Anger sweeps tribes; Sheikh and former Iraqi soldiers
Iraq-USA, Politics, 6/3/2003

The Iraqi groups yesterday retaliated to the decision of the American occupation to form a "consultation" political council that will help in ruling the country. They stressed yesterday clinging to convening a national conference, while anger increased in the lines of the Iraqi tribes chieftains who left a meeting they had in Baghdad with a high ranking American official.

Meantime, the American administrator of Iraq Paul Bremer announced the occupation will start recruiting new members for a new Iraqi army by the end of the current month June. This step, however, coincided with the escalation of the protest movement in the lines of members of the old army, which was desolved on May 23 to the extent of launching new resistance attacks.

Meantime, the spokesman for the Kurdistani democratic party, Hoshyar Zeibari, said following a meeting for the "7- member council" of the former Iraqi opposition that he is committed to our plan to convene a national conference representing all political sides and forces. Yesterday the seven- member council met for two hours for consultation over a plan proposed by Bremer on Sunday, providing for forming a "political council" and canceling the national conference which was announced to be organized weeks earlier.

Zeibari said that the plan of convening "the national conference is still valid and we are committed to it and it will be held," stressing that Bremer and his British assistant John Soars do not oppose it. He added "we have decided to continue dialogue with the coalition to ask it for more explanations on the mechanism of founding a political council and a constituent society.

The secretary general of the council of Iraqi tribes, Sheikhs Raad al-Hamadani, said that "400 tribe chieftains met yesterday for the third time with the American officials headed by Horn, the advisor to Bremer, in order to discuss several issues, mainly the unity of the Iraqi territories from the north to the south, rejecting partition, sectarianism and ethnic discrimination." He added that the "council represents 80% of the leaders of Iraq's Sheikhs from all over Iraqi governorates who were represented by 400 Sheikhs who all agreed to the 16 points demanding restoring back security and reconsidering several issues especially desolving the Iraqi army, the police and the national council ( the parliament)."

Following the meeting, one tribe chief Riad al-Assadi said "all the Iraqi people are a time bomb which will explode in the face of the Americans if they do not end their occupation," stressing "we refuse to deal with the occupation." Al-Assadi said "the Iraqi people did not fight the Americans during the war, rather the partisans of support. But if the Iraqi people decide to fight them now they will face great difficulties."

Previous Stories:
  Baghdad's airport is still exposed to attacks, Basra rejects appointed British ruler   (6/2/2003)
  Occupation abrogates national conference for direct rule with an Iraqi consultation council   (6/2/2003)
  Libya severs relations with Iraq   (6/2/2003)

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