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To: macavity who wrote (44982)	1/19/2004 4:17:30 PM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

UN Urged to Join Iraq Sovereignty Quest By Mark Sage, PA News, in New York news.scotsman.com British, American and Iraqi officials today appealed to the United Nations to send a special team to Baghdad to advise on handing sovereignty back to the people of the war-torn country. Washington’s administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, and the UK’s special representative, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, joined a delegation of Iraqis to make the appeal during talks in New York. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he would consider sending such a team, but that there would first need to be further discussions. He added that he expected the UN to play “an important role”, from July onwards, in helping the Iraqis draft a constitution and prepare for general elections, which must be held by the end of 2005. The talks came as thousands of people protested in Baghdad, calling for direct elections. Mr Annan said the Iraqi Governing Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority expressed a “strong wish” that the UN should send a technical mission to Iraq to advise on electoral matters. He said: “We agreed that partnership will be necessary, and we are also going to be active in recovery, reconstruction and in the humanitarian and human rights fields. “Meanwhile as regards a possible role (before the end of June), we have agreed that further discussions should take place at the technical level, which would be focused on the most immediate electoral and security issues.” He went on: “I don’t believe there may be enough time between now and May to hold elections.” Mr Annan is understood to be wary of the security situation in Iraq. Two bomb attacks forced the UN out of Iraq towards the end of last year. In one attack, in August, 22 people, including UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello, were killed. “Obviously, the scope for operational UN activities inside Iraq will continue to be constrained by the security situation for some time to come,” Mr Annan said. He is also understood to be wary of simply giving US ambitions for the new Iraqi regime credibility. Coalition plans to hold caucus-style elections by July 1 have been rejected by the powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. He has called for direct elections which could not be influenced by Washington. The current plan would see American forces scaled back after the July target date. Among those at the talks in New York were Adnan Pachachi, current chairman of the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, and John Sawers, political director of the Foreign Office. During the discussions, Mr Annan has been expected to press Mr Bremer on how much authority Washington was prepared to cede in the process of returning power to Iraqis. A diplomatic source said all sides recognised that the UN would be seen by Iraqi political parties as a neutral body which could drive the process forward. “It is a matter of working out how this can be done since they are not on the ground in Iraq,” the source added. Meanwhile, thousands of Iraqi Shiite Muslims marched in Baghdad to demand an elected government. The demonstration was organised by supporters of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. “This demonstration is a message to America that we want elections,” said Naim Al-Saadi, a 60-year-old tribal chief who joined about 10,000 people in central Baghdad. Many marchers linked hands. Others carried portraits of al-Sistani and other Shiite leaders and waved banners saying “real democracy means real elections”. Shiites, about 60% of Iraq’s 25 million people, were suppressed by Saddam’s Sunni dominated government and fear a provisional legislature will cut them out of power again. US and Iraqi Governing Council officials say it is not possible to hold free and fair elections before the July 1 deadline, given the current precarious security situation. Concerns were highlighted on Sunday when about 20 people were killed and more than 60 were injured when a suicide bomber blew up a truck outside the occupation authority headquarters compound in Baghdad. Most victims were Iraqis, including some waiting in traffic in their cars or lined up for stringent security checks.