and discuss solutions and treatments without prior conditions or restrictions.

2- Naming the largest bloc as stipulated in the constitution through the forces representing the largest social component.

3- Resolving the issue of the three presidencies through the understanding of the sons of each component among themselves, and everyone deals with the candidate of the Sunni majority, the Kurdish majority and the Shiite majority to pass the concept of a reassuring majority for all, with an agreement that rejecting the candidate of one of the other components does not mean an intersection with the component, but rather allowing him to present Other options, and the three presidents are representative of all and command the support and respect of all.

4- Formulating the service and political program for the next government, setting realistic time limits for its implementation, and setting criteria for selecting the hoped-for ministerial team.

5- Distribution of roles, whoever wishes to participate in the government joins the majority group and commits to supporting the government with the agreed program and announces taking full responsibility for his participation and decision, and whoever does not wish to participate takes the House of Representatives as a springboard for his constructive opposition and announces it officially to obtain the required covers.

6- The majority pledges to provide a safe cover for the opposition while empowering it in parliamentary committees and independent oversight bodies to perform its tasks. The opposition also pledges not to disrupt parliament sessions and actively attend in it and allow the majority to complete the constitutional entitlements.

7- The agreement of the ruling majority and the constructive opposition on permanent consultation and periodic deliberation on the basic issues in the country to come up with national and unanimous decisions on crucial issues and disrupted laws. LINK