- Democratic Monarchy Alliance
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Democratic Monarchy Alliance [Al-Tahaluf Al-Malaki Al-Dimuqrati]
The Democratic Monarchy Alliance (DMA) supports the resumption of a Hashemite monarchy in Iraq, with al-Sharif Ra'd bin Zayd as king. Ra'd is the only son of Zayd, who was the youngest brother of Iraq's King Faysal I. The party's secretary-general is Dr. Nabil al-Janabi. In a July 2002 interview with Al-Jazeera television, al-Janabi contended that people in Iraq were eager to see the monarchy restored, and appealed to the United States to do so, "as it returned [former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand] Aristide to his country." Al-Janabi claimed that Jordan's King Hussein supported a restoration of the monarchy in Iraq, and he cited several historical occurrences in European history in which the monarchy was restored, including in Italy, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria.
An ongoing rivalry exists with the Constitutional Monarchy Movement (CMM) headed by Sharif Ali bin al-Husayn, the cousin of King Faysal II.CMM politial officer Sadiq al-Musawi said in a statement to London's "Al-Hayat" published in July 2003 that the DMA is a tribal group that operates as an extension of the Jordanian intelligence service, adding that the head of Jordanian intelligence supervises DMA's affairs.
The group was highly critical of the Coalition Provisional Authority's governance of Iraq, as well as of the performance of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council. DMA head Nabil al-Janabi declared his intention to form a shadow government in Iraq in June 2003, Baghdad's "Al-Aswaq" reported. The group claimed in May 2003 that it was sending military recruits to Jordan to train for the Iraqi army. The DMA said in January 2004 that plans were under way to unite the Sunni and Shi'ite ulama in Iraq, "Al-Hayat" reported. The group has claimed to have the secret support of Jordan's Prince Hasan, but has also claimed to have no affiliation with the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan.
Al-Janabi said in a January 2004 interview with the Baghdad weekly "Al-Zawra" that the DMA supports the idea of federalism in Iraq saying: "Since 25 December 1995 we have proposed an administrative federalism of five provinces as follows: Al-Basrah, which includes a number of governorates, Central Al-Furat, Baghdad, Mosul, and the North. We gave Kirkuk autonomy for its special situation but it will be linked to the center." The DMA would not support federalism based along ethnic lines, he added. Al-Janabi voiced his opposition to the Transitional Administrative Law, calling it "illegitimate" in a 20 March 2004 interview with "Al-Zawra." He added: "If elections on the form of rule in Iraq are not held, the Democratic Monarchy alliance...will declare [a] monarchy from one side."
The DMA composes approximately 13 member groups, including Al-Adalah [Justice] Party, the Qasim Movement for Iraq, the Iraqi Ahrar [Liberals] Movement, and the National Democratic People's Party. It publishes the "Al-Rihab" newspaper.
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