Iraqi vice president looms of imposing the emergency law, Falluja negotiations

While the American forces are preparing to launch a large- scale attack against Falluja and al-Ramadi, one of the chieftains of Falluja said that contacts are still continuous yesterday between members representing the city's delegation and the interim national council ( parliament) who will, by his turn, make contacts with the interim government to solve the crisis, peacefully.

For his part, the Iraqi interim prime minister Eyad Allawi said that the efforts made to solve the crisis with the people of Falluja are in the final phase, noting that "patience has limits." He explained in a press conference in Baghdad that the city has become a hostage for what he called terrorists.

In a press conference in Baghdad, Allawi announced that the security forces detained 167 Arab fighters in Iraq including Syrian, Sudanese, Saudis, Yemenis, Tunisians, Libyans, Lebanese and Moroccans. He also announced that an assistant for the former chairman of the revolution's leadership in Iraq, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, was arrested, but did not mention his name.

Concerning the deteriorated security conditions, the Iraqi interim vice president Ibrahim al-Jaafari loomed the possibility of implementing the emergency law in the country.

In conclusion of his meeting with the Shiite clergy Ayatullah Ali al-Seistani in Najaf, he said that there is no relation between the elections and the said law, noting that this law might be introduced during the elections or before it.

Al-Jafaari explained that if the emergency law is implemented " it will be in the tense areas with a set time for that." He accused international sides he did not name of trying to postpone the voting process set by the end of January 2005, under the pretext of the security condition. N.