Washington — Leaders of a newly-established umbrella organization called Iraqi Voices for Peace have spoken out forcefully against an amendment sponsored by U.S. Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) and approved by the Senate expressing support for the “soft partitioning” of Iraq along religious and sectarian lines. They are urging that the Biden Amendment not be included in the final version of the FY08 Defense Authorization Bill currently pending before a joint Senate-House conference committee.

Spokesperson Aseel Albanna said in a press release that 1,303 Iraqi Americans and Iraqis around the world and in growing numbers have already endorsed an open letter to Congress in support of keeping Iraq unified and have signed a petition in strong opposition to the Biden Amendment that has been delivered to key legislators on Capitol Hill.

“Senator Biden’s presumptive plan to ‘soft partition’ Iraq into three federalist autonomous regions along ethno-sectarian lines will only be perceived by Iraqis and Arabs throughout the Muslim world as the act of a new colonial power and not the act of a great democracy,” underscored Albanna, co-founder and spokeswoman of Iraqi Voices for Peace. “We strongly oppose this affront to Iraqis’ national pride and sovereignty. Only Iraqis have the legitimacy and the right to determine the future of our country. While our constitution remains a work in progress, nowhere does it call for this ethno-sectarian division. We also appeal to all Americans to respect our sovereignty and to remember that Iraq is 75 years old as a nation. However, Iraqis lived in Mesopotamia thousands of years prior to the 20 th century drawing of artificial national boundaries by the colonial powers. Our unity goes beyond our identity, diverse history, heritage and the legacy of our land and it is entrenched in our communities, neighborhoods, families and marriages.”

This diverse array of people of Iraqi heritage in America and abroad are vociferously opposed to the Biden Amendment for the following reasons.

First of all, the current Iraqi Constitution is still in dispute, but nowhere does it call for dividing Iraq based on ethnic and sectarian lines. Forming a consensus around an evolved constitution is a political task considered necessary for a political settlement in Iraq.

Secondly, we support Iraq’s sovereignty and democracy, as President Bush and the U.S. Congress also claim to do, and both require fundamental respect for the voice and will of the Iraqi people, who have been kept out of the process.

Thirdly, the Biden Amendment proposes a religious-ethnic solution in place of what should be a political solution. It is a prelude to future conflicts and will set in motion a domino effect of sectarianism in Iraq, which will lead, in turn, to more instability within Iraq and throughout the region, including Turkey, Iran, Syria, Jordan, and the Gulf States. Furthermore, it will prevent political reconciliation among Iraqis and between Iraqis and Americans.

Fourthly, de facto partitioning of Iraq will create a bloodbath on a scale wider than that caused by the 1947 India-Pakistan partition. Major Iraqi cities are ethnically and religiously mixed. Partition will dramatically escalate the ethnic cleansing that has already made 4.2 million Iraqis into internal and international refugees.

Finally, overwhelming majorities of Iraqis and Americans have reached the same conclusion and are calling consistently for: (1) the time-bound U.S. military disengagement from Iraq; (2) restoring complete Iraqi sovereignty, thus allowing Iraqis to begin the hard work of rebuilding our society and our country; and (3) assisting in the establishment of peace, justice, and democracy in Iraq.

” Iraqi Voices for Peace will continue to gather signatures in support of our appeal to U.S. policymakers for preserving Iraq’s national unity and sovereignty,” Albanna stressed. “Since our open letter and supporting petition went on-line last Friday, the responses and notes of gratitude have been overwhelming from Iraqis throughout the world and the number of signatures is growing by the minute. Preserving Iraq as a unified, peaceful, and secure country is of paramount importance to all people of Iraqi ancestry, culture, and heritage.”