Iraqis in exile oppose the war

Iraqis in exile have expressed rejection to any war against Iraq and called for the establishment of a democratic regime by peaceful means. This was expressed during the general annual meeting for the Iraqi National Alliance at the end of last week in Paris.

In a document, the Iraqi National Alliance condemned "the American individualistic attitude," stressing that it "still considers that this continued aggressive war which threatened Iraq's independence is but a reflection to the American hegemony policy aiming at destroying the national will and controlling Iraq's resources and the resources of the Arab nation." One of the organizers of this meeting which was held last Sunday, Touma Subhi, the chairman of the French committee against the war, said that "we are working to establish a democratic trend in Iraq by embarking on peaceful means, and these include having negotiations with the ruling party." He added that some 200 Iraqi delegates took part in the meeting which lasted Saturday and Sunday in a hotel in Paris, as well as figures from Arab and European countries.

However, a delegation representing the Iraqi National Alliance which includes 6 political formations and is led by Abdul Jabbar al-Kubeisi in November 2002 paid an unprecedented visit to Baghdad during which he stressed that Iraq is preparing to adopt a new constitution permitting party pluralism.