Our comments regarding
December 2006
The Washington
Times newspaper had published an article dated December 14 about the final
statement of the Iraqi workers’ federations and unions, which had ended their
meeting in December 2006, about the oil investment law in Iraq and the future
of the oil industry.
The federations
which have taken part in this meeting were the Federation of Workers Councils
and Unions in Iraq FWCUI, the General Federation of Iraqi Workers GFIW, the
General Union of Kurdistan Worker's Syndicates K.G.W.S.U, and the General Union
of Workers and Craftsmen of Kurdistan GWSUK.
The Washington
Times reporter mentioned very briefly that 5 federations had met in Amman
to discuss the Oil investment law, while quoting only the president of Southern
Oil Union and his refusal of foreign investment project.
It attracted our
attention that the reporter had described the groups as "Shiite", "Sunni",
and Kurdish groups as if these groups had specific interests which split them
from the others based on these definitions.
Frankly, we
consider these deliberately customized notes an attempt towards intentional
penetration and division of the workers’ ranks - by the media propaganda - upon
sectarian and nationalist lines. Although these notes are
mentioned as secondary and tailing the description of the meeting of unionists,
it is evident that the writer tries to impose his divisive vision through the
analysis of the situation according to his beliefs.
It is a dangerous precedent
to consider a unionists’ meeting from many Federations and unions as a
sectarian collection, in the time that it was including many political trends
like the radical, reformist, and conservative.
Furthermore, the
writer mentioned the opinion of one of the unionists, the president of the
southern oil union, which led the readers to believe that his position was the
only one to refuse the foreign investment project. As a matter of fact, it was the
delegation of the federation of workers councils and unions in
The article of the Washington
Times didn’t represents our views or our position,
because it tends to reflect its own views about the Iraqi worker movement.
These views are in fact a stretching / of the political hegemonies which persevere
on feeding and reproducing the sectarian, the nationalist and religious
division of the society.
Falah Alwan
FWCUI, president