Corruption and partition are the headlines in another dismal week in occupied Iraq, writes Nermeen Al-Mufti Crowds of Iraqis gathered at the gate of the Syrian Embassy in the once elegant neighbourhood of Al-Mansur in Baghdad, hoping against hope. The UN asked Syria to remove visa requirements for Iraqi applicants, but it didn't ask US occupation forces to improve conditions in Iraq or abide by international law; nor did it ask the Iraqi government to stop making excuses for deteriorating conditions in the country. Hundreds of Iraqis congregate every day in front of the embassy, hoping to find refuge for their families. Syria used to receive about 30,000 Iraqis refugees every month until visa restrictions were introduced in early October. Many Iraqis claim that Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki asked the Syrians to impose visa restrictions during his visit to Damascus in August. The government is not responding to this claim. It is busy deflecting accusations made by Justice Radi Al-Radi, chairman of the Iraqi Probity Committee. Al-Radi was made head of the Probity Committee in 2004, but escaped to the US two months ago after receiving death threats, allegedly from Iraqi officials. He told US Congress that Al-Maliki was protecting his allies against prosecution in corruption-related cases. "Al-Maliki protected relatives of his against investigation and allowed ministers to protect employees suspected of involvement in corruption," Al-Radi said. He also told congressmen that Iraq lost $18 billion because of corruption. Al-Maliki's office dismissed the charges as "false accusation made to promote the interests of well- known individuals and agencies that are involved in a media campaign against the prime minister." The statement of the prime minister's office went further, alleging that "the chairman of the Probity Committee was invited to attend a cabinet meeting and asked to clamp down forcefully on corruption, but [Al-Radi] focussed on minor corruption matters and administrative orders that are outside his jurisdiction, while turning a blind eye to major cases of financial irregularities to curry favour with some parties and political figures." The statement continued: "the claims of the Probity Committee chairman constitute only a small part of the media campaign in which he is engaged. The campaign is financed by certain political figures who hire public relations companies to tarnish Al-Maliki's reputation." A few weeks ago, local Iraqi press ran a report, first published by The Washington Post, to the effect that former prime minister Iyad Allawi hired a major US public relations firm to discredit Al-Maliki. As a report by the US Government Accountability Office says that capacity-building efforts in Iraqi ministries are running into difficulties related to the lack of competent personnel and the infiltration of militiamen into major ministries, Al-Radi told Congress that 31 employees of his committee have been killed. Representative Henry Waxman (D-California), who chaired the session, wondered if the Maliki government was too corrupt to succeed. Waxman said that US efforts to resolve the crisis were ineffective, suggesting that the US government may be covering up Maliki's actions. Differences between Al-Radi and Maliki surfaced after Al-Radi accused Qais Al-Saidi, an ally of Moqtada Al-Sadr and chairman of the Parliamentary Probity Committee, of involvement in dubious oil dealing. Al-Saidi retaliated, accusing Al-Radi of corruption and demanding his appearance in parliament for questioning. Although Al-Radi claimed that along with 31 inspectors in his committee 21 of his relatives were killed, the police took no action to investigate the murders. Meanwhile, a crisis is brewing over the arrest of Mahmoud Ferhadi, identified by Tehran as an Iranian businessman, by US forces in Al-Suleimaniya in early September. Iran retaliated by closing its border crossings with northern Iraq, a move that worsened food shortages in Iraq. Iraqi parliamentarian Mohamed Al-Deini told Al-Ahram Weekly that the man arrested by US forces in Iraq on 3 September was a major general with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. "His name is Mahmoud Farhadi and he is the commander of the Zafar Camp, which is affiliated with the Iranian Quds Brigades. He was arrested in his private office in Darbandakhan in Al-Suleimaniya, an office that he set up over four years ago. The office is situated close to the security department of Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan." Al-Deini said that Farhadi was arrested after the Americans struck a deal with the Kurds, promising "more support in their areas". David Petraeus, commander of US forces in Iraq, accused the Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, of being a member of the Quds Brigades. Speaking at a US base near the Iranian border, Petraeus said that Kazemi-Qomi's diplomatic immunity precluded his interrogation by the Americans. Kazemi-Qomi, who was named ambassador to Iraq in May 2006, was Iran's first envoy to Iraq since 1980. Meanwhile, the US army said that it killed 25 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard during a raid on the village of Jizan in Diyala on the Iranian border last week. Iraqi police said that the victims included civilians. As the US continues to accuse Iran of arming Iraqi militia with explosive charges and weapons, Mowaffaq Al-Robeie, Iraq's national security adviser, said that the Americans should stop antagonising Iran as tensions were making life harder for Iraqis. One day after the Americans said that Moqtada Al-Sadr returned from Iran (Al-Sadr supporters deny he ever left Iraq), Sadr signed an agreement with Abdul- Aziz Al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). The agreement called for "stemming" Iraqi blood and preserving the higher interests of the country. Signed on 23 Ramadan, the statement said that "in keeping with the holy legacy of Ramadan, in order to strengthen our relations, safeguard higher Islamic and national interests, and bring the country back to safe shores, we have agreed to stem Iraqi blood and refrain from shedding it under any circumstance, and regardless of creed, because bloodshed violates all religious and moral codes." A higher committee, having branches in all governorates, would be formed in order to "avert sedition and control any potential trouble", the statement promised. Sheikh Hamid Al-Saeidi of SCIRI said that the agreement came after "significant escalation" in various parts of Iraq, especially in the south. Sheikh Salah Al-Obeidi of the Sadr group said that the agreement demonstrates the "wisdom of Moqtada Al-Sadr and his desire to avert differences with other groups and trends." In other news, the Kurdish administration in the north welcomed the US Senate's decision to partition Iraq, saying that it was in keeping with the Iraqi constitution. It called for a conference in Irbil to discuss federalism, while accusing those who opposed the Senate's decision of being chauvinistic and misguided. Arab and Turkomen parties called for a boycott of the said conference. Sources close to the Iraqi Kirkuk Front, an alliance of parties and figures opposed to Kurdish annexation of Kirkuk, said that, "Discussions of partition schemes are a step towards the division of the country." Anwar Biraqdar, chairman of the Turkomen Justice Party, warned against "any agreements endorsing partition plans". Following reports of torture and rape in Iraqi prisons, Tareq Al-Hashemi, vice-president and leader of the Islamic Party of Iraq, started touring detention centres around the country. He visited the women's prison in Baghdad, where he voiced shock at the lack of proper medical care. "The visit revealed a complex, thorny, and tragic situation, beginning with the manner of detention and ending with the deteriorating conditions in the prison regarding health and other services," a statement by Al-Hashemi's office said. Two women died in prison due to the shortage of medicine, the statement added. Some inmates were being held as hostages, to pressure their spouses into surrendering to the authorities. One prisoner said that she was sentenced to death without being interrogated. Another, a school principal, said that she was arrested while searching for her son who went missing over a year ago.
