Debaathification Movement “flatly” rejects Baathists’ return

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Popular Debaathification Movement expressed “outright” rejection to the return of the Baathists, or members of the former regime’s Baath Party, to Iraq’s political arena, reiterating a call on the government and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to reverse his decision to reconcile with them. “We consider sheer affiliation to the Baath party as a dishonoring misdemeanor that should block any attempts to return to politics in our beloved Iraq,” said the movement in a press release received by IraqiNews.com news agency. Maliki had called for reconciliation with the allies of former president Saddam Hussein provided that they return to the Iraqi people’s ranks and “close once and for all that dark period of Iraq’s history”. The movement appealed to the “honorable among the members of parliament who gained the people’s trust to flatly refuse the Baathists’ return to political activities in Iraq.” It also called on the Iraqi people to take part in rallies and marches scheduled for April 9, the day that marks 6th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, so as to express rejection against Baathists’ return. AmR (P)/SR 1