BAGHDAD (AFP) — A new law passed by Iraq's parliament allowing ex-officials of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to return to public life was greeted warily on Sunday by those it is supposed to benefit.
The Justice and Accountability Law was passed unanimously by the 143 members of parliament present in the 275-member house on Saturday after months of obstruction by hardline Shiites.
It was greeted by US President George W. Bush an "important step toward reconciliation".
But senior Baathists were sceptical that it would bring reconciliation and feared instead they would be newly targeted by the Shiite-led regime.
"Anyone can now take revenge against a Baathist by filing a false lawsuit," said Abu Ali, 58, a high-ranking official of the former Baath party.
"The current government said it would bring democracy but it brought chaos instead. The divisions are still deep," he told AFP.
Abu Ali acknowledged that the new law was better than the de-Baathification decree issued by Paul Bremer, the US administrator in Iraq after the March 2003 invasion, which purged the civil service and army of all but the most junior Baathists.
"It is well known that all wrongdoing Baathists escaped the country in the first few months after the US invasion," he said. "Most of the remaining Baathists now have no criminal record.
"The new law is better than Bremer's which ignored that some Baathists are educated, honest and humane," he said.
Tens of thousands of Baath officials were dismissed from state institutions after Saddam was ousted in 2003, leaving schools and government offices struggling for expertise and providing fertile ground for the anti-US insurgency.
The new law will allow thousands of middle-ranking Baath party members to apply for reinstatement to their jobs in the civil service and military, provided they were not convicted of crimes.
A smaller group of more senior members will not be allowed back into public life but, if they have no criminal records, will be retired on pension.
Other ex-Baath party members too, said they were fearful.
"Baathists will not welcome this law because any citizen that has any kind of hatred will file a case against a Baathist and make a fake case that will send him to prison," said Mohammed Sabih, a former teacher who lost his job.
"This is like pouring fuel on the fire," Sabih told AFP.
Abu Wahid, who lost his job as a civil servant because he was a Baath party member, said Baathists should be fully re-integrated into political life.
"I am not convinced by this regime. Will they allow Baathists to engage in political activities and participate in elections? The answer is no," he said.
Fallah Hassan Shanshal, MP for Sadr City and head of parliament's de-Baathification committee, said while allowing Baathists not guilty of crimes back into public life, the law also ensured that those suspected of crimes would be hunted down and punished.
"This law first and foremost will ensure that the Baath criminals will pay for their crimes and be held responsible for their actions," he told AFP.
Jalal al-Din al-Sagheer, MP for the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), a powerful Shiite group, stressed that the new law is in line with the constitution, which forbids Baathists from participating in public life.
"This is not a retribution against Baath party members," he said. "It is aimed at taking a legal stand against criminal individuals of the party. The ordinary members will enjoy their rights."
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