Iraq's Interior Minister: I am the adversary of tribes threatening security officers
Shafaq News/ Iraq's Minister of Interior, Abdul-Amir al-Shammari, headed an expanded meeting at the Tribes' Affairs department in the ministry, an official statement said on Saturday.
"Law is above all. It is a backbone for the tribes and citizens," the statement quoted al-Shammari saying.
Al-Shammari said that tribes are an indispensable part of the "social fabric" of Iraq and a "school for culture and manners."
The minister warned against threatening or assaulting security officers for doing their job.
"The Sheikh of a tribe that does such a thing should know that I will be his adversary," he said.
The interior minister said that the officers in charge of the tribes' affairs will be changed after a three-month evaluation period if they were proven "ineffective".
Tribal justice has always played a role in Iraq. But today, even as tribes are weakened overall—especially at the national level—the role of tribal justice has increased. And tribes have mobilized to use their localized, client-centric tribal authority (which at times is bolstered due to connections with powerful actors in Baghdad) to insert themselves in reconstruction and conflict-prevention initiatives, while attempting to sideline adversaries. The resolution of the large number of outstanding tribal justice cases is impacted by a fractured political environment, regional political and security tensions, and the dissatisfaction of residents, who demand increased security and better access to services and jobs.
Tribal sheikhs complain that they are unfairly burdened by these demands and challenges, and say that they lack proper support from the state. However, residents in tribal areas often complain, in turn, of tribal transgressions. They allege that tribal leaders exploit, for material benefit, their customary roles in negotiating punishment for misdemeanors, land and housing disputes, and other issues.
The current instability in has fueled tribal conflicts. Killing members of another tribe will put a target on the perpetrator, as well as his tribe. Intertribal killings may be triggered by a number of reasons, including honour-related questions and historic intertribal animosities.
In order to avoid continuous cycles of revenge killings among tribes, tribal conflict is often settled by paying compensation in the form of ‘blood money’. The ultimate goal of tribal mediation is to restore peace through restoring honour, thus avoiding feuds. Conflict resolution between different ethnic or religious tribes, such as a Shia tribe and a Sunni tribe, is usually considered more difficult.
