Doubts over Maliki's anti-graft crusade
By Sami Moubayed
DAMASCUS - Iraq is abuzz with stories of new arrests, but not of former
Ba'athists or members of the so-called Sunni insurgency, rather it is officials
who are part of the post-Saddam Hussein era. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has
launched a massive anti-corruption campaign, promising to bring senior
officials to justice be they Sunni, Shi'ite or Kurd.
If his words are translated into action this would be the first major
anti-corruption campaign in Iraq since 1979, when Saddam arrested - and
executed - dozens of officials on charges of embezzlement.
On May 30, Iraqi authorities arrested Abdul Falah Sudani, a former ally of the
prime minister who had been minister of trade since 2006. Sudani, who was
forced by parliament to resign on
May 14, was detained on an Iraqi airplane bound for the United Arab Emirates
this weekend, with the plane forced to turn back in mid-flight. The direct
order came from the Ministry of Interior, and Sudani is now in an Iraqi jail
awaiting trial over corruption charges related to the nation's food assistance
program involving his two brothers.
Interior Ministry officials told The Washington Post that the order to turn
around Sudani's plane and arrest him came from Maliki's office on Saturday.
Sabah Sudani, the minister's brother, was also arrested this month after
apparently trying to bribe a police officer with US$50,000 for his freedom. A
third brother, Majid, is still in hiding. The "Sudani three" seemingly topped
the prime minister's wanted list.
Ordinary Iraqis are pleased with the arrests, but many say the anti-graft
campaign should have started when Maliki first came to office in 2006. Last
Wednesday, the government announced the start of the campaign, which could
bring nearly 1,000 officials to court on corruption charges.
"We will not keep silent about corruption after this day and we will chase all
the corrupt and bring them before the judiciary," said the premier. Last April,
Maliki's government issued 387 arrest warrants, 51 for senior officials, all
below the rank of minister. Another 997 are waiting to be signed by Maliki.
The Iraqi government estimates that billions of dollars have been embezzled in
bribes since the downfall of Saddam in 2003. Watchdog group Transparency
International ranked Iraq in 2008 as the world's third-most corrupt country
behind Somalia and Myanmar.
The anti-corruption campaign was triggered by the Sudani scandal. Charges he
was stealing public money and mismanaging the ministry by importing expired
foods and employing his relatives, including two brothers, first surfaced in
early May.
Later last month when police went to a Trade Ministry building to serve arrest
warrants on nine officials, they were fired on by the ministry's guards. During
the 15-minute gun battle, all but one of the wanted officials, the ministry's
spokesman, escaped out a back door.
Two of the escapees were Sabah and Majid, who were employed as guards in the
ministry and who are both accused of skimming millions of dollars from
food-import contracts. The fallout from the scandal was worsened when a video
surfaced on YouTube which showed the brothers apparently drinking alcohol,
cavorting with prostitutes, and deriding the premier.
Maliki has ordered that his office take control of the ministry's functions
until further notice.
Inspired by the new atmosphere in Iraq, an Iraqi blog, www.kitabat.com (which
means "writings"), ran an article accusing one of Maliki's aides of corruption,
calling on the prime minister to sack even his closest advisors if found to be
guilty. The writer, Ali Hussein, was immediately sued by the prime minister,
who demanded compensation of a staggering one billion Iraqi dinars (over
US$800,000), claiming that nepotism charges brought against his aide-de-camp
were untrue. It must be noted that the blog's creator, Iyad al-Zamili, who has
been residing in Germany since 2003, was himself a former supporter of Maliki,
most notably during the provincial elections of January 2009.
The striking contrast between the story of the "Sudani three" and that of
Maliki's aide, raises doubt about the prime minister's commitment to the
anti-graft drive. One of the reasons why the prime minister is so furious is
that the 62-year-old Sudani is a member of Maliki's own Da'wa Party. If Maliki
was aware of Sudani's wrongdoings - but ignored them - then he is guilty. If he
had no idea what was taking place, then he is equally guilty.
This is the 10th time a ministerial seat has become vacant under Maliki, after
members of the Iraqi Accordance Front and the Sadrist bloc stepped down in
2007.
People are starting to wonder whether Maliki is heading a real cabinet, or a
wobbly coalition where ministers resign - or fall - with no prior notice? The
trade minister, after all, was originally brought down by parliament, which is
headed by the new Sunni speaker Iyad Samarrai, and not by the prime minister.
Samarrai, a newcomer to the post of speaker, had once pledged to bring down the
entire Maliki cabinet, claiming that most of its members were sectarian and
corrupt. He was believed at first to be nothing but a figurehead, but has
proven that he is taking his job seriously. Last Thursday, he summoned Oil
Minister Hussein al-Shahristani, another Maliki ally, to stand before
parliament for failing to boost crude exports to above 2.2 million barrels per
day.
Samarrai managed to gather 140 signatures needed to drag Shahristani before the
assembly. If a vote of no confidence emerges on Tuesday, Maliki will have to
fire a minister he has leaned on since 2006.
Oil prices, after all, have dropped from a high $147 a barrel last July, and
are now at a about $60. Maliki is not pleased at having Samarrai flex his
muscles so much by targeting member after member of the cabinet. As much as he
is embarrassed by Sudani's wrongdoings, Maliki is also not pleased that it was
the legislative branch, rather than the prime minister's office, that
originally brought down the trade minister.
A closer look at the anti-corruption campaign suggests that it is directly
related to the parliamentary elections scheduled for January 30, 2010. Nothing
pleases voters as much as a serious anti-corruption campaign, after all. Others
believe, however, that Maliki is being forced into these steps to show that he
can stand up to Samarrai.
Shahristani and Sudani are both considered close to the prime minister, and
close to Iran. Samarrai, however, is believed to be close to Saudi Arabia.
Maliki came out with loud words against Saudi Arabia this weekend, amid plenty
of talk within Iraq about anti-corruption.
Maliki said, "Iraq has no intention of making new goodwill gestures towards
Saudi Arabia because my initiative has been interpreted in Riyadh as a sign of
weakness." Iraqi journalists interpreted this as reference to a May 2007 summit
in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh where King Abdullah refused to meet
Maliki, accusing him of "embodying sectarian divisions".
"There will be no other initiatives on our part as long as there is no sign
from Saudi Arabia that it wants to have good ties [with Baghdad]", said Maliki.
He even repeated old accusations that Saudi Arabia was behind the insurgency in
Iraq. This prompted the powerful Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef to
respond, coming just short of accusing the Iraqi premier of lying.
The Iraqi premier is angry that despite his opening of an embassy in Saudi
Arabia in 2007, the Saudis have still not sent an ambassador to Baghdad. They
cite sectarian and security problems, claiming that it is too early for such a
step. While highly critical of the prime minister, the Saudis are supportive of
Sunni heavyweights in Iraq like Samarrai and members of the Iraqi Accordance
Front - who are all now gloating at the downfall of Sudani.
It is still unclear if Maliki's anger against Saudi Arabia was related to the
anti-corruption campaign in Iraq and if it is merely hoped to drum up support
ahead of the elections. But some observers feel Maliki is using the drive as a
means to save his own neck, as many of those under investigation are members of
his own team.
Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine in Syria.
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