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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Iraqis face hard route to harmony

Hamza Hendawi Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq’s new human rights minister may be the most potent symbol of postwar Iraq: a member of a long-oppressed minority who has a unique opportunity to prove that Iraqis can put aside ethnic and religious rivalries to come together as a nation.

It’s an extremely difficult time for anyone, especially a Kurd like Bakhtiyar Amin, to delve into the complex and grim world of Iraq’s human rights record — a catalogue of gruesome atrocities committed over 35 years of Baath Party rule during which Saddam Hussein played a key role.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Amin said Iraqis must overcome enemies that include religious fanatics, remnants of Saddam’s regime and neighboring countries that don’t want to see Iraq become democratic.

“I want to help in the creation of a harmonious society,” he said. “It will not be easy and it will take time, but we are determined.”

As a Kurd, he is a member of a community that was brutally oppressed by Saddam. Kurds are now widely viewed in Iraq as the Americans’ best friends — something of a stigma in a country where most people deeply resent the United States.

His office, on the ground floor of a three-story building in Baghdad’s upscale Mansour area, is ringed by concrete blast barriers. Visitors are searched thoroughly by armed guards, and he travels in an armored car. He says the ministry has been attacked at least once.

“There is no other way to deal with the security threats,” he said. “One mistake can be very costly. I have 200 people working in this building.”

Yemen is the only Arab nation besides Iraq to have a human rights minister.