The only face Iraq has had over the past 40 years is Saddam Hussein’s. The role of his aides and ministers was to obey and flatter him. Things have changed a lot now. Iraq’s faces are innumerable: Disagreeing and agreeing, fighting or allying, accusing or justifying.

In the place of a single diktat on any matter in the past, now there are a hundred different views on matters related to politics, economy or culture. It is because Iraq is free. Where demonstrations waving Saddam’s photo and shouting slogans glorifying him alone were allowed, now the Iraqis are free to take out as many demonstrations as they like for any reason they fancy.

Iraq had witnessed a number of revolutions. None of those who came to power after each revolution could be called just. Kings Faisal and Abdallah were murdered. Gen. Abdul Karim Kassim’s fate was no different. Countless politicians were killed by the regime while their relatives were never informed of their death. While in his regime the politically or otherwise accused persons were never given an opportunity to prove their innocence, Saddam has, paradoxically, been provided with a full contingent of lawyers to defend his case and sway international public opinion in his favor.

Contrary to past practices of wasting national wealth and corruption, government officials are required to be accountable for the money in the state coffers. Government agencies will also keep a watch on politicians to make sure that they are not corrupt.

In the past, a referendum on any government stance was passed with 99 percent of public support because the people had no freedom to disagree. These days the people express their differing views on important issues including the country’s constitution and federal character. This is, obviously, because the people have the right to express their views without fear of being thrown into jail or executed. The media have also changed with the end of the Saddam era. The envoys working in Iraq’s foreign missions are no longer afraid of the intelligence wing in their respective embassies.

The end of Saddam era does not, apparently, mean that the woes of the Iraqis have ended. The law and order system is in shambles. Murders, abductions and intimidation are widespread. The people have to make a painful choice between the past and the present. A past that meant on the one hand repression, illegal detention and elimination, lack of freedom of expression, press gag, and on the other hand peace. As for the present it means freedom of expression, freedom for organizations and parties while life in the country becomes extremely unsafe.

Long-term repression deprives man of his dignity and humanity that in turn means the loss of his ability to enjoy the basic human urge to express what he wants to say without fear of others. The very cause of his existence is lost with the repression. On the other hand peace in the land is very basic in any society. Life cannot go forward in a lawless state. The Iraqis have to choose either peace without freedom or freedom with lawlessness.

History, both Arab and international, teaches that freedom leads finally to stability while repression produces only superficial and short-term stability. Iraqis waiting to cast their votes in forthcoming general elections, in fact, are on the threshold of a new experiment with freedom.

Freedom needs support from the people. The four decades preceding Saddam were a period of immature political parties that did not have the strength to hold out against military takeover.

The constant squabbles and added stress to protect the interests of the elite over the 80 years of monarchy and republican rule, had prepared the ground for Saddam’s dictatorship.

Nobody can afford to ignore the diversity in Iraq’s demographic composition. Numerous religious sects and ethnic groups have been living side by side for a long time. If anyone intends to bring about unity among them it should be done with due consideration for their differences in a positive manner. There are groups, such as the former Baathists, that do not wish a peaceful solution to the country’s problems. They want to revive the ousted style of governance. There are also others who aim at perpetuating lawlessness in the country.

Fundamentalist groups also would like the chaos to continue so that they can perpetrate their criminal activities driven by perverted ideas. These groups will, apparently, never support any effort to bring about a workable understanding between contending parties.

This does not mean that the political parties and power centers that emerged after 2003 are flawless. They have been in the opposition for such a long period that they are presently incapable of finding a reasonable way out. Some ruling people want to create a niche for themselves emulating the elites of the ousted regime. A 40-year dictatorship does not mean that the coming years will be against dictatorship. It is the duty of the Iraqi public and dynamic political forces to vote for the rule of law, legitimate institutions, and a constitution. These will undoubtedly lead to a state far better than political quarrels and murderous eliminations.

If the people fail to vote in the right direction, the country would be hurtling toward the brink of yet another dictatorship. Iraqis have to make a decision between the two choices as the election is just round the corner. There may be some politicians who do not like people taking the best option. In the heart of every Arab politician there is a small dictator hiding. Iraqis are no exception. The ball is now in the people’s court.