|
|
|
|
|
|
Iraqi
Opposition Names Leadership, Defies U.S. Plans
 |
|
Iraqi
opposition leaders named a six-member council they want to see in
the heart of any future government in post-Saddam Iraq
|
SALAHADDIN,
February 28 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Defying the
American plans to install a U.S.-led government after ousting Saddam
Hussein, Iraqi opposition groups named a unified leadership Friday,
February 28, after three days of intense talks in the Kurdish-held
northern Iraq.
Upbeat
opposition officials, eager to present themselves as a credible
force to be reckoned with, said hours of delicate closed-door debate
yielded a six-member council they want to see at the heart of a
future government in Iraq, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
"The
conference has been a good success. We have resolved all the
problems in the opposition," said Sami Abdul Rahman, a senior
member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) which hosted the
three-day talks.
The
council consist of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal
Talabani, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massoud
Barzani, the Iraqi National Congress (INC) leader Ahmad Chalabi,
leader of the Tehran-based Shiite Supreme Assembly for Islamic
Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI) Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, Ayad Allawi of the
Iraqi National Accord, as well as Iraqi dissident and former foreign
minister Adnan Pachachi.
Barzani
and Talabani are Kurds who have been sharing control of the north of
the country since they wrested autonomy from Saddam in 1991 and have
strong political and military credentials.
Al-Hakim
is a conservative Shiite, and his group has its own militia with
backing from Iran.
Chalabi
and Allawi, also Shiites, are secular dissidents and have been close
to the CIA.
Abdul
Rahman said the opposition had also formed 14 committees, which
roughly match the functions of various ministries, a challenge to
Washington which has urged the groups here not to form a
government-in-exile.
Challenging
Washington
 |
|
"I
already rejected the offers that were made to me and am sticking
to my position," said Pachachi
|
The
largely upbeat mood here has been severely tempered by concerns that
the U.S. will sideline the opposition by installing a military
administration headed by a U.S. commander.
An
earlier U.S. press report claimed that a now-finalized blueprint
stipulate that Washington plans to take complete, unilateral control
of Iraq after the post-Saddam era with an interim administration
headed by a yet-to-be named American who would direct the
reconstruction of Iraq and the creation of a
"representative" Iraqi government.
The
Washington Post said that an Iraqi government to be at the helm
in Baghdad was
prohibited by Washington, as Iraqi opposition were informed
last week that the United States will not recognize an Iraqi
provisional government being discussed by some expatriate groups.
The
Kurd leaders were
also enraged by the U.S plot to occupy the country, saying it
resulted from pressure from U.S. allies in the Middle East.
Furthermore,
U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who played a central role in the
formation of a post-Taliban government in Afghanistan, told
delegates that a future government had to include "those who
have suffered under Saddam".
That
provoked fears that elements of Saddam's Baath party could remain in
power.
Turkish
Intervention Feared
A
senior KDP official also kept up the sabre-rattling over a deal
between the U.S. and Ankara that could allow Turkish troops to enter
northern Iraq, by describing any such agreement as a
"betrayal" and vowing that such an incursion would meet
stiff resistance.
"To
allow Turkish forces into Iraqi Kurdistan despite the total
objection of our people is a betrayal.
"It
is not fair that for your own benefit you sacrifice our
people," said Abdul Rahman.
"In
my lifetime, twice the United States government has betrayed
us," he recalled, referring to the catastrophic Kurdish
uprisings of 1975 and 1991.
"Now,
if this goes ahead, it will be a third betrayal in one
generation."
"Our
people are going to resist it with all the means that are at their
disposal," he vowed, accusing Ankara of "19th century
expansionism and colonialism" and warning "regional
conflict".
The
final statement refused any Turkish military intervention into Iraq
during the looming U.S.-led invasion.
Abdul
Rahman said he had been led to believe that the U.S. was willing to
allow 40,000 Turkish troops establish a 25 kilometer-deep buffer
zone into Iraqi Kurdistan, in return for having a key northern front
against Saddam.
Turkey,
which already has some 2,000 troops in northern Iraq, is concerned
that a war could break up Iraq and encourage Kurds to declare
independence, setting an example to the sizeable Kurdish community
in Turkey's southeast.
The
Turkish Parliament is to vote
on a government motion seeking approval of a U.S. deployment
for a possible invasion of neighboring Iraq, with rift deepening the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) as to allowing the U.S.
troops in.
Commenting
on the Iraqi opposition conference, Gawal Ali Director of the
Strategic Studies Center in Baghdad stressed that the opposition
factions disagreed on every thing except for destroying Iraq.
The
conference final statement reflected the opposition differences with
the United States, Ali said, adding that by planning occupying Iraq
for two or three years after the war, Washington war will lead to
radical political change in the region.
The
new line-up proposed by the Iraqi opposition immediately hit a snag
when the sole Arab Sunni Muslim named to the council said he would
not serve on the body.
Pachachi,
who was not attending the meeting, said he had already turned down
the offer to join the council and would not budge.
"I
was surprised to find my name among the members of the
leadership," Pachachi said in a statement.
The
80-year-old exile, who lives in Abu Dhabi, added he had
"already informed the organizers of the meeting my objections
and opinion on such a project."
"I
already rejected the offers that were made to me and am sticking to
my position," he added.
Pachachi's
statement was a blow to the opposition's efforts to woo the Arab
Sunni minority that has dominated Iraq and its mosaic of ethnic
groups since the country was established in 1922.
There
was no immediate reaction to Pachachi's statement in Salahaddin
where opposition members appeared happy with the conference's
results.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
