Iraqi Caretaker Government Takes Temporary Authority
Explosion Shakes Green Zone Just After Announcement of New President
(Esta é a 'carinha' do novo 'Presidente' do Iraque)
BAGHDAD, June 1 -- A new caretaker government, carefully apportioned among Iraq's religious and ethnic groups, assumed temporary authority from the Iraqi Governing Council Tuesday after a month of wrangling.
The U.S. appointed Iraqi Governing Council then dissolved itself, as planned. Before it did, however, it managed to get most, if not all, of its choices installed in office.
Ghazi Yawar, a U.S. educated tribal sheik and council member, was chosen as the president of the interim government after the U.S. favorite, Adnan Pachachi, turned down the job because he lacked support from authority members.
The interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, then proceeded to appoint the cabinet that will oversee the transition to what President Bush has called "full sovereignty" on June 30.
Ominously, an explosion and gunfire shook the Convention Center within the protected Coalition Provisional Authority Green Zone just after the announcement of the new president was made by U.N. representative Lakhdar Brahimi, who has been overseeing the selection process. American troops flooded the area and fighter jets streaked overhead.
There was no immediate confirmation as to what had happened or any details of casualties. Wire services reported an attack, with fatalities, on the headquarters of a Kurdish party near the entrance to the Green Zone.
"The people of Iraq will be praying . . . for the success of their mission," said Brahimi, after a morning of rapid-fire developments.
Under the current plan, the caretaker government will convene an assembly of a thousand people next month. The assembly, in turn, will choose a national council of one hundred that will help oversee the government and exercise veto power over the cabinet council of ministers.
The process is ultimately designed to lead to an election and the formation of a permanent government for Iraq. Analysts universally believe that the caretaker government's success will be determined in part by the extent to which the Iraqi people believe it to be legitimate rather than a U.S. tool. It is also likely to confront an intensification of violence during the transition, U.S. officials believe, that will severely test its stability.
The blast Tuesday underscored that threat, as did preparations for a formal ceremony amid the heavy armored presence of the U.S. Army.
In the meantime, the interim leaders will get on-the-job training to get them ready for June 30.
That is apparently not all they have in mind, however. It was clear Tuesday that Iraq's temporary leaders are determined to influence the wording of the U.N. resolution currently under discussion that will set out the terms of the handover of authority.
Yawar, along with others on the governing council, has been critical of the draft resolution because it gives too little control to Iraqis over security and the activities of U.S. troops.
"We the Iraqis look forward to being granted full sovereignty through a Security Council resolution to enable us to rebuild a free, independent, democratic and federal unified homeland," Yawar told a news conference.
Hoshiyar Zebari, newly appointed as foreign minister on Tuesday, was heading for New York to lobby the United Nations for full sovereignty when the U.S. occupation authority relinquishes power on June 30.
During the past few weeks, there were indications of significant disagreement between the U.S. occupying authority and the Governing Council about who would do what in the interim government.
But a senior U.S. official in Iraq, who asked not to be identified, played it down Tuesday. "The interim government that was unveiled today was the result of hundreds of conversations with thousands of people," he said.
While the consultations were "intense," he said there was no pressure applied by U.S. officials.
He said that when L. Paul Bremer, the civilian administrator of the U.S. occupation, consulted the White House about the two top presidential contenders, he was told that "either of them would make an excellent president of Iraq and we don't have a favorite."
Iraq is divided ethnically among majority Shiite Muslims, who are concentrated in the south; once-dominant Sunni Muslims, concentrated in the regions north and west of Baghdad; and Kurds, who have their own semi-autonomous region in the far north. Rivalries among the groups are longstanding and intense, as are rivalries within each group.
Yawar, a 45-year-old engineer with a master's degree from George Washington University, is a Sunni Muslim who lived in exile. He is a leader of one of Iraq's largest tribes, the Shamar, whose members include many Shiites as well as Sunnis. Because of that he has had the strong backing of the council's Shiite majority. He also enjoys the support of the council's Kurdish members.
Allawi, is the leader of the Iraqi National Accord, which worked in exile with the CIA for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. He is a Shiite.
One of two vice-presidents, Ibrahim Jaafari, is the leader of the Shiite Dawa Islamic Party.
The other vice president, Rowsch Shaways, is a Kurd from one of two rival Kurdish political parties.
Barham Saleh, the deputy prime minister for national security, represents the other Kurdish party.
The Bush administration had said it would allow U.N. envoy Brahimi to select the interim government, a task he has been performing in consultation with a wide range of Iraqi organizations and leaders. But council members insisted that Brahimi's role was subordinated by U.S. officials who want a new government that is closely allied with Washington.
Brahimi, in turn, had said he wanted to form an interim government made up largely of politically independent technocrats who would act as caretakers until national elections are held early next year, effectively minimizing the role of politicians from the council. He had not intended to give the council veto power, on the grounds that it lacks broad legitimacy in Iraq.
Tuesday, Brahimi issued the following statement: "Consultations for the formation of the Iraqi Interim Government have been going on without interruption throughout the four weeks which have elapsed since my United Nations colleagues and I returned to Baghdad.
"These consultations have involved the Governing Council, the Coalition Provisional Authority, and a very large number of representatives of the Iraqi public, including political parties, professional associations, trade unions, tribal and religious leaders, academics and intellectuals, women's and youth organizations, and others.
"I am pleased to announce that, on Sunday, I handed over to His Excellency Prime Minister Designate Ayad Allawi my recommendations concerning the composition of his Cabinet."
By Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, June 1, 2004; 9:34 AM
Explosion Shakes Green Zone Just After Announcement of New President
(Esta é a 'carinha' do novo 'Presidente' do Iraque)
BAGHDAD, June 1 -- A new caretaker government, carefully apportioned among Iraq's religious and ethnic groups, assumed temporary authority from the Iraqi Governing Council Tuesday after a month of wrangling.
The U.S. appointed Iraqi Governing Council then dissolved itself, as planned. Before it did, however, it managed to get most, if not all, of its choices installed in office.
Ghazi Yawar, a U.S. educated tribal sheik and council member, was chosen as the president of the interim government after the U.S. favorite, Adnan Pachachi, turned down the job because he lacked support from authority members.
The interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, then proceeded to appoint the cabinet that will oversee the transition to what President Bush has called "full sovereignty" on June 30.
Ominously, an explosion and gunfire shook the Convention Center within the protected Coalition Provisional Authority Green Zone just after the announcement of the new president was made by U.N. representative Lakhdar Brahimi, who has been overseeing the selection process. American troops flooded the area and fighter jets streaked overhead.
There was no immediate confirmation as to what had happened or any details of casualties. Wire services reported an attack, with fatalities, on the headquarters of a Kurdish party near the entrance to the Green Zone.
"The people of Iraq will be praying . . . for the success of their mission," said Brahimi, after a morning of rapid-fire developments.
Under the current plan, the caretaker government will convene an assembly of a thousand people next month. The assembly, in turn, will choose a national council of one hundred that will help oversee the government and exercise veto power over the cabinet council of ministers.
The process is ultimately designed to lead to an election and the formation of a permanent government for Iraq. Analysts universally believe that the caretaker government's success will be determined in part by the extent to which the Iraqi people believe it to be legitimate rather than a U.S. tool. It is also likely to confront an intensification of violence during the transition, U.S. officials believe, that will severely test its stability.
The blast Tuesday underscored that threat, as did preparations for a formal ceremony amid the heavy armored presence of the U.S. Army.
In the meantime, the interim leaders will get on-the-job training to get them ready for June 30.
That is apparently not all they have in mind, however. It was clear Tuesday that Iraq's temporary leaders are determined to influence the wording of the U.N. resolution currently under discussion that will set out the terms of the handover of authority.
Yawar, along with others on the governing council, has been critical of the draft resolution because it gives too little control to Iraqis over security and the activities of U.S. troops.
"We the Iraqis look forward to being granted full sovereignty through a Security Council resolution to enable us to rebuild a free, independent, democratic and federal unified homeland," Yawar told a news conference.
Hoshiyar Zebari, newly appointed as foreign minister on Tuesday, was heading for New York to lobby the United Nations for full sovereignty when the U.S. occupation authority relinquishes power on June 30.
During the past few weeks, there were indications of significant disagreement between the U.S. occupying authority and the Governing Council about who would do what in the interim government.
But a senior U.S. official in Iraq, who asked not to be identified, played it down Tuesday. "The interim government that was unveiled today was the result of hundreds of conversations with thousands of people," he said.
While the consultations were "intense," he said there was no pressure applied by U.S. officials.
He said that when L. Paul Bremer, the civilian administrator of the U.S. occupation, consulted the White House about the two top presidential contenders, he was told that "either of them would make an excellent president of Iraq and we don't have a favorite."
Iraq is divided ethnically among majority Shiite Muslims, who are concentrated in the south; once-dominant Sunni Muslims, concentrated in the regions north and west of Baghdad; and Kurds, who have their own semi-autonomous region in the far north. Rivalries among the groups are longstanding and intense, as are rivalries within each group.
Yawar, a 45-year-old engineer with a master's degree from George Washington University, is a Sunni Muslim who lived in exile. He is a leader of one of Iraq's largest tribes, the Shamar, whose members include many Shiites as well as Sunnis. Because of that he has had the strong backing of the council's Shiite majority. He also enjoys the support of the council's Kurdish members.
Allawi, is the leader of the Iraqi National Accord, which worked in exile with the CIA for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. He is a Shiite.
One of two vice-presidents, Ibrahim Jaafari, is the leader of the Shiite Dawa Islamic Party.
The other vice president, Rowsch Shaways, is a Kurd from one of two rival Kurdish political parties.
Barham Saleh, the deputy prime minister for national security, represents the other Kurdish party.
The Bush administration had said it would allow U.N. envoy Brahimi to select the interim government, a task he has been performing in consultation with a wide range of Iraqi organizations and leaders. But council members insisted that Brahimi's role was subordinated by U.S. officials who want a new government that is closely allied with Washington.
Brahimi, in turn, had said he wanted to form an interim government made up largely of politically independent technocrats who would act as caretakers until national elections are held early next year, effectively minimizing the role of politicians from the council. He had not intended to give the council veto power, on the grounds that it lacks broad legitimacy in Iraq.
Tuesday, Brahimi issued the following statement: "Consultations for the formation of the Iraqi Interim Government have been going on without interruption throughout the four weeks which have elapsed since my United Nations colleagues and I returned to Baghdad.
"These consultations have involved the Governing Council, the Coalition Provisional Authority, and a very large number of representatives of the Iraqi public, including political parties, professional associations, trade unions, tribal and religious leaders, academics and intellectuals, women's and youth organizations, and others.
"I am pleased to announce that, on Sunday, I handed over to His Excellency Prime Minister Designate Ayad Allawi my recommendations concerning the composition of his Cabinet."
By Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, June 1, 2004; 9:34 AM
publicado por MP às 15:27
