Weapons Ban for Militias

Friday, 18 November, 2005

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Ghassan Ali

Iraq’s interior ministry has forbidden the country’s various militias from carrying weapons in the run-up to election day.

The ban on weapons for all private citizens, which will be lifted at an unspecified date after the poll, applies even to those who have permission to carry arms.

Iraqi interior minister Falah al-Naqib ruled earlier this week that “any militia, whether it’s the [Kurdish] peshmerga or the [Shia] Badr Organisation, is not allowed to provide security or carry guns, because that is a job for the police and national security forces alone.”

The Badr Organisation, formerly known as the Badr Brigade, has more than 10,000 members and is the military arm of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, SCIRI, one of the country’s main Shia parties. For the elections, SCIRI is part of the United Iraqi Alliance political coalition that also includes the Islamic Dawa party, Iraq’s other top Shia political group.

There are thought to be some 60,000 peshmerga in the semi-autonomous zone of Iraqi Kurdistan, which includes the northern provinces of Dahuk, Arbil and Sulaimaniyah. They take orders from the two Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

Nawshirwan Rahman, 26, a peshmerga regimental commander in Sulaimaniyah, said he has yet to receive orders about giving up his weapons. “We don’t agree with the decision, because we want to protect our land and people,” he said. “If we are given orders from above, we will do it but we haven’t been informed yet.”

Hussein Salih al-Shimarti, SCIRI’s office manager in Karbala, did not specifically comment on the weapons ban, but said there was coordination between the Badr Organisation, the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq and security forces.

“We will not intervene in such issues,” said al-Shimarty. “We have followed the law, which we consider to be of paramount importance. We cannot build a country without following law and order.”

But Abu Ali al-Mujahid, a member of SCIRI, said he doesn’t understand why the interior ministry would be concerned about the Badr Organisation.

“Badr was established to protect people and defend Iraq,” he said. “It wants nothing except that which is in Iraq’s interests.”

Some Iraqis said they approve of the ministry’s decision to prohibit militia members from carrying weapons.

“It’s the best decision, to suppress these groups of people who are coming and going on the streets of Baghdad without obeying law and order, as if they ruled the country,” said Alaa al-Taee, 32, a lecturer in Baghdad. “I support a decision which says no militia of any party should be used in favour of their candidates.”

Murtadha Younis Al-Aboodi, 39, of the Iraqi Labourer’s Union, said all militia need to be disarmed. “This decision ensures that more security can be guaranteed for people who want to vote without pressure from any party, especially the Islamic parties,” he said.

But many Kurds disagreed with the ministry’s decision, saying the peshmerga were needed to maintain security in Kurdistan.

“The peshmerga and Kurds have been struggling for many years not to be ruled by the Baath Party and the Arabs,” said Salam Latif, 44, a primary school teacher.

Muhammed Amin, 55, worries Kurdistan will face the same security issues as the rest of Iraq if the peshmerga are not there to provide security. “We will have the same problems as the southern part of the country,” he said.

Some Shias also believe the Badr Organisation should be allowed to keep its weapons. “The Badr Brigade is everywhere with their armed forces,” said Ali Kadhim, 35, who works at a Shia shrine in Baghdad. “They can support the police and the Iraqi National Guard, because they are well versed in the area.”

Talar Nadir, Ghassan Ali and Awadh al-Taee are IWPR trainee journalists in Iraq.