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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (34753)	1/11/2004 5:24:59 PM
From: lurqer	Respond to of 89467

In collaboration with what Rick posted earlier, "the natives are getting restless". Iraq cleric warns of more violence if poll not held Iraq's most senior Shi'ite Muslim cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, warned on Sunday of increased political tensions and violence if elections are not held within months. Sistani dented Washington's hopes of winning his backing for its plan to hand over power to Iraqis, as fresh violence erupted in three Iraqi cities and towns. No casualties were reported in the violence that ranged from a bombing to stone-throwing. Officials from the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council went to the Shi'ite city of Najaf to meet Sistani to try to persuade him to back Washington's plan. Shi'ites make up the majority of Iraq's population. Sistani wants a transitional assembly due to come into being in mid-year to be directly elected, and refused to back down after meeting the Governing Council officials. If he does not support the U.S. plan, many Shi'ites may refuse to accept the process. Shi'ites were repressed during three decades of iron rule by Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Muslim. "The ideal mechanism for this is elections which a number of experts confirm can be held within coming months with an acceptable degree of credibility and transparency," Sistani's office quoted him as telling the Governing Council delegation. "If the transitional assembly is formed by a mechanism that doesn't have the necessary legitimacy, it wouldn't be possible for the government to perform a useful function... New problems will arise as a result of this that will only worsen the tensions in the political and security situation." NO RELIABLE CENSUS Most members of the Governing Council say Iraq's instability makes full elections impossible for now. Also, no reliable census has been held for years. Under the U.S. plan, regional caucuses would select a transitional Iraqi assembly by the end of May, and the assembly would choose an interim government to take over sovereignty by the end of June. Full elections would follow in 2005. The plan has also been beset by disputes over the amount of autonomy and territory to be given to Kurds, who have run a self-governing zone in northern Iraq since wresting it from Saddam after the 1991 Gulf War. A new Iraqi constitution would ensure a federal structure for the country, but many Kurds are pushing for control over a wider swathe of territory including the strategic oil hub of Kirkuk. That has prompted violent protests by Arabs and Turkmen in Kirkuk, and has alarmed neighbouring Turkey. Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi said on Sunday Kurdish leaders and the Governing Council decided at a meeting this month to preserve the status quo for now. In the city of Mosul, an official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said two mortar shells hit the roof of the party's headquarters on Sunday, and two hit nearby houses. BOMB AT KURDISH PARTY OFFICES In Kirkuk, a bomb exploded near the main PUK offices, but police said they did not know if the target was the PUK or a nearby mosque. Shortly afterwards, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at another PUK office. In southern Iraq, a small crowd threw stones at British troops in riot gear in the town of Amara. Mainly Shi'ite southern Iraq has been much more peaceful than the Sunni heartland around Baghdad. The clash followed the deaths of at least five Iraqis in Amara on Saturday when Iraqi police and British troops opened fire during violent protests over unemployment. The police believed they were shot at during Saturday's protest and returned fire. British troops opened fire when grenades were thrown at them, Britain's Defence Ministry said. In Qurna, just south of Amara, British and Danish troops arrested a suspected regional leader of the former ruling Ba'ath party after carrying out a house-to-house search early on Sunday, a British military spokesman, Squadron Leader Dave King, told Reuters. King said the village had been under surveillance for some time and that the man, whose name was not given, was suspected of running several terror cells in southern Iraq. Foreign companies attending an international conference on Iraq's reconstruction in Jordan said security problems would not deter them from pursuing a piece of the reconstruction pie. "The United States is giving them (Iraqis) a lot of money and we want to be in on that," said Tom Spencer, vice president of business development at U.S. defence systems firm Kollsman. About 300 companies -- mostly from countries that supported the U.S.-led war on Iraq -- were represented at the conference in Amman attended by U.S. officials in charge of divvying out $18.6 billion in U.S.-funded contracts. The first $5 billion in new contracts is due to be awarded at a trade fair in Baghdad in March. Countries that did not back the war, including France, Germany, Russia and Canada, have been barred from competing for the contracts. reuters.com lurqer