Dheyaa Alwakeel
Diaa Al-Wakil / Advisor and former spokesman of the Armed Forces (29 April 2015)… Obituary is an honoring to the martyrs, a respect to their brave souls, a revival of the values of courage, sacrifice and redemption for the sake of home and a documentation of history. It also represents a tribute to the honorable families that gave birth to these brave heroes, and a compliance to what’s stated in the constitution, the law of service and military retirement, and related legislations that honored martyrdom and its noble patriotic and humane values.
Then why hasn’t the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces announced an obituary to the good people and the brave army and it’s fighting troops, and every patriot in Iraq, in regards to the martyrdom of one of the most prominent and courageous leaders of the army, the late martyr Brigadier General Hassan Abas Tufan the commander of the first troop of immediate intervention, as well as an elite of martyred officers and heroic soldiers, that gave their lives during their sacred national duty of defending Iraqi land and honor.
Commander of the 1st Division Omar Hassan Tufan
And we address this legitimate question that expresses the conscious of Iraq and its army and people to the ministries of Defense and Interior as well as the participating forces, Mr. Prime Minister’s advisors, and official spokespersons!!??? And we also address it to the many of politicians and concerned individuals that wept plentifully on the media outlets over the victims of Al-Taqsim regulator’s battle, but within the context of the political aspects and partisan interests that solely serves each one of them..? And none of them have bothered to ask themselves or their offices to check up on the families of the martyrs or issue an obituary to honor them and pay tribute to their honorable stands and glorious sacrifices in defending the homeland and its sanctities. And that is a patriotic right, not a charity from anyone… This incident must not go by like passing news that would get forgotten over the days and buried under the numerous events. And a symbolic funeral should not and cannot be enough, which is nothing more than a formal protocol that doesn’t exceed walking a few meters on the green area, then everyone goes back to their work and endless bothers and concerns.
I remember when I was in the office of the commander in chief of the Armed Forces as an Official Spokesman … and in the event of an officer in the position of a commander martyrs, the first thing we did was to issue an obituary in the name of the general commander for the martyr where we appreciate their sacrifice and courage, and then we would contact their family, check up on them and condole them, in addition to other administrative procedures that are implemented by law and are followed through accurately, some of which are promoting them up two ranks and allocating a plot of land to their family as well as naming a military institute or a street under their name to eternalize their memory.
The sacrifices of the martyrs, first and foremost among them the commander of the first division who was martyred among his soldiers and presented a model of extreme courage, requires the following:
Establish a memorial monument to eternalize this honorable sacrifice, and to pass the story of Iraqi courage to future generations.
Present all forms of care and honor for the martyrs’ families.
Publically announce and honor them through the media so it can become a motivation for raising spirits psychologically and morally which will promote confidence and fortitude to the fighters stationed in the fighting trenches and various fronts.
(This is my own opinion and thoughts on the situation and I might be wrong or right, but it’s enough for me that I am not speaking about this from a purely personal perspective, but as a national cause for the revival of the values of martyrdom, and an honoring to the sacrifice for the sake of the nation.)
At last we say no more than what would please Allah – exaltations to Him -… We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return … Only Allah lasts forever …
