Jawad al-Bulani was appointed as Interior Minister of Iraq by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on 8 June 2006. He is a Shia independent member of United Iraqi Alliance and was a member of the committee that drafted the Iraqi Constitution, approved by a referendum in October 2005. In this exclusive interview with The Majalla, al-Bulani expressed his belief that security is the most important achievement of the government of Prime Minister al-Maliki. He added that his ministry, the Ministry of Interior, is the one that deserves credit for this achievement. At the same time, he pointed out that Iraq, despite being overcrowded by politicians, is currently lacking statesmen. He is certain that the best way to rebuild Iraq is to get rid of the mentality of partitioning, particularly sectarianism.
The Majalla: What is your stance on the political dispute over the new electoral law?
Unfortunately, Iraq lacks a clear vision regarding the creation of a national consensus in the face of crises. Not enough time has ever been invested in the strategic issues concerning the process of building democracy in Iraq. This has made it difficult to reach a mutual understanding. True, there are politicians in the country, but, unfortunately, we have no statesmen. Only a few institutions were involved in the state-building process, or interested in the things that help the country to take steady steps towards the democratic process.
I think that what is missing from the electoral law is the existence of data, statistics, and census. Such things were supposed to be available two years before the election date. We need to have data, a law for governing the political parties, independent media, and committed authorities that are capable of maintaining consistency in legislation. Solutions are always incomplete. The reason for this is obvious: we need to build a stable democratic political system. But this requires the presence of political elite, to establish a national government in Iraq away from sectarian or personal interests. We must concentrate our efforts on our citizens by establishing a political system that makes all Iraqis, without exception, believe that this system represents the true reality of their dreams and aspirations to live under the ceiling of a strong state.
The Majalla: Are you in favour of the new electoral law?
Under these circumstances we can not say that we have a new law, but just a "bill". This bill, as you know, has faced opposition. But in my opinion there were some good sides to the law and some sides that need to be reviewed. If data, statistics, and census had been available, things would have been completely different. The Iraqi parliament should have known that a national consensus on such a law needs a long time, in order to be thoroughly discussed.
The Majalla: Are there certain points in the new law that you are satisfied with?
I think that the open list system adopted by the law gives the citizens a wide choice in electing suitable candidates. If Iraqi citizens vote for good candidates, this will be of great help to forming a good government. A good parliament with patriot members means a good and strong government that can provide services to citizens and solve the problems they suffer from. The massive participation of the various political entities helps improve things.
In any case, nothing is completely perfect. But there are acceptable things. What is important is that the election law succeeds in obtaining national consensus. This will make all Iraqis feel that the elections will be fair. I think that the new Iraq that we are aspiring to is a country where all Iraqis live happily without deprivation or misery. We want to achieve fairness and equality for all Iraqis before the Constitution and the law. The responsibility of the new political system is to achieve all these benefits to Iraqis, either in Iraq or abroad.
The Majalla: Do you think that the elections will be held on time, especially as there are fears that failure to hold them on time might lead to a constitutional vacuum?
I wish the political blocs had reached an agreement that would help hold the elections as scheduled on the 16 of January. Unfortunately, this will not happen. They are expected to take place late next March. However, this period is legally acceptable. Iraqi elections are of paramount importance. The international community and all those concerned are tracking the situation in Iraq and waiting to see what will happen. Iraq is on the verge of an important stage, so everybody should show real commitment and national responsibility.
The Majalla: You are nominated for the post of Prime Minister, what are your plans for running for the elections?
We will run for the elections through "Iraq 's Unity Coalition" that includes prominent national figures from various regions of Iraq. These figures include Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, the head of the Iraqi Sahowa Council, Sheikh Ahmed Abdul-Ghafoor Samarrai, head of the Sunni Endowment in Iraq, the head of the Iraqi National Charter Assembly, and Saadoun al-Dulaimi, Iraqi Defence Minister, in addition to a large number of clan elders, political figures, professors and academics. These patriotic personalities share the same vision to propose an important alternative in the process of building a historic political bloc able to compete strongly with the current coalitions. It will introduce a new kind of politics at the national level, which reflects the specificity of the Iraqi national project. Iraq 's Unity Coalition has managed to progress steadily and strongly in many parts of Iraq. It managed to gain national acceptance. In my opinion, it has managed to gain popularity throughout the country, and to reach all Iraqis, whether in Iraq or abroad. It is the real alternative to all the ideas and projects that were presented. The "unity of Iraq" is the political, social, economical and security alternative that the Iraqi citizen is looking forward to.
The Majalla: Frankly speaking, do you think that your experience in the Ministry of Interior entitles you to obtain the trust of Iraqis to become the Prime Minster?
