CF leader says Debaathification commission should be institutionalized, not dissolved

Shafaq News/ The Accountability and Justice Commission should be institutionalized rather than dissolved, a leading figure in the Coordination Framework (CF), a consortium of mainly Iran-backed Shiite political forces, said on Saturday.

Shiite politician Hasan Fad'am said in a statement to Shafaq News Agency that dissolving the "debaathification" commission is a pivotal condition for the member parties of the State Administration Coalition from which the incumbent government engendered.

"However, this commission was founded by legislation. This means it can only be dissolved via a decree by the Iraqi parliament. It has nothing to do with the government program," said Fad'am.

"In order to be dissolved, it should be voted out by a majority of half plus one of the parliament members," he continued, "the decision to dissolve or keep the commission is for the lawmakers to make. They decide if they want to vote or not."

"A complete dissolution of the commission is illegal and nearly impossible," he explained, "it has a huge and useful archive. Therefore, it should rather be institutionalized to preserve this archive legally and constitutionally."

"The Baathist party is prohibited by a law. The same law does not allow assigning a Baathist to an office in the Iraqi government. Baathists are prohibited from participating in the political process, as well," the politician said.