Alwaght- Official relations between Iraq and Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad government in December last year have seen many highs and lows. It seems that Syria file is a source of confusion in Iraq. Usually, reports of meetings of Iraqi officials with Syrian politicians are rarely given publicity and the Iraqi sources reveal these meetings several days after them taking place. For example, Iraq's intelligence chief Hamid al-Shatri visited Syria later in 2023 and met Syrian Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, better known for his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. The news was not reported at the time in Iraqi media until it was revealed by Syrian media outlets.
The same happened with a recent meeting of the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani and al-Sharaa in Doha, Qatar. The news was kept secret for two days, until Syrian media published a photo of the two officials. Then it came under focus in Iraq.
Security, not political, delegation sent to Syria
On Thursday, an Iraqi security delegation headed by the chief of the country's National Intelligence Service and ordered by PM al-Sudani arrived in Damascus to meet al-Jolani. According to the official Iraqi news agency, the delegation stressed Baghdad's support for the unity and territorial integrity of Syria. It is said that the delegation discussed cooperation with the Syrian side in the fight against terrorism and border security.
However, this was the first time that Baghdad officially sent a government delegation to Syria. The sending of this government delegation by Baghdad showed that the Iraqi authorities no longer want to be conservative in their relations with the new Syrian rulers as in the past four months, and that these relations are now being pursued more seriously by Baghdad. However, on the other hand, instead of sending a political delegation headed by the foreign minister, the Iraqi government sent a security delegation. Sending a security delegation instead of a political delegation to Syria shows that the al-Sudani government's concerns regarding Syria are about security before political issues. The visit was also a message to the government's opposition at home to show that if relations with Syria are renewed, Baghdad would continue to pursue the issues of terrorism and border security.
Iraqis angry
Street reactions show that a large part of the Iraqi society is against the government's approach to the meeting of the leaders of the two countries. The protesters call al-Sharaa the element behind shedding of blood of Iraqis, reminding that he is wanted by the Iraqi judiciary for his crimes during ISIS terrorist group's rise in Iraq from 2014 to 2017.
Ali al-Tamimi, an Iraqi jurist, said about the issuance of the arrest warrant for al-Shariah in Iraq that this warrant has not yet been officially confirmed by Iraqi sources and the validity of this warrant must be verified, but in general, leaders of countries enjoy absolute immunity from the criminal laws of other countries. He told Al-Hurra that this immunity is not for the presidents or rulers of countries, but rather this immunity generally includes those who hold the top leadership of countries, and regardless of domestic legitimacy or illegitimacy, rulers who hold power in different countries will enjoy this immunity due to their political position. Al-Tamimi notes that there is an exception to the immunity of leaders of countries, and that is when the leader of a country is wanted by the International Criminal Court and the host country is a signatory to the Rome Statute of the Court in 1998. In this case, the host state is obliged to arrest this president and hand them over to the international court in accordance with the Rome Statute. However, Iraqi researcher Aqeel Abbas told New Arab that no legal convictions have yet been registered in Iraqi courts against the current Syrian ruler.
Why are Iraqis angry?
Many in Iraqi believe that now it is the Al-Qaeda that rules Syria. Al-Sharaa's radical past and his blacklisting as a terrorist in other countries are among the reasons behind Iraqi public's antipathy to the current Iraqi leader.
Khaled Al-Jawisi, an Arab expert, wrote in a note published in the London-based Rai Al-Youm newspaper that the top man in Syria is the main suspect in many terrorist cases in Iraq, and the major powers have set specific preconditions for him in exchange for lifting sanctions."But why did Iraqi government officials visit him without any preconditions?", he asks. In fact, the past of Al-Sharaa is not something that the Iraqi people, or a large part of them, can forget.
On the other hand, a complaint has been filed by representatives of Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah, accusing al-Sharaa of leading terrorist groups. Yousef al-Kalabi, an envoy from the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework (SCF) in the Iraqi parliament, said that the Iraqi parliament's protest action against the government's reception of Al-Sharaa comes by more than 50 members of the parliament "in defense of the martyrs, their families, the wounded, the Iraqi people, and their national, moral, and religious conscience."
Given al-Kalabi's explanations, it seems that a large number of MPs are strongly complaining about the invitation of Ahmed al-Sharaa to Iraq for upcoming Arab League summit in Baghdad. Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, the speaker of the parliament, has announced that he does not welcome the Iraqi government hosting the current ruler of Syria, and that he would prefer that al-Sharaa not come to Iraq so that the Shiites are not offended. At the same time, some MPs have submitted an official request to the Baghdad Public Prosecutor's Office, demanding that al-Sharaa be investigated and arrested if he visits the country.
What are al-Sharaa charges?
Iraqis accuse the current Syrian ruler of blasts, armed activities, and also counterfeiting documents during his stay in Iraq as a militant. The document refers to his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. He carried this name when he was a commander in the HTS fighting in Iraq and Syria.
Also, amid invitation sent to al-Sharaa for Baghdad summit, Sabrin News of Iraq published documents of charges against the interim Syrian government. One of the documents released is a paper identifying al-Sharaa, signed as "Amjad Mudhafar Hussein al-Nuaimi" in Taji prison, a name al-Sharaa fabricated during his detention in Iraq.
Support for relations with al-Sharaa
Indeed, there are parties in Iraq believing that what al-Sudani did was a smart and wise move and indicated his pragmatism and realism. Al-Tamimi commented on the powers of the PM in the Iraqi constitution, saying that they are clear and he can be the final decision maker on the relationship with the new Syrian government. He however has not said how the PM can be ignorant when a large part of Iraqi society is against receiving al-Sharaa, a question perhaps the Iraqi officials have no answer for.
