MPs chastise the Foreign Ministry's roster for Iraq's ambassadors abroad

Shafaq News/ Members of the Iraqi Parliament lambasted the roster of ambassadors submitted by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Councils of Ministers and Representatives for approval.

In a statement issued earlier today, Thursday, MP Dhafer al-Ani pilloried the length of the list that encompasses eighty figures, most of whom are nominated through patronage, not merit.

"Major powers with extended diplomatic ties do not have this massive number of ambassadors. Moreover, the nominees are chosen from the personnel of the Ministry to compress the expenditures in accordance with the actual need," he said, hinting at the huge costs of diplomatic work. 

"A country that cannot protect the international diplomatic missions on its lands, why does it need this enormous number of ambassadors and embassies? Unless it is for partisan and familial appeasements at the expense of the state."

"Stemming from my responsibility as a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Relations, I will work, and I will urge my colleagues to refrain from approving the names in this roster except for those who deserve and under tight conditions," he said.

For his part, MP of the State of Law Coalition, Khalaf Abdul Samad, said, "many Baathists and sectarians still enjoy many privileges in some Iraqi embassies," stressing, "embassies are amongst the most sovereign positions in the state. They cannot be a haven for those."

Abdul Samad called for ousting the Baathists and granting the helm of the Iraqi diplomatic missions abroad for the "Baath victims" who prove competency, patriotism, and the capacity to sacrifice for the people of their country. 

The State of Law MP urged the Parliament members to avoid voting for this "notorious" roster that aims to consolidate the Baath in the Iraqi embassies, which became in the reign of the former regime an intelligence radar to track and pursue Iraqi patriots and persecute them.

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented a roster of nominees to the position of Iraqi ambassadors abroad. The list, including eighty names, awaits the cabinet's vote to decide who will lead Iraq's diplomatic missions worldwide.