April the 9th, the Occasion of the Fall of the Idol, and the Liberty of Iraq ( A special coverage )

The guests of this coverage were:-
-         Mr. Wajeeh Abbass, writer and media-man
-         Mr. Corran Adhem, the District Commissioner of Halabja
-         Mr. Jasim Mohammed Jafar, the Minister of Youth and Sports, the former head of the Political Prisoners Establishment.
-         Dr. Wail Abdul Lateef, former M.P. and Minister

     Dr. Mohammed Al-Ta’ee, the producer and presenter of the program, welcomed his above guests, then began by mentioning the liberation of Iraq and the occasion of “The Fall of the Idol”, on “ The 9th of April ”. He, also, reviewed some of the crimes committed by the Annihilated Regime against the Iraqi People; stressing that the 9th of April is considered as a demarcation line between dictatorship and suppression, on one side, and democracy and freedom on the other.

      The first guest to take-up the subject was Mr. Abbass, who praised the interest of Al-Fayha’a Satellite Channel, in this occasion, and its coverage of this day, for it represents an important part of Iraq’s history; considering that the 9th of April as a day of migration of the Iraqi Citizen towards “ Freedom ”. At the same time, he criticized the performance of some politicians and M.Ps. and their failure in serving the Citizens. He, also, emphasized that the Iraqis, prior to the 9th of April, were mere readers of history, but after the fall of the idol, they became makers of history.

      In turn, Mr. Adhem explained that the 9th of April is a historical day to the Iraqis, because it is the day when the tyrant Saddam fled Baghdad, expressing his regret that the Governmental bodies did not celebrate the occasion in a way fit to the magnitude of the sacrifices rendered by the Iraqi People, in order to get rid of the tyrant. Then, in a reply to a question by Dr. Al-Ta’ee, regarding the documentation, internationally, of the crimes committed by the Annihilated Regime, Mr. Adhem elaborated that the Halabja crime was documented by the Iraqi Criminal Court; and pointed that the reports, films and photographs made by foreign journalists have had an effect on the documentations of the crime, exposing that to the world. He, also, confirmed that, till this moment, no law was legislated to compensate the victims and fulfill, what they look forward to, that cover all the Iraqis, including the people of Halabja; and he pointed that the laws issued by the Federal Government and Parliament were not beneficial to the Citizens of Halabja; while the Government of the Province gave financial assistance and built houses for the families of the martyrs and victims, in addition to monthly salaries that ranged between (450.000) to (900.000) I.Ds. After that, he pointed to the absence of a clear strategy for documenting the crimes of the Regime of the tombed Saddam; and confirmed that the side-effects of bombarding the town of Halabja and other places in Kurdistan, with chemical weapons, are still appearing, till now, with effects on the environment and the inhabitants.

Minister Jafar, on his part, explained that the number of the political prisoners registered with the Political Prisoners Establishment ranges between (25.000) to (26.000); while the number of the arrested and the detained could reach up to (100.000); and if this is added to the numbers of those who left the country during the “ Uprising ” and due to the crimes committed under the name “ Al-Anfal ” and at “ Halabja ” , could come to (4.800.000). He, also, pointed that Iraq was a prison for anyone that sought free living in it.

Then, Dr. Abdul Lateef stressed that there are two types of political prisoners that were exposed to chemical agents at the time of the annihilated regime, and that the number of those with cancer due to that is greatly doubled as they become older; adding that the long-terms prisoners were gotten rid of by adding deadly chemicals to their food. While Mr. Adhem returned to explain that there is no particular program for documenting the crimes in Halabja and of “Al-Anfal”, pointing that there is a Memorial Museum in the town of Halabja, that contains a number of documents related to the Criminal Court and other bodies; while the official agencies at the Province are attempting to document all the crimes. Then, Dr. Abdul Lateef stressed that it is imperative to remember the martyrs of the Iraqi People, and to document the crimes, against the Iraqis, committed by the Annihilated Regime; so that the whole World will get to know them, and to expose the reality of the tombed dictator Saddam and his annihilated regime.

At the end of the coverage, all the guests agreed on the importance of the occasion of the “ Fall of the Idol ”, and what it means of a beginning of a new era in Iraq’s history; considering that as “ The Birth of the State of Iraq ”. They, also, stressed the need to document the crimes of the annihilated regime against the Iraqi People; and to expose that to the World; drawing the attention that the 9th, of April is the true starting point of the “ Arab Spring ” that tumbled the tombed dictator Saddam, and which was followed by the fall of many dictatorial regimes in the area.