THE US, THE UN AND IRAQ VI

INTERNATIONAL 02.21.2004 Saturday

Shiite Leader Sistani Threatens Intifada Against U.S.

Iraqi Shiite Leader Seyyid Ali Al-Sistani yesterday warned that he would call for an intifada (uprising) if American soldiers stayed in Iraq after the handover of power on June 30, 2004. He also insisted that there should be a significant role for the Shiite in the future administration of the country, as they make up the majority of the population.

Sistani spoke to the German magazine Der Spiegel and said: "The U.S. presence in Iraq should not be prolonged. The Iraqi public knows how to act. If the U.S. presence is drawn out longer than necessary, I will call for an intifada." The necessary posters reportedly have already been printed and are awaiting distribution to every corner of the country.

Sostani's comments come in the wake of Commander of the Coalition Ground Forces in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez's statement on Wednesday that American troops might continue their deployment in Iraq for years to come and U.S.-Appointed Administrator to Iraq Paul Bremer's request yesterday that coalition members to maintain a presence in Iraq until the end of December 2005.

The U.S. administration has reportedly dispensed with the idea of having pre-elections before June 30 and is currently working to expand the Iraqi Temporary Governing Council (TGC). The Washington Post has reported that as part of the TGC enlargement the number of council members would be increased from 25 to 125. The newly expanded TGC would then continue its investigations until the national elections.

'America Gave up Pre-Elections'

Sistani noted that the United Nations (UN) has charged the U.S. with the administration of Iraq until June 30, 2004, and he reported that the UN should monitor whether power will be handed over to the Iraqis. Sistani also demanded that preparations for the elections be finished as soon as possible. Additionally, he requested a guarantee from the U.N. that the elections would not be delayed and that Constitution would be based on the Sheri'a.



02.21.2004
Foreign News Services
Istanbul

Iraq may lay claim to Jordan, Kuwait in future

Sat Feb 21, 8:44 AM ET


BAGHDAD (AFP) - The president of the Iraqi interim Governing Council said that Baghdad could consider territorial claims over neighbouring Jordan and Kuwait in the future.


"We need our Arab brothers around us. Now, we cannot discuss this matter with them at all, but in the future, we'll see," said Mohsen Abdel Hamid, in response to a question from a Baghdad consultative council member.

Consultative council member Shaza Hadi al-Obeidi had asked Hamid about the status of territory, once part of Iraq (news - web sites), such as Jordan and Kuwait at an extraordinary meeting of the 37-member consultative council.

The session was also attended by three representatives of the US-led coalition and journalists.

Members of the council, which reflects Baghdad's majority Shiite Muslim population, were elected by district committees across the capital on July 1.

Iraq invaded Kuwait under Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) in 1990 and annexed the oil-rich Gulf kingdom as a 19th Iraqi province, before his troops beat a hasty retreat seven months later in the US-led 1991 Gulf war.

During British rule after the First World War, two branches of the Hashemite royal family had governed Iraq and Jordan.

Posted on Sun, Feb. 22, 2004

Bremer seeks extension for Iraq elections

By Edmund Sanders

LOS ANGELES TIMES

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The civil administrator for Iraq suggested Saturday that it could take as long as 15 months for elections to be held in Iraq, a timetable squarely at odds with that of the nation's leading Shiite cleric.

In an interview with the Arab television network Al-Arabiya, Coalition Provisional Authority head Paul Bremer said Iraq needs to build up the proper infrastructure to support elections.

"These technical problems will take time to fix," he told the Dubai-based network.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, in written remarks released Saturday, said the United States has been "stalling" and failing to take the necessary steps to prepare for elections before its scheduled June 30 transfer of power to an Iraqi transitional government.

Sistani, who had pushed for spring elections, said in written remarks that he would agree to a brief delay, but only with "clear assurances" to protect against additional postponements.

In written responses to questions from the German magazine Der Spiegel, he also called for a new U.N. resolution to set a firm election date that Iraqis can count on.

On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan confirmed that a team of U.N. electoral experts who visited Iraq this month had concluded that the nation would not be ready for elections until the end of the year or early 2005.

The new statements by Bremer and Sistani underscore the challenges faced by the United Nations as it attempts to broker a compromise and bring stability to the region.

In his TV remarks, Bremer said "the U.N. estimates somewhere between a year and 15 months" will be needed before elections can be held.

Bremer's comments come at a particularly sensitive time.

Already, many Iraqi Shiite leaders are suspicious that U.S. officials want to delay elections because they fear the Shiite majority -- constituting an estimated 60 percent of Iraq's population -- will take control of the government.

"This will raise even more doubts and suspicions about delays," said Hamid Bayati, a official with the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a Shiite party.

In ruling out elections prior to June 30, the U.N. experts cited security concerns and the current lack of voter rolls or election laws.

Sistani, in criticizing delays, made his most in-depth public comments about how he would like to see Iraq rebuilt.

Sistani said any transitional government that serves before full elections should be strictly limited in its authority.

The temporary body "should not be able to make important decisions related to future policies of the country," he said.

In other developments Saturday, U.S. military officials said an Iraqi translator was killed and four American soldiers were wounded when their convoy was attacked with small-arms fire in a morning ambush south of Iskandariyah.

In the town of Ad-Dujayl, a soldier with the 4th Infantry Division was killed Friday when he was struck by a vehicle while walking alongside the highway to assist a truck that had broken down, authorities said.

Both incidents are under investigation.

In other developments Saturday, U.S. military officials said an Iraqi translator was killed