Sheikh Abdul Mahdi Al-Karbalai
My brothers and sisters, I bring to your attention the following three matters:
First Matter:
Our brothers and sons in the Armed Forces and those who support them from the volunteers to the noble tribes are still fighting the terrorists on various fronts. In the recent days, they have had a significant advancement in the province of Anbar, and they have been able to liberate some of the most valuable territories. We pray to God to bless them with more power, patience, and persistence, and that he makes them victorious over their enemies, forgive their martyrs, and heal their wounded.
The Daesh terrorists are still shamelessly practicing the deadliest and most heinous crimes, and they brag about them; including targeting crowded markets with car bombs, just like what happened last week in the cities of Al-Khalis and Al-Zubair, when many innocents’ blood has been shed unjustly. So we pray to Almighty Allah to bless the martyrs with mercy, and the wounded with quick recovery, and we reiterate demanding the security authorities to bear their responsibility in protecting citizens from those malefactors.
Second Matter:
The need for real economic, financial, and development measures within a clear time frame has become more necessary than ever under the difficult financial conditions Iraq is going through, and the experts expectations of the lack of improvement of the country’s revenues in the near future which portends serious problems of the general budget in the next years, with the need for disbursing significant financial resources to cover the expenses of the war on Daesh, and what can be noticed of the depletion of a lot of money in consumer spending without noticeable indicators to a development in the industrial and agricultural production, and the possibility of the government’s resorting to borrowing, which will overtax the state budget because of the high interests of such debts.
It is hoped from the concerned authorities that they accelerate seeking the assistance of experts and specialists especially qualified Iraqis who are keen on the future of this country, to develop appropriate plans to address the existing problems in real and serious ways before they worsen and become unable to deal with. One of the most important measures required is to achieve social justice in government jobs and in pension rights by reducing the large differences between the salaries and allowances and by reviewing consumer expenditures so as to prevent waste of public money in things that are not necessary, especially in such circumstances. It is also important to work on the involvement of citizens in addressing the current crisis, and this requires educating them to exercise their roles through reducing consumptions and exploiting time and effort to increase production. The legal, national, and moral responsibility requires from every citizen to contribute by the means available to address this national crisis, and not to act indifferently.
Third Matter:
The difficult situation the country is experiencing makes it imperative for the participating political powers to pay attention and follow up the reform process, move it forward, not to try to create barriers and obstacles on its way, not to protect anyone, regardless of their position, from prosecution, and to stay away from media bickering and finger-pointing without having clear evidences as such things only bring more tension and hatred. It is required from the Integrity Commission not to take long in revealing the cases of those who are accused of large corruption and forwarding them to Judiciary. The Judiciary has to be strong and must not favor anyone, and it should not be subject to any pressure from any party. And the government should provide adequate protection for the judges assigned to work on the files of those who are accused of corruption, so that they can secure themselves and their families from the gangs that protect the corrupt.
We pray to God to bless everyone with righteousness and reform.
