Iraq PM Pledges to Restore People’s Confidence in Political System

A photo published by the office of the Iraqi prime minister during the inauguration of the Baghdad Dialogue Conference on Sunday.
A photo published by the office of the Iraqi prime minister during the inauguration of the Baghdad Dialogue Conference on Sunday.
TT

Iraq PM Pledges to Restore People’s Confidence in Political System

A photo published by the office of the Iraqi prime minister during the inauguration of the Baghdad Dialogue Conference on Sunday.
A photo published by the office of the Iraqi prime minister during the inauguration of the Baghdad Dialogue Conference on Sunday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has pledged to restore the citizens’ confidence in the political system after the authorities made many promises but failed to take major action.

Sudani's comments came as the nation marked the 20th anniversary of the war on Iraq on March 19, 2003, which ousted the regime on April 19.

The premier stressed that Iraq can restore its position since it owns diverse wealth whether human, natural, or cultural.

He renewed his commitment to fight endemic corruption and restore the confidence of the citizens in the political process.

He described the fight against corruption as “our biggest battle,” but said such a fight “depends on our determination in fighting the corruption pandemic.”

He warned that the Baathist regime still jeopardizes the state and its reforms, in an unprecedented warning 20 years after the fall of the Baath party regime.

“This government has drawn an ambitious and comprehensive program for the advancement of Iraq,” he said.

“We will not tolerate any failure that could lead to exploit the peoples’ money for individual or partisan benefits,” Sudani told the Baghdad Dialogue Conference on Sunday in Baghdad.

“Iraq has regained its natural position as an incubator for dialogue,” Sudani added.

“Iraqis have become in 2003 decision makers in shaping the future in which they chose in 2005 a constitution that guarantees all freedoms.”

He said that his government was keen on restoring Iraq’s natural place among the countries that plan for the future, based on confidence in the country's capabilities, creating new job opportunities, combating poverty, expanding the social work network, and reviving health insurance.

Speaking about the private sector, the PM said that his government has pinned a key role to the private sector within the country’s public budget for the upcoming three years.



New Year Hope and Joy Reign in a Damascus Freed from Assad

A young woman holds the Flag of Syria as people celebrate the New Year near Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
A young woman holds the Flag of Syria as people celebrate the New Year near Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
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New Year Hope and Joy Reign in a Damascus Freed from Assad

A young woman holds the Flag of Syria as people celebrate the New Year near Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
A young woman holds the Flag of Syria as people celebrate the New Year near Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, on January 1, 2025. (AFP)

Umayyad Square in Damascus hummed to the throngs of people brandishing "revolution" flags as Syria saw in the new year with hope following 13 years of civil war.

Gunshots rang out from Mount Qasioun overlooking the capital where hundreds of people gazed up at fireworks, an AFP reporter at the square saw.

It was the first new year's celebration without an Assad in power for more than 50 years after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December.

"Long live Syria, Assad has fallen," shouted some children.

"We did not expect such a miracle to happen, today the Syrians have found their smile again," Layane el Hijazi, a 22-year-old agricultural engineering student, told AFP from Umayyad Square.

"We were able to obtain our rights, we can now talk. I am letting off steam these last three weeks and tonight by bringing out everything I had buried," she said.

Despite the revelry, soldiers patrolled the streets of Damascus less than a month after Assad's rapid demise.

The green, white and black revolution flag with its three red stars flies all over the capital.

Such a sight -- the symbol of the Syrian people's uprising against the Assad dynasty's iron-fisted rule -- was unthinkable a month ago.

The fall of Assad brought an end to more than half a century of unchallenged rule by his family's clan over Syria, where dissent was repressed and public freedoms were heavily curtailed.

"Whatever happens, it will be better than before," said Imane Zeidane, 46, a cartoonist, who came to Umayyad Square with her husband and their daughter.

"I am starting the new year with serenity and optimism," she said, adding that she has "confidence" in the new government under de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

She also remembers that new year's celebrations in previous years were "not like this".

"The joy is double now -- you come down to celebrate the new year with your heart, and celebrate the hope it carries," Zeidane said.

- 'Fears have dissipated' -

The revolutionary song "Lift your head, you are a free Syrian" by Syrian singer Assala Nasri rang out loud on Umayyad Square.

"Every year, we aged suddenly by 10 years," taxi driver Qassem al-Qassem, 34, told AFP in reference to the tough living conditions in a country whose economy collapsed under Assad.

"But with the fall of regime, all our fears have dissipated," he said.

"Now I have a lot of hope. But all we want now is peace."

More than half a million people died in the 13-year civil war as the country split into different regions controlled by various warring parties.

Many families are still waiting for news of loved ones who went missing under Assad's rule, during which time tens of thousands of prisoners disappeared.

"I hope that Syria in 2025 will be non-denominational, pluralist, for everyone, without exception," said Havan Mohammad, a Kurdish student from the northeast studying pharmacy in the capital.