I think that the Iraqis are well aware of my security achievements since I took over the Ministry of Interior. The circumstances of the country at that time are known to everyone. The size of the challenges and threats that were facing Iraq at that time was huge. The Ministry of Interior is the heart of the state. The Minister of Interior in the whole world is one of the most important and critical positions. This is more so in Iraq, in light of the existence of rivalries and political contradictions, not to mention terrorism, which the country was facing at that time. In addition, there were militias, criminal gangs, and outlaws. I believe that gaining people's trust is necessary for being appointed in high political positions. Personal achievements alone are not enough. The Ministry of the Interior has gained the trust and love of the Iraqi people in various areas. They know him well through social communication and coexistence for many years.
In my opinion the security accomplishments have succeeded in changing the way the Ministry of Interior is being viewed. Instead of being a hopeless case, it became the Ministry that is capable of saving the Iraqis and preventing the bloodshed. We cleaned the ministry from corrupt elements and expelled more than sixty five thousand of them. In addition, we worked on increasing the capacity of internal security. I think that the success achieved is a sufficient and convincing reason to obtain the trust of Iraqis. The post of prime minister is neither the most important post in the government, nor is it more difficult than that of the Minister of Interior. The Minister of Interior in Iraq is responsible for the command of more than half a million employees in the Ministry of Interior. He is responsible for the protection of more than 37 thousand official sites in different areas of Iraq. Everyone knows that all the people of Baghdad went to sleep at four or five in the afternoon. This great city, with its great history and good people were deprived from practicing any activity or having any kind of joy. Baghdad has now returned to be the Pearl of the East. Its people have returned to their old habits of staying late at night. This is clear evidence on the existence of security. The Ministry of Interior has achieved considerable work in this area. In my opinion it is an important achievement. I think that the Iraqi government should be proud of its security sector since there have been a lot of achievements at the security level.
The Majalla: Do you think that the elections, if held, would be fair?
First, according to our sources, there are many powers which have worries and we share them too. We also hope that the electoral process will draw the attention of the international community and international organizations to help the Iraqis run their democratic experience without fraud or falsification of facts. There are no elections that are 100% perfect as you know, but we hope that the errors would be simple. Moreover, the independent higher electoral commission and all its employees should maintain a high level of commitment and responsibility to protect the rights of the people and deal with their votes honestly and fairly. The electoral process requires multiple efforts on the local, Arab, regional and international levels so that a certain party would not dominate and forge the Iraqis' will.
The Majalla: What is the role of the Ministry of Interior in arranging for the elections?
The Ministry of Interior is directly responsible through a government commission for sponsoring and securing the election process. There is a government committee headed by the Interior Minister Deputy for Police Affairs, who is a man with good administrative and security experience and was able to succeed in the previous election among earlier ones. Moreover, the Ministry of Interior cooperates and coordinates with other government agencies to secure the upcoming legislative elections and the protection of more than 3500 polling stations spread across the regions of Iraq and to secure the access of voters to these centers. The Ministry of Interior has also succeeded in securing the previous elections and I think that we have sufficient time and available possibilities.
The Majalla: Being one of the main contenders in the elections, do you think that you will be a fair Interior Minister to all parties in the elections?
The Iraqis know that we have acted fairly to everyone, and thank God for that. It is known that the Interior Ministry has made many sacrifices to protect all citizens from all threats and we were impartial in dealing with everyone and we will keep that trend. The previous elections were a clear proof of the neutrality of the Ministry of Interior, and the logo of the ministry since we assumed office says that it is a ministry for all Iraqis.
It is true that conditions in the country are not perfect, but we should take into account that it is a recent experience alongside the conditions that the country has witnessed such as rebuilding ministries and institutions on a professional basis. I believe that there were positive steps made in this direction, and of course we hope that more things would be accomplished. But this requires more time. However, when there are some gaps or excesses here and there, they don’t affect the overall picture with the considerable effort exerted.
The Majalla: Being a part of Maliki’s government, what do you think of the achievements of this government?
If we want to talk about the main achievements of this government,
it would be "security" as the sector which witnessed most improvement, both in its infrastructure, and the fight against terrorism. So I think that the present government can be proud of what has been accomplished in the security sector. However, we are still not totally satisfied with what has been accomplished. But I believe that challenges and threats still exist and this makes us focus continually on improving the performance.
The Majalla: Do you see any other achievements for the Maliki government, other than the security achievement?
I can not ignore the efforts of my colleagues in many sectors, but I talked about security because it is the achievement more felt by the citizens and reflected on their daily lives. Naturally, every government has a program and a government minister is responsible for the issues of his ministry. I think that during the four years that we assumed office at the Ministry of Interior, it was considered one of the most difficult and complex ministries. It was accused and condemned. But we have transformed the Ministry of the Interior from a problem for the government to a security solution and this is the success we're talking about. But in other sectors, I think that every official can speak about the achievements in his own ministry. We do not deny that there are achievements in other sectors, but may not be noticeable. In my opinion, part of the problems faced by the political regime was the sectarian partitioning and political sectarianism which caused some failures in the service, investment and rebuilding processes. I believe the next stage should concentrate more on legislations that will help the next government serve its needs.
