The Grand Political Deal... General Amnesty is Conditional on Amending the Personal Status Law!

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[size=52]The Grand Political Deal... General Amnesty is Conditional on Amending the Personal Status Law![/size]

[size=45]The draft general amnesty law faces major obstacles, and in a new development witnessed by the political arena, where bargaining between political parties seeking to achieve their own interests is revealed.[/size]
[size=45]Sources indicate that the passage of the general amnesty law is subject to intense bargaining, as it appears that some parties are stipulating the amendment of the Personal Status Law, which has recently sparked widespread discontent and controversy in political and social circles, as a main condition for approving the general amnesty.[/size]
[size=45]This situation reflects the growing tensions between political forces, and further complicates the legal and political landscape in the country.[/size]
[size=45]The leader of the State of Law Coalition, Haider Al-Lami, says, “The laws that are sent should not be based on mutual benefit, but rather be in the interest of the Iraqi people, and this is the responsibility of the representative.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "Bargaining the general amnesty law in exchange for amending the personal status law is unacceptable," noting that "this indicates the extent of ignorance of legislation or the meaning of laws."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Lami explains that “the general amnesty law concerns a specific category of those who have been released, but terrorism and espionage cases cannot be released.”[/size]
[size=45]He continues, "The law only includes people who were arrested before 2016," explaining that "the general amnesty indicates the weakness of the state, and if it is granted, it is to please influential parties."[/size]
[size=45]For her part, the representative of the Hasm bloc, Zuleikha Elias Al-Bakkar, says that “the Sunni forces have some points that they want to include in the general amnesty law,” noting that “the most prominent of these points is re-investigating those accused in the secret informant case and retrying them.”[/size]
[size=45]She added, "There are thousands of innocent people languishing in prisons, due to secret informant cases," stressing that "we will not accept the inclusion of those proven to belong to the terrorist organization ISIS within the general amnesty law."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Bakkar continued, “She was subjected to explicit bargaining within the House of Representatives, which stipulated passing the Personal Status Law in exchange for the General Amnesty Law.”[/size]
[size=45]Earlier, the head of the State of Law Coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, expressed conditional support for amending the general amnesty law in the House of Representatives.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Maliki said in a televised speech: “We hope that there will be a trend towards a general amnesty for ordinary crimes and felonies, and we support that.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "The national interest requires not giving up on those who practiced murder and terrorism, disrupted the country, and prevented reconstruction and services."[/size]
[size=45]He explained, “We are in favor of a general amnesty, but we refuse to release terrorists whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents,” noting that “crimes of financial and administrative corruption, incest, and espionage must be excluded from the general amnesty law.”[/size]
[size=45]He stressed that "security, stability and the continuity of the political process require adherence to the law and the constitution."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Maliki pointed out that, “The current government has developed its political program, presented it to Parliament, approved it, and it has become binding on the political process and the forces that approved it.”[/size]
[size=45]He continued, "The audience of the political process is a national audience, but winning the audience must be in accordance with the basics of the law and the political process."[/size]
[size=45]Since the formation of the government of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the general amnesty law has faced an uncertain fate, despite the existence of a political agreement to legislate it. However, observers have indicated the existence of a political will, especially from the Coordination Framework, to obstruct the law and not to adhere to the promises previously given to other parties (Sunnis) to ensure their participation in the new government.[/size]
[size=45]Despite the enactment of more than one general amnesty law in Iraq over the past years, including the General Amnesty Law of 2016, objections to it remain, especially from Sunni forces. After ISIS invaded the western provinces with a Sunni majority in 2014, the cards were mixed up regarding who belonged to the terrorist organization, and the issuance of the so-called Law 4/Terrorism, which sentences anyone proven to belong to armed organizations to death.[/size]
[size=45]MPs confirm that the draft general amnesty law will be re-drafted within the parliamentary legal committee, according to what is agreed upon regarding the crimes included and excluded, indicating that the current draft law was limited only to terrorist crimes.[/size]
[size=45]The general amnesty law is one of the most prominent demands of the Sunni blocs, which stipulated its approval during the negotiations to form the state administration, which included the Shiite Coordination Framework and the Kurdish and Sunni blocs, which resulted in the formation of the new government headed by Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.[/size]
[size=45]The government program, according to Sunni MPs, includes issuing a general amnesty law, security checks in their governorates, and cancelling or suspending the work of bodies that were a source of concern and crisis for them.[/size]
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