The Democratic July 14 Movement (, translit. ''harakat 14 tammuz ad-dimoqratia'') was a front of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i political forces, a broad unity opposing

Ba'athist Ba'athism, also spelled Baathism, is an Arab nationalist ideology which advocates the establishment of a unified Arab state through the rule of a Ba'athist vanguard party operating under a revolutionary socialist framework. The ideology ...

rule over Iraq. It emerged through the cooperation between the Iraqi Communist Party-Central Command leader Najim Mahmud (in exile in

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), Colonel Salim al-Fakhri and others. The name 'July 14' referred to the July 14 Revolution of 1958. Al-Fakhri had been an important associate of

Abd al-Karim Qasim Abdul-Karim Qasim Muhammad Bakr al-Fadhli Al-Qaraghuli al-Zubaidi ( ' ; 21 November 1914 – 9 February 1963) was an Iraqi military officer and statesman who served as the Prime Minister and de facto leader of Iraq from 1958 until his ...

and had been proposed as prime minister by the plotters of the failed Ar-Rashid revolt. The movement claimed to represent the genuine legacy of July 14, 1958 from which, according to the organization, Qasim and his military associates had deviated from.Ismael, Tareq Y.
The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq
'.

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

: Cambridge University Press, 2008. pp. 239–241 In November 1979 the Supreme National Committee of the Democratic July 14 Movement published a manifesto in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, titled 'A Project for a National Pact'. The manifesto called for the overthrow of the Ba'athist government, right of self-determination of the

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

through the possibility of a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

, democratizing the

Iraqi Armed Forces The Iraqi Armed Forces are the military forces of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. They consist of the Iraqi Army, Ground forces, the Iraqi Army Aviation Command, Army Aviation Command, the Iraqi Air Force, the Iraqi Air Defence Command, Air Defence ...

, economic and eventually political integration of the

Arab states The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

and re-orientation of the national oil policy. The Democratic July 14 Movement proved short-lived, as differences erupted between its leaders. Al-Fakhri projected himself as the main leader of the movement, in contradiction to the agreed principle of collective leadership. In July 1980 he held separate negotiations with the

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK; ) is a political party active in Kurdistan Region and the Disputed territories of Northern Iraq, disputed territories in Iraq. The PUK describes its goals as self-determination, human rights, democracy a ...

leader Jalal Talabani, for the construction of an Iraqi national front against

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

's rule. Other constituents of the Democratic July 14 Movement questioned al-Fakhri on what mandate these negotiations had been taken place. By early 1981, the movement had broken apart and ceased to function.

References

Arab nationalism in Iraq Communism in Iraq Defunct political party alliances in Iraq Iraqi democracy movements Kurdistan independence movement Iraqi opposition (pre-2003) Pan-Arabist organizations Political opposition alliances in the Arab world Popular fronts {{Iraq-hist-stub

See also

References