With
the 36-member government sitting on a raised platform behind the podium,
the ceremony started with the recitation of verses from the Glorious
Qur'an.
Iraq's
new prime minister, Ayad Allawi, Al-Yawer and Vice Presidents Ibrahim
Jaffari and Roj Nuri Shawis were introduced to cheers from the crowd
including, U.S. overseer Paul Bremer.
Al-Yawer
launched a powerful appeal for a "pluralistic, federal and
democratic Iraq" to unite the country's ethnic communities.
"It
is my pledge to bring back Iraq's constructive phase and role within the
region and for Iraq to be a friend to its neighbors," he said.
He
also vowed to be "a loyal defender of your expectations in
restoring the complete sovereignty of our country and establishing a
democratic and federal system under which people enjoy a free
citizenship in a state of laws and freedom."
In
a reference to the U.S.-led forces, Al-Yawer said "we should
remember our friends who fell during the battle to liberate Iraq."
"In
conclusion I would like to remember our martyrs who have fallen for
freedom, for honor and for Iraq, and in the battle for the liberation of
Iraq," he noted.
Presenting
his cabinet, 58-year-old Allawi, who will hold most power in Iraq, said
that "after 35 years of tyrannical regime ... we are starting now
our march towards sovereignty and democracy."
He
added that his government would soon negotiate a crucial agreement on
the status of U.S.-led forces that will remain in Iraq.
Allawi
said Iraq needed international assistance to protect itself and work
through the tough challenges ahead.
"We
need the presence of multinational forces to defeat the enemies of
Iraq," he argued, before vowing to tackle some of the country's
biggest problems.
"We
want to deal with the unemployment problem, we want to deal with the
currency problem and we would like to increase productivity, including
electricity and (improve) the sewage and water networks," Allawi
said.
For
his part, U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said it had been a long and arduous
task getting as far as Tuesday's festivities.
"The
negotiations and deliberations and consultations were not easy."
However,
he lauded the outcome, arguing that "those who were chosen to
perform this mission will be qualified and effective and capable."
Addressing
the Iraqi people, the U.N. diplomat asked them to judge their new
government on the strength of their policies and actions, citing a
"real need for national unity".
"I
do not believe that the Iraqi people are unable to achieve this national
unity and rebuild what has been destroyed," he said.
Brahimi
further added that the Governing Council had settled on the eight-member
Iraqi electoral committee, which includes an international
representative, that will oversee the January 2005 national elections.
The
U.S. has said it will transfer sovereignty to the interim government on
June 30, but it is unclear how long U.S. troops will remain in Iraq and
how much control -- if any -- the government will have over them and
over the country's oil revenues.
Hoshyar
Zebari, who retained the position of foreign minister in the 36-member
government said before leaving for the United Nations in New York that
he would also insist on full sovereignty in talks with Security Council
members.
"This
will be the main target of our discussion. We want the transfer of
sovereignty to be full and to be genuine and for the Iraqi people to
feel it is a real change," he said.
