Several Iraqi observers have expressed their concern that the perpetrators behind the attempt on Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s life would escape punishment.
The observers and Iraqis in general have often complained of the air of impunity plaguing the country. They have cited the many crimes that have gone unpunishment, significantly the murders of anti-government activists in wake of the October 2019 protests.
The fingers have often been pointed at Iran-backed militias and blame is again being pinned on them in the failed assassination on Sunday.
The stakes are high this time because the target was the prime minister, the head of Iraq’s highest executive authority.
Kadhimi had declared that the government knows full well who the assailants are, vowing that they will be uncovered. The spokesman of the armed forces had also pinpointed the exact location from the where the drones used in the attack were launched.
In spite of these promising leads, fears that impunity will reign still remain.
Impunity has prevailed in Iraq since 2003, whether in cases of corruption, looting of public funds and the murder of protesters. Activists have even recently launched a months-long campaign against impunity, but it has yet to yield any results.
Former editor-in-chief of the official al-Sabah newspaper, Falah Al-Mishal said impunity has become a fixture in Iraq amid the lack of justice and the political cover provided to the criminals.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said hundreds of protesters from the 2019 rallies have been killed in cold blood while the criminals have evaded justice.
The attack against the prime minister is however, a crime of a different caliber because it has repercussions beyond Iraq, he noted. It would be difficult for the criminals to continue to roam free without punishment.
He did not rule out the possibility that pressure would be exerted and for concessions to be made and agreements to be struck with the aim of diverting attention from the attack and finding a way out for the criminals.
Such developments would, however, eat away at Kadhimi’s credibility and that of the state and its sovereignty, he warned.
Therefore, the price of escaping justice must be very high, added Al-Mishal.
The PM had implied that Iran-backed factions and their leaders are behind the assassination attempt. If they are brought to justice, the government would be strengthened and it will become more capable in waging fierce challenges, he went on to say.
Arresting the perpetrators will also restore confidence in the judiciary and liberate it from the reach of political and militia authorities, he noted.
Political science professor at the University of Kufa, Eyad al-Anbar said the attack on Kadhimi can be blamed on the government’s lenient approach in several security and political files, such as the Katyusha rocket attacks that used to target the Green Zone in Baghdad.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that he feared that the assassination attempt would be dismissed through reconciliation and dialogue with rivals again making empty promises at the expense of the authority of the state.
He believed that the PM would exact a price in return for remaining silent over the assassination. It may include ending the rallies staged by Iran-backed factions in protest against recent parliamentary elections results.
Kadhimi needs to prove his credibility in holding the perpetrators accountable after he declared that he knew who they are, he stressed.
