Future Iraqi leader spurns US
Sun 27 Jul 2003
Ian Mather
AMERICA’S favourite to become the leader of a new democratic Iraq has moved to
distance himself from the US following the deaths of Saddam Hussein’s two sons
last week.
In an interview with Scotland on Sunday, Dr Adnan Pachachi, acting head of the
US-backed Iraqi Governing Council, even indicated that the Iraqi people might take
up arms against the Americans were it not for the fact that they were ‘tired’ of war.
Only two weeks after the council came into existence at the behest of the US,
Pachachi - in London on his way to Baghdad after addressing the United Nations in
New York - issued a stream of criticisms of the United States’ role in Iraq.
Speaking about the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein during a fierce gunbattle
with American troops in Mosul, he said: "The previous regime was based on a
family organisation surrounding Saddam. So killing the two sons means that the
neck has been cut. But we would have preferred it if they had been captured. Killing
is not our preferred option."
The council wanted to set up its own tribunal to try members and supporters of the
former regime, he said.
Pachachi, the favourite candidate of the US State Department, is already thinking
ahead to a future election, which he hopes to win and go on to become prime
minister.
He knows that his close identification with the
Americans is likely to be the kiss of death among Iraqi
voters.
Unlike the Americans and the British, who refer to their
military presence in Iraq as the ‘Coalition Authority’,
Pachachi talks about the occupation of his native
country.
One of the first acts of the council was to declare April 9, the anniversary of the day
that Saddam’s statue was toppled, a national holiday. But Pachachi said he already
regretted this "possibly hasty decision".
He added: "The occupation of Iraq started on March 20 when the coalition forces
crossed the border, not on April 9. So it’s not a national holiday for the occupation,
it’s a national holiday for the fall of the regime.
"In any case, there needs to be a law before the new national day becomes official
and such a law has not been enacted yet."
Mystery surrounds the status of his principal rival for the leadership of the council,
Ahmed Chalabi, head of the Iraqi National Congress, who is said to have support
from the US Pentagon.
The two men sat side by side at a press conference in New York and declared that
they were "colleagues".
But it was Pachachi who addressed the Security Council and then met Prime
MinisterTony Blair in London. Chalabi also failed to appear with the Iraqi delegation
in London.
All the Governing Council members were approved by Paul Bremer, the US civilian
administrator for Iraq, and all the council’s decisions must ultimately be approved
by him.
Critics complain that the council is drawn largely from groups which were previously
based outside Iraq.
Pachachi, aged 80, a former foreign minister in a pre-Saddam government, has
lived in Abu Dhabi for 30 years, where he is an adviser to the government.
But he is eager to explain: "This is a council of Iraqis chosen by Iraqis after very
extensive consultations.
"It was not appointed by the foreign authority. Most of the council members are
sacrificing a life of peace and comfort to go to Iraq, which is in a lawless state. We
are far more legitimate than some of the regimes that the Iraqis have supported
in the past."
To escape from the electoral embarrassment of appearing to be too close to the
Americans, Pachachi and the council are desperate to "internationalise" the
presence of foreign troops in Iraq and reduce the American profile.
"Right from the very beginning I wanted the UN to have a central role," Pachachi
said.
"I said immediately after the collapse of the regime that the Secretary General
(Kofi Annan) should appoint a special representative to oversee the whole process.
Unfortunately this did not happen and we have to deal with a situation where a
huge US army is in Iraq, and also the British.
"One way to deal with this would be not to co-operate, but the Iraqi people are
tired after three wars and don’t want to start another one."
He said there was the possibility of another UN resolution on increasing its
involvement and he hoped this would happen as soon as possible.
"Even the US is coming round to the idea of giving the UN a greater role. But this
will take a long time, and it could give the opportunity for some states to
complicate the situation."
The immediate tasks of the Governing Council were to restore law and order, public
services, employment and economic stability by introducing a new Iraqi currency,
he said.
"We think that the best way is to increase the number of police and give them
training. Unfortunately, the police were perceived by the Iraqi people as agents of
the previous regime and were extremely corrupt."
He condemned the violence against American and British troops, which last week
cost the lives of another 14 American soldiers, the biggest death toll in one week
since the end of the fighting.
"These are sporadic acts of violence against the Americans and also against other
Iraqis," he said.
"They think that by continuing they are going to force the Americans to get out of
Iraq, but they are mistaken.
"They are also delaying the recovery of Iraq. I would like to ask these people:
‘What do you hope to achieve?’"
Although Bremer wields ultimate power, the Governing Council does represent a
first step towards representative government and is the broadest-based
government Iraq has ever had.
It contains representatives from Iraq’s diverse religious and ethnic groupings and
officially has a Shia Muslim majority, a marked shift for a country traditionally led
by the minority Sunnis.
The Shias are showing an increasing desire to see the departure of the Americans,
a sentiment Pachachi, a Sunni, clearly shares.
"If the US still has a large army in Iraq in 2004, it will create problems for the
re-election of President Bush," he warned.
BLUEPRINT FOR DEMOCRACY
THE Iraqi Governing Council was established two weeks ago today and held its first
meeting amid tight security in the former Ministry for Military Industry building in
Baghdad.
One of its main duties will be to help draw up a new constitution paving the way for
free elections.
It consists of 25 members, of whom 13 are Shia Muslims, five Sunni Muslims, five
Kurds, one Christian and one Turkmen.
Among those on the panel, in addition to acting head Adnan Pachachi, are Ahmed
Chalabi (right), leader of the Iraqi National Congress; Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, a
leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution; and Massoud Barzani
and Jalal Talabani, leaders of the two main Kurdish groups.
The Governing Council will appoint a commission, which will then draw up the broad
outlines of a constitution to be submitted to a constitutional conference for final
approval.
Full-scale elections are not likely to be held for at least one and a half years. At
best, it will take two months to choose a constitutional commission and a further
eight months to write and approve the constitution.
There is no electoral law, no population census and no judicial system to deal with
any election problems so the commission will be chosen through a consultation
process.
It is thought it will take a minimum of a further two months to organise and hold
the elections, which could be overseen by the UN.
At the very least the intention is that it will provide an international presence to
make sure they are free and fair.
This article:
news.scotsman.com
Rebuilding Iraq:
news.scotsman.com |
