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Iraq Formally Returns to Self-Rule Two Days Early
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By Alistair Lyon and Lin Noueihed
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States handed over sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government on Monday, formally ending a 14-month occupation two days earlier than expected to try to forestall guerrilla attacks.
In a surprise ceremony that was over before it was announced and before ordinary Iraqis were aware of it, Iraq (news - web sites)'s outgoing U.S. governor, Paul Bremer, gave a letter to Iraqi officials sealing the formal transfer of powers. Within hours, Bremer flew out of the country, a coalition source said.
"This is a historic day, a happy day, a day that all Iraqis have been looking forward to," Iraqi President Ghazi Yawar said at the ceremony, which transferred sovereignty at 10:26 a.m. (0626 GMT).
"This is the time when we take the country back into the international community."
U.S. and British officials say the handover is a key step on the path to democracy in Iraq, but one of the government's first actions as a sovereign power is expected to be the imposition of emergency laws, including curfews, to crack down on guerrillas.
A senior U.S. official said in Istanbul, site of a NATO (news - web sites) summit, that the handover gave Prime Minister Iyad Allawi more leverage and "strengthens his hand to deal with the threats inside his country."
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said in Istanbul the handover had been brought forward to try to thwart insurgents who might have been planning attacks to coincide with the ceremony, long announced for Wednesday.
"I believe that we will challenge these terrorists, criminals, Saddamists and anti-democratic forces by bringing even the date of the handover forward," he told reporters.
CONSTRAINTS ON POWER
Although Allawi's government will have "full sovereignty," according to a U.N. Security (news - web sites) Council resolution earlier this month, there are important constraints on its powers.
It is barred from making long-term policy decisions and will not have control over more than 160,000 foreign troops who will remain in Iraq. The government has the right to ask them to leave -- but has made clear it has no intention of doing so.
Allawi said after the ceremony that he was committed to holding elections in January as scheduled. Last week he was quoted as saying insecurity might force the polls to be postponed until February or March.
"The Iraqi government is determined to go ahead with elections on January 2 of next year," Allawi told reporters.
There was little reaction from world foreign exchange markets to the early handover.
"Any sign Iraq could have a more stable future would be beneficial for the dollar, but bringing the handover forward by a day or two doesn't change a great deal," said Shahab Jalinoos, senior currency strategist at ABN AMRO in London.
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