The leader of the Shiite National Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, announced his full support for the government's and judicial campaign against corruption, calling on his fans in all provinces to organize mass popular vigils to support the steps led by the Integrity Commission with the direct support of the Prime Minister.

In a statement issued on Wednesday (July 1st), al-Sadr described the fight against corruption as an irreversible "reform revolution", praising "the role of the Iraqi judiciary and the heroic security forces, especially the anti-terrorism and corruption forces" in recovering looted funds and prosecuting senior corrupt people as a prerequisite for Iraq's stability and sovereignty.

He called on his popular and tribal bases to come out in organized peaceful vigils after Friday prayers under the slogan "Supporting Integrity and Reform", with the aim of demonstrating the popular rejection of any pressure that may be exerted by influential forces to disrupt judicial files.

In his statement, al-Sadr warned against politicizing the corruption file or using it as a tool to liquidate between opponents, calling for the opening of all files of contracts and projects that have been delayed in sovereign ministries over the past years, without exception or selectivity.

Sharp Political Divergence in Baghdad

The positions of Iraqi political forces and blocs outside the framework of the Sadrist movement differed towards the recent government and judicial campaign to combat corruption and the "network of eavesdropping and extortion", where the forces of the Coordination Framework announced their support for the steps of the Integrity and Judiciary Commission, stressing the need for investigations to include all files without exception.

Prominent Iraqi leaders have called for the results of the investigations related to the "Prime Minister's Office Network" to be revealed to the public, in order to avoid turning the file into a tool of political pressure.

Parties within the framework expressed reservations about Sadr's call to take to the streets, warning that mobilizing the masses could create friction on the ground and affect the work of the supervisory institutions.

The Taqaddam Alliance and allied blocs announced their support for the campaign, but called for it to be expanded to include reconstruction files in the liberated provinces, and to scrutinize cases of land forgery and compensation in Anbar, Ninawa and Salah al-Din, stressing the need to keep the fight against corruption within official and judicial channels, based on the fact that the institutionalization of the state is the only guarantee to recover funds and prevent the recurrence of abuses.

Kurdish forces prefer dissociation

On the other hand, the position of the Kurdish forces was characterized by calm and self-distancing, as they affirmed their support for the rule of law and the fight against corruption throughout Iraq, while stressing respect for the administrative and legal privacy of the institutions of the Kurdistan Region.

Kurdish leaders called for the removal of judicial files from the heated political tussles in Baghdad, in order to preserve the stability of the government and prevent any new political impasse.

The civil movement and independent MPs announced their absolute support for the campaign, calling on the judiciary to lift the immunity of any official who is proven to be involved in cases of extortion or waste of public funds, regardless of party affiliation, in an attempt to enhance public confidence in the reform track.

Integrity Commission: $2.5 billion recovered

Iraq's Federal Integrity Commission announced that the total funds and assets recovered or prevented from being wasted to the state treasury exceeded US$2.5 billion (equivalent to about 3.3 trillion Iraqi dinars), as part of the updated cumulative anti-corruption efforts.

On Sunday, Iraqi forces launched an operation to arrest 47 people involved in financial corruption cases, including prominent party leaders, members of the Iraqi parliament and senior officials of the Iraqi state, while the operation is still ongoing.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi stressed that the government is making efforts to confront corruption, and will not allow anyone to tamper with Iraqis' money, saying that "the fight against corruption is a first stage, and the government will continue to fight corruption to recover public funds, and that it is tasked with protecting the interests of the Iraqi people, and this responsibility is not compromised," according to a statement issued by the Iraqi government on Monday, June 29.

"The situation has become unbearable, and the jealousy of Iraqis pushes us to assure our people that there are strong guards of public funds, and we will use them well," he said.