Oman accepted governing council to be represented at AL; al-Jaafari: we have witnessed unprecedented Arab welcome
Oman yesterday notified the Arab League its support for the Iraqi transitional council to occupy Baghdad's seat at the AL, thereby Oman is the first Arab state to recognize the legitimacy of this council.
Oman's ambassador to the AL Abdul Aziz Hana' stressed his country's support for the Iraqi governing council and its desire not to have Iraq "outside the Arab League." He said he has handed over the secretary general of the Arab League Amr Moussa a message from Oman minister of state for foreign affairs relating to current development on the Arab arena especially in Iraq and Palestine.
Hana' expressed his country's support over the participation of the transitional governing council to the meetings of the Arab League and "Representing Iraq in all international circles so as to be able to defend its sovereignty."
Meantime, the AL received a memorandum from the committee in charge of defending the Iraqi people in which it stressed "rejections of the Iraqi national forces the representation of the governing council in the Arab League." Chairman of the committee Muzheir al-Deimi said following a meeting with Moussa in Cairo yesterday "it is better that Iraq's seat will remain empty until an elected government is formed instead of being occupied by the governing council which is appointed by the occupation." Al-Deimi added that the support of certain Arab states to the council is "catastrophe and will lead to Iraq's fall and the emergence of a new Lebanon," a reference to the civil war Lebanon underwent.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the governing council Ibrahim al-Jaafari who returned on Tuesday to Baghdad in conclusion of an Arab tour said "I feel very happy after our Arab tour which covered seven states members in the Arab League, because I found that the leaderships of these countries at highest levels understand the reality of what is taking place in Iraq and optimistically careful to have Iraq occupied a progressive position enjoying security and economic prosperity."
He said that the "welcome was unprecedented." However, the tour of the Iraqi governing council covered in addition to the Arab League, seven Arab states which are respectively the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The delegation was presumed to visit Yemen. But the visit was postponed.