the ban on alcohol, “a message to tell minorities to go away”

In Karakoch, capital of Christians in northern Iraq, the subject is sensitive. It’s time for alcohol prohibition. Friday, February 24, in the middle of the day, the streets were desperately empty, but the alcohol shops like the restaurants with bars were still open. But for how long ?

In two weeks, one after the other, the government first increased taxes on the import of alcohol by 200% for four years, before banning it from the country purely and simply with immediate effect on February 22. Violators can face fines of $6,800 to $17,000.

Brought by Islamic forces to Parliament in 2016, this law had been accused by many Iraqis of making the bed of Daesh. She had pushed the then president, Fouad Massoum, to come out of his reserve and denounce it as “incompatible with democratic principles” and “the freedoms and rights of citizens of different religions”. Put under the carpet for almost seven years, it resurfaced out of nowhere when it was published in the official journal on Wednesday February 22.

Pushed out

It is a cold shower for members of religious minorities whose freedoms are supposed to be protected by the Iraqi Constitution of 2005. “It is a clear message to minorities to tell them to go away”, deplores Ali Omar Gabou, the vice-governor of the province of Mosul and of Yezidi origin. The latter remains skeptical about the total application of this law, while “the government and the Prime Minister, Mohamed Chia Al Soudani, are doing everything to maintain good relations with the United States and the European Union”. For Harry Istepanian, an Iraqi analyst based in Washington, “the implementation of this law against alcohol without distinction will create a lot of major problems for the government”.

In Karakoch, the prohibition of alcohol will have serious consequences. “If the government decides to apply this law, we will be forced to close and leave here. It’s not the first time that we Christians have felt treated like second-class citizens,” warns Wahed, a Christian Arab from Basra who runs a liquor store on Karakoch’s main thoroughfare. . The sun-tanned man in his fifties assures him, he has “always seen more Muslims than Christians drinking alcohol in this country. A large part of my clientele in Karakoch comes from Mosul”.

Towards a black market?

A statement that does not deny Barra, Muslim and Mosulian, with a bag full of beer bottles in his hand. In his hoarse smoker’s voice, which carries dozens of meters around in the street, he says he regularly travels the 30 kilometers that separate Karakoch from the Sunni capital of northern Iraq to stock up on beer: “Here , it is of good quality. In Mosul it’s often counterfeit and there are hardly any outlets anymore but people are still drinking. Even more than before Daesh. »

Oras, a Karakochi wine merchant, says he does not believe in the imminent closure of his establishment. In Iraq, laws are in fact as much a matter for local authorities as for the interests of local political, tribal and militia forces. The autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan had already positioned itself against it, in 2016.

“The government should rather develop education and take care of the well-being of its population before banning alcohol”, denounces Oras. The young pharmacist he serves at the counter smiles at the mention of this law: “If you knew how illegally drugs circulate in this country… Don’t think that people will stop drinking”, he quips, after requesting anonymity. In addition to the marginalization of minorities, one of the consequences of this law could be the rise of the black market in alcohol.

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A delicate division of powers

In order to preserve the balance between the three main communities in Iraq (Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds), the Constitution provides for a sharing of power between three personalities.

President Abdel Latif Rachid is a Sunni Kurd,Prime Minister Mohamed Chia Al Soudani is Shia, and Arab Parliament Speaker Mohamed Al Halboussi is Sunni. Each of these leaders is associated with two deputies from the other communities.

Of the 21 ministries of the current government, 12 go to Shiites supported by the Coordination Framework, six to Sunni leaders (including defence), two to Kurds (including foreign affairs) and one last to a Christian.

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