On the London's Iraqi opposition conference
Iraq, Politics, 12/18/2002

The Iraqi opposition conference which was held in London on December 15- 16 seemed to have failed to maintain an agreement on details concerning the coming phase.

The conference declared the names of 65 persons who should compose members of the follow up committee whose number increased after the conclusion of the conference to 75. These figures were assigned to perform tasks relating to the provisional period after the collapse of the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and before founding the new regime which is agreed to be federal democratic. It was also agreed to hold a meeting for this committee on January 15, 2003 "in the liberated areas of northern Iraq." And therefore certain Iraqi opposition members immediately started implementing its work plan.

The representative for the Iraqi national council, Ahmad al-Jalabi, announced that all the signed oil agreements will be reconsidered in the era after Saddam Hussein. A position by al-Jalabi supported by the leader of the Kurdistani Democratic Party Jalal al-Talibani. The US welcomed the convening of the conference and its discussion of a future Iraq without Saddam Hussein. The spokesman for the White House said that the London conference represents a strong statement concerning the ambitions of the Iraqi people inside Iraq and the world for a better future, saying :We support these ambitions and looking forward to work together with all Iraqis to fulfil them.

According to participating side, the conference agreed to a list including the names of 49 figures of the officials of the current regime including Saddam Hussein, Ode and Qusai that should be tried, while other officials in the Iraqi regime will be governed by a general amnesty.

Meantime, five small Shiite groups announced withdrawal from the conference in protest of the absence of its representation, as the Shiite representation was embodied by Muhammad Baqer al-Hakim.

The Council which had a big share in the follow up committee rejected an American proposal to train and arm the Iraqi opposition.

Participants in the conference said that the special US delegate Zalmai Khalil Zada also held on Monday evening a meeting with a group representing various groups leaders and threatened that the US will resort to other alternatives, including the option of appointing a military ruler in Iraq ( after toppling the current regime ) if this conference will not end into an agreement. The participants in the conference adopted the same former representation agreed in the Iraqi opposition conference which was held in 1992 in Salah Eddine, Kurdistan, which is 66% for the Arabs ( Sunni and Shiite ), 25 % for the Kurds; 6% for the Turkmans and 3% for the Assurs, according to sources at the conference.

However, discussions took place in the conference on setting up a leading committee from 7 to 11 members, but differences resulted in postponing the formation of this committee, while representatives to the conference said that the post "of the secretary general" will be vacant at the meantime, so as to prevent any sectarian and ethnic group to claim its leadership.

Later on, the spokesman for the Higher Council of the Islamic Revolution, Hamid al-Bayatti, said that the preliminary committee decided after concluding the conference to raise number of the follow up committee from 65 to 75.

Previous Stories:
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