The Majalla: What do you think of the sectarian partitioning for higher posts? Will you cancel this system if you assume power and what is the alternative and how?
In our next program, we hope that we will provide a real project that depends on national experts who perform their duties and responsibilities with an Iraqi spirit. I think that our main goal is to pay attention to creating a stable political system that would be effective in developing government and institutional work. This system should take into account the professional skills, experience and competence away from categories on partisan or sectarian basis. This goal has been achieved in reality when we led the Ministry of Interior.
The Majalla: Can the popular situation in Iraq prevent the sectarian partitioning?
Well, I want to ask you a question: What happened when the Iraqis experienced the previous elections and electoral lists have been divided on pure Sunni and Shiite basis? Neither Shiite nor Sunni cities were reconstructed or witnessed an improvement in services. Thus I do not like classifying the Iraqis on sectarian basis. I do not like these classifications and I do not believe in them, because the sectarian partitioning only produced delays. Moreover, only incompetent officials have taken charge of state matters and they neither understood administration nor leadership.
There is failure in many state utilities for seven years and the clear reason is the sectarian partitioning. This system was not limited to discriminating between Sunnis and Shiites, but also penetrated the single sect and inside the same party. The known infrastructure for partisan work has faded, so those parties have become to be recognized as groups and figures. For example, we say those people are London's group, those are Iran's group and those are Syria's group. We keep asking them "where is Iraq's group?" I believe that Iraq has many competent personalities and capabilities and the country can be a model for national governance that is acceptable and achieve the ambitions and dreams of Iraq away from the sectarian view.
I believe that a review of these issues is needed. Iraqis today are much more aware and conscious of the means that contribute to fulfilling their interests. Nowadays, everyone skips the sectarian title and uses the national one. Of course, part of this is a political tactic to escape from the reality of some political groups. Another part moved towards enlightening and renewing its partisan activities.
The distinguished element about the "Iraq's Unity Coalition" among similar logos is its credibility with the citizens.
The Majalla: What do you think of the current government record in terms of relations with Iraq’s neighbors?
I hoped that there would be greater steps in building trust with Iraq's neighbors, and the existence of a certain vision to address some issues. I think that if we had the opportunity, we could develop our relationships in a better manner. We also hope that the next government will exert a distinguished effort in terms of relations. We believe in the future role of the Iraq's Unity Coalition as a strong player in forming the next government. I think that these issues will be discussed and put to dialogue to develop Iraq's relations. Consequently, stalled issues should be addressed in several directions for the benefit of Iraq and the region in general.
The Majalla: What's your opinion about relations with neighbouring countries and what are the unsettled issues between Iraq and them?
Issues are solved only through dialogue. We do not want to have problems with these countries or unsettled issues. I think that many issues require some kind of rational and wise management, which are connected to the interests of Iraq with these countries. I believe that there is always the possibility to address any issue, especially when all parties give assurances and a commitment to the principles of good neighborliness so as to enhance security, stability and non-interference in the internal affairs of each other. As you know our region can not tolerate shocks or violent adventures, so relations should be based on a friendly dialogue and mutual cooperation. Saudi Arabia is an important country regarding its relations with Iraq in addition to Turkey, Iran, as well as the Gulf States by virtue of proximity and neighborhood. In any case, things do not continue in a tense manner forever.
The Majalla: It is said that in the Arab region, relations among interior ministries remain excellent even if the political and economic relations deteriorated. Is this the case for the Ministry of Interior?
This is 100% true, we have good relations with all Arab interior ministries, because the main security concern to all countries is the same, and there is a consensus on its main features. However, the presence of good and distinct security relations are also linked to the existence of good political relations and the issue is not devoid of political guidelines in this aspect which we seek to pursue in the future.
The Majalla: How do you evaluate the presence and work of security companies in Iraq?
Nowadays, the number of security companies has fallen dramatically, and we argue constantly about the nature of their performance, their assessment and setting mechanisms and legal regulations for the work of these companies. Thus the violations and breaches of these companies have started to recede. I consider the work of these companies as important in the framework of organizing the activities of security companies. The reason is that these security companies provide services for companies which operate in business and investment sectors and many other fields. Generally, we have provided sufficient flexibility to deal with these companies and those who need their services in a way that does not threaten the security of citizens. We also obligate them to get licenses granted by Iraq and to comply with the Iraqi law.
The Majalla: What is the role of the United States in Iraq in the next stage?
There is an agreement between us and the U.S. government and we have worked on training, consultancy, technical and technological matters to take advantage of their capabilities. We also have joint programs in our work, especially in the field of security. Moreover, the U.S. is a superpower which has mutual interests with Iraq. I believe that having good relations with the Americans is an advantage to the Iraqis and the region. However, it is important that these relationships should be built on the basis of mutual interest related to issues that concern both countries.
Interview conducted by Sheren Alfaedy - Journalist based in Dubai
