A Plan for Action

The rescue of Mosul from the darkness of ISIS (Da’ish) is without doubt an existential issue. However, the city had experience of another kind of darkness before the ISIS occupation; that of a corrupt sectarian political system, complete with detentions and insults. The same political regime is back in Mosul, only further entrenched in its sectarianism after the incorporation of sectarian militias into the apparatus of the State.

The “librated” city of Mosul will be an afflicted city with 90% of its infrastructure in ruins (according to the United Nations), yet the regime in Baghdad refuses to describe the situation in Mosul as a disaster. The corrupt system that visited Mosul before ISIS is back, this time accompanied by scores of militias vying for supremacy.

When the State is corrupt and bankrupt, the pressing questions are: Who will re-build Mosul? Where will the necessary funds come from? And, how will security and stability return to the city?

Mosul awaits the legal, political and security consequences of an abnormal reality following the fall of ISIS in which the State has completely failed and potential solutions are not forthcoming. In such circumstances, characterised by the complete failure of politics, the burden of administration in any society falls upon the non-political, educated professional class who is best placed to identify the most suitable course of action in a realistic and practical way. Hopefully, this would be a temporary measure until the State recovers its health and its ability to function effectively.

Post ISIS Mosul will be fertile ground for organised crime in the presence of all the different gangs and militias that can now operate under the legal cover provided by the political regime. This is why Mosul is in urgent need of direct International supervision with the authority and power to remove all militias from the city and allow the city’s population to take an active role in safeguarding and rebuilding their lives. Mosul is also in need of a re-development plan led by its young people (who better to protect the future of the city), funded and administered directly by International organisations.

In the absence of an effective State and under the rule of a totally corrupt political system in which human rights are trodden upon and political reform is not possible, the call for Internationalisation is the loudest possible call for help that the people of Mosul can make in these strange and deviant times to protect their city.

Consequently, a number of very important issues that threaten and affect the future of Mosul need to be offered for discussion:

1) The need to provide an entire generation of the city’s population with hope, confidence and employment opportunities.

2) To monitor the real-estate market and land registry department to identify any suspect deals and money transfers moving ownership to secretive and shadowy organisations (similar to what happened in Palestine in the last century).

3) To protect the folklore of the city and its demographic and cultural makeup and guard against planned emigration of the city’s population and any counter inward migrations.

4) To encourage free trade and attract foreign inward investment to revive the paralysed local economy, under direct international supervision

5) To confront the root causes of recent deviant ideologies and prevent their spread.

6) To prevent the phenomenon of drug use and addiction currently widespread in other Iraqi cities like Basra, and thwart industrial scale drug production by militias, as is common in other areas without central government control like the Beqaa’ valley in Lebanon.

Security will of course be a vital pre-requisite before this reform process can even begin. Security is not something that Mosul enjoys currently. In fact, conditions are in place to ensure the continued lack of security in the future, namely the presence of sectarian militias linked to the political regime. One of the most important duties of the experts is to find a mechanism to ensure the security of the city and protect its local society and special character as a main centre of population in the region and one of its main pillars of stability.

These Groups of experts will be formed and will begin to produce reports highlighting both successes and failures along this path. The “Mosul Foundation” will not seek to monopolise this role and will cooperate with all well-meaning groups and charitable organizations. We will not be yet another political group, but rather, an effort by civic society needed after the utter failure of politics and politicians to reform and provide the minimum level of service the city and its inhabitants.

Initially, these working Groups will be made up of experts and professionals who currently live in Mosul and in the Kurdistan region, helped and supported by their brothers and sisters who live and work outside the country.

Initial Aims:

• To create and publish the structure of the organisation, its internal rules and the names of its members.

• To register the “Mosul Foundation” as a not-for-profit (NPO), non-governmental (NGO) organisation.

• The organisation will seek to establish the truth of what is taking place in Mosul in terms of the local economy, security, population shifts and demographic make-up and to communicate this to the outside world.

• To start an internet petition seeking the support of the people of Mosul in our call for the Internationalization of the city.

• The organisation will produce transparent specialist reports and send these to all concerned international groups and organisations, to expose the realities of life in Mosul and correct any misconceptions regarding the city and its people held by various decision makers and other people of influence. And, to do whatever is possible to re-build and protect the city and maintain its historic cultural character in accordance with the rules of International law.

Note: the above items will subsequently be re-expressed within a legal framework prepared by specialists, and will be continuously developed and updated.