BAGHDAD, 13 January 2008 — Iraq’s Parliament voted yesterday to let thousands of members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party return to government jobs.
The new law will allow thousands of former party members to apply for reinstatement in the civil service and military. A smaller group of more senior members will still be banned but can now receive their state pensions.
“This law preserves the rights of the Iraqi people... It provides a balance,” said Iraqi government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh. Washington had introduced “de-Baathification” when it invaded Iraq in 2003. Iraq’s failure to pass the bill last year had been seen as one of the main signs that political progress toward reconciliation was stalled even as security improved.
The United Nations envoy in Baghdad, Staffan de Mistura, said: “This is good news and a right step in the long overdue direction toward national reconciliation. It is important that this process is as inclusive as possible.” The law is part of a wider effort to end a political deadlock that saw the main Sunni Arab bloc pull out of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s government last August.
