Senior officials in Iraq celebrated the National Day on October 3, which marks the country's independence from the British mandate and its entry into the League of Nations in 1932. The day has sparked debate over conflicting occasions in the official calendar.
President Nizar Amidi said in a statement that “on this day in 1932, Iraq became an independent state and a member of the League of Nations,” noting that “Iraqis have remained committed to their homeland despite the wars, crises, challenges, and difficulties they have endured.”
Meanwhile, government spokesperson Haider Al-Aboudi stressed that “on this occasion, the government renews its pledge that the decision of Iraqis remains in their own hands, and that sovereignty is manifested in security and a dignified life.”
Judge Faiq Zidan, head of the Supreme Judicial Council, also stressed that “the judiciary will remain a guarantee for rights and a fortress for justice,” adding that “the accelerating developments at this stage and the increasing challenges facing Iraq make it capable of protecting its present and shaping its future with deeply rooted institutions and an independent judiciary.”
British King Charles III and Emperor Naruhito of Japan both sent congratulatory cables to the Iraqi government on National Day, which does not receive significant political or public attention due to legislative and political disputes.
King Charles expressed his aspiration for continued cooperation between the two countries in facing shared challenges, particularly regarding climate, environmental preservation, and working together to find effective and sustainable solutions to these challenges.
Debate over ‘National Day’
For years, cultural and political elites have been engaged in a debate over a date that could achieve consensus as the country's National Day.
The former Baath regime had designated July 17 to commemorate its 1968 coup against the rule of the late Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qasim, while leftist factions used to celebrate the fall of the monarchy on July 14, 1958.
After 2003, leaders of opposition parties to the regime of the late President Saddam Hussein attempted to designate the day of his regime's fall, April 9, as a national holiday. The suggestion was rejected by the American civil administrator, Paul Bremer, according to Nabil al-Musawi, a leader in the Iraqi National Congress led by Ahmad Chalabi.
Later, during the government of former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, it was agreed to designate October 3, 1932, as Iraq's National Day.
In a statement on Saturday, Kadhimi said that when his government chose October 3 as a national day to commemorate Iraq's accession to the League of Nations in 1932, he did not want it “to be just an occasion on the nation's calendar, but rather a day where Iraqis gather in love for their homeland and pride in their unifying national identity.”
Some Iraqi historians disagreed with the government, stating that October 3 should not be the National Day because, in their view, independence from the British mandate in 1932 was not complete.
Legal expert Ali al-Tamimi told Asharq Al-Awsat that October 3 is the only date that has a binding legal basis to serve as the country's National Day.
Al-Tamimi added that the legal philosophy behind this day is that it serves as international recognition of the completion of the components of the modern Iraqi state, including an independent government, fixed borders, financial resources, an independent judiciary, and international commitment, making Iraq the first Arab country to join the League of Nations.
