.Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Baszn Özeti
WÉ, THE DE'MOCRATIC,
Iraqi opposition, are the
natural friends and allies
of the United States. We
share its values and longterm
goals ofpeace, stabil- '
ity, freedom and democracy
for Iraq. We are here,
in Iraqi Kurdistan 40miles
from Saddam's troops and
il few days away from a
conferènce ,to plan our
next move, a comerence
that some key administration
officials have done everYthing in
their power to postpone.
, None the less, after weeks of effort in
Tehran and northern Iraq, we have prevailed.
The meeting will take place. It
, will discuss a detailed plan for the creation
of an Iraqi leadership, one that is in
a position to assume power at the appr-,
pnate time and in the appropriate place.
We will be opposed no doubt by an
American deiegation if it chooses to
, attend. Whether or not they do join us in
the comingf'ew days in northern Iraq,
we wiU fight.their attempts to marginalise
and shunt aside the men and
women who have invested whole life.
times, and suffèred greatly, fighting Sad.
dam Hussein. .
To the President who so clearly wants
to see a democratic Iraq, and to the
American public that put its trust in
him, I say: support us.
'
Iraqi opposition slams
plan for military governor
by Luke Harding with the top two officials in ' across Britain yesterday were, emment apparently endorsed
Sulaymaniyah, northem Iraq each Iraqi ministry replaced misguided. 'I would urge. a plan that would leave the
by US military officers. them to think again,' he said. ,minority SUIlDielite, which
A LEADING figure in Iraq's 'The plan is bizarre. It is 'War is a horrible thing to has run Iraq for decades, in
opposition last night rounded Baathism with an American wish on anyone. But I firmly power, even though most of
on Nnerican plans to install face,' said Makiya,an Iraqi believe that the Iraqi people Iraq's 23 million inhabitants
a US military governor in author and professor at Bran- want the US to get rid of Sad. are Shiite.
Baghdad to rule post-war deis University in Massachu- dam. Blair is doing the right The Iraqi opposition is also
Iraq, describing the plans as setts. thing.' deeply suspicious of an agreean
'unmitigated disaster', The country needed to Chalabi was especially ment between Washington
'deeplystupid'anda'mess'. undE1rgo a process of 'de- scathingoftheGermangov- and Turkeythatwill seethou.
In ah interview with The Baathification' similar to the !lrnment, which he said was sands of Turkish troops enter
Observer, Kanan Makiya, an ' de-Nazification of post-war led by 'ageingGerman leftists northern Iraq, ostensibly for
adviser to Iraq's main opposi .• 'Germany, he added. wishing to absolve their con- humanitarian purposes.
tion group, the Iraqi National The White House has been science at the expense of the . Turkey, with its own disaf-
Congress, said America now badly stung by Makiya's Iraqi people'. It was Germany fected Kurdish population,
appeared to have dumped its criticism, and urged him last which had supplied Saddam wants its military to occupy
commitment to bring West. week not to publish a hostile with cheniical weapons in the northern Iraq to prevent Kurem-style
democracy to Iraq. opinion piece,' arguing it 1980s,he pointed out. dish groups from seizipg the
Instead, under pressure from would be 'counter.produc- , The Pentagon and the vice- oil-rich northern city of
Saudi Arabia and the Arab tive'. The Observer today president Dick Cheney are Kirkuk and proCiaiming an
.Gulf states, Washington was prints his article in full. broadly in favour ofintroduc. autonomous Kurdish homepreparing
to leave Iraqunder Yesterday the chairman of ing Western;style democracy land.
the control of President Sad- the Iraqi National Congress, to Iraq but the State Depart- The two Kurdish parties
dam Hussein's Baath Party. Ahmad Chalabi, who many ment under Colin Powell and which have controlled a
'This would be an unmiti- people .had expected to the CIA believe it could have mountainous enclave of
gated disaster for the long- become Iraq's new president, a destabilising influence on northern Iraq since 1991insist
term relationship between also derided Washingtonôs the region. ,; that tliey want only a
the US and the Iraqi people,' proposals. 'The vision of hav- Iraq's neighbours, Saudi regional government. Itnow'
he said. 'The Irac}iopposition ing US military officers three Arabia and TUrkey, are also seems that their militias will
is going to become anti-Amer- deep in every ministry is not veheftlently opposed to any play virtually no role in liberican
the day after liberation. workable,' he told The federal arr\lngement. that ating Iraq and that, following
Itis a great irony.' Observer. gives power to Iraq's Kurds or pressure from Washington,
Iraq's democratic opposi- Chalabi, who lives in Lon- Shiites. they willleave the job to the
tion parties are meeting this don, said demonstrators who Chalabi said he was dis- American military,
week in Kurdish-controlled attended anti-war protests mayed that the British gov. An Iraqi opposition confernorthern
Iraq to finalise plans
ence scheduled for this week
for a transitional govern- 'I f"lrmly has so fàrbeen delayed three
ment. But their vision of a times, with Washington makpost-Saddam
administration bel"leve the ing it clear it regards the'
is deeply at odds with propos- meeting as an unhelpful disaIs
set out last week by Presi- I traction. Khalilzad has now
dent George Bush's special Iraq i peop e reluctantly agreed to turn up.
envoy to Iraq Zalmay Chalabi said opponents in
Khalilzad - and apparently want the US Britain of a US-led war in Iraq
endorsed by the Foreign preferred to ignore the brutal
Office. Under the plan a US to get rid of reality of Saddam's regime.
military governor would rule 'There is a strong streak of
post.war Iraq for up to a year. Saddam' anti-Americanism in Britain
The infrastructure of Sad- and Europe that blinds them.'
dam's ruling Baath party Ahmad Chalabi
would remain largely intact,
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