Al Jaafari denies human rights violations in Iraq

As Iraq’s government attempts to reclaim territory seized by Daesh, it has accepted military aid from two rival powers, the United States and Iran. It is a difficult balancing act.

US officials were troubled by the role of prominent Iranian advisers such as Maj. Gen. Qasim Sulaimani, who was photographed outside Tikrit at the start of the recent offensive on the hometown of the late Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussain. Sulaimani, who commands the Quds Force, an elite unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, was accused by the US of directing attacks on its forces in Iraq a decade ago.

US officials have also raised concern about Shiite militiamen, some of them backed by Iran, who made up the bulk of the fighting force in Tikrit and are expected to take a prominent role in an operation to retake the city of Mosul.

Human rights groups have accused some of retaliatory killings and of destroying the homes of Sunni civilians who were seen as siding with Daesh.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ebrahim Jafari said his government would accept the help of any nation that does not threaten Iraqi sovereignty, but he maintained that such help would not include ground troops. Jafari, a Shiite, also said the militias are not a sectarian force but a legitimate response to the crisis that befell Iraq when government troops defending Mosul collapsed in the face of Daesh’s onslaught last summer.

Here are edited excerpts from the conversation. Jafari was speaking through an interpreter.

Question: There has been concern in this country about Iran’s role in the campaign against Daesh. Exactly what help are you receiving from Tehran?

Answer: We have no such concerns in Iraq. Iran is a neighbouring country, and we share 1,400 kilometres of border. The danger that Iraq suffers from was imminent to Iran as well.

Geography and history and the cooperation between the two countries entitle Iran to support Iraq against this threat, and it came as part of a major cooperation effort from different countries, such as New Zealand, Australia and the United States. That does not mean by any means the presence of (foreign) ground forces in Iraq.

Kindly recall that after the fall of Mosul into the control of Daesh, the [US-led] international coalition was not formed yet. So what would you expect us to do? Should we have waited for Daesh to occupy more Iraqi territory?

Any country that is ready to extend its hand to Iraq without affecting its sovereignty will be most welcome.

Q: Do you hear similar concerns from Iran about the US involvement in Iraq?

A: Just as the United States might have some concerns regarding Iran’s support, the Iranians as well have their own concerns regarding the European and the American support. Our mission is to manage and run the presence of all these advisers on the ground in a way that maintains our sovereignty.

Q: There have been complaints from human rights organisations that after Daesh was pushed out of Tikrit and other cities, some Iran-backed militias conducted reprisal attacks or destroyed homes. If this is happening, how do you convince people in those areas to trust the central government?

A: We do not have any militias that are independent from the Iraqi armed forces.

Regarding any violations of human rights, we have not identified a major phenomenon of such violations. On the contrary, the public volunteers have been so courageous. They started defending these cities before the formation of the current coalition, and they sacrificed their own souls.

If there are some individual incidents, they cannot be regarded as a generalised case. As far as I am aware, those fighters are committed and they have principles and they always have instructions from the government to respect the inhabitants of the cities they liberate.

Q: What will happen to the militias, if and when Daesh is defeated?

A: The military groups that joined the fight in Iraq came during exceptional circumstances, after the second-largest city in Iraq was occupied. Of course, after this threat is gone, the level and the size of these forces will be reconsidered.

Q: Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi has spoken of his wish to improve relations with Iraq’s neighbours. Both you and he have travelled extensively in the region. How were you received on these visits?

A: This foreign policy Iraq follows (is aimed at) establishing diplomatic relations with all the countries based on shared interests and also on shared threats. Iraq and all the other countries face the threat of Daesh, and all of us must be unified to confront this threat. We have gotten the appropriate response from these countries that we have visited.