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Iraq's small step for
democracy
By
Valentinas Mite
PRAGUE - The Iraqi governing
council on Monday held its first full session, forming
three working committees and agreeing on other
organizational issues. The council, which was formally
constituted on Sunday, was expected to name a leader,
but a council spokesman, Hoshyar Zebari, said that a
decision has been postponed.
The council is
Iraq's first political body since the US-led war in Iraq
brought the collapse of the ruling Saddam Hussein
regime. The 25-member group - selected following a
series of negotiations between Iraqi groups and American
officials - will help the US civil administration run
Iraq until the country is handed over to a
democratically-elected government.
The council
includes representatives from a wide range of key Iraqi
groups. It consists of 13 Shi'ite, five ethnic Kurds,
five Sunni Arabs, one Christian (Assyrian) and one
Turkoman. The composition of the council is an attempt
to reflect the country's diverse demographic and
religious groups.
The new body also includes
leaders of the main Iraqi political parties. Among them
are Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmad Chalabi, Abd
al-Aziz al-Hakim of the Shi'ite group the Supreme
Assembly for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, and Mas'ud
Barzani and Jalal Talabani, the leaders of the two
leading Kurdish parties. Nine members of the council are
former emigres who returned to Iraq after years abroad;
seven lived in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq.
Lesser-known Iraqis, many of whom remained in the
country during Saddam's rule, dominate the panel. Three
women are included on the council, as is a human rights
activist and a member of Iraq's Communist Party.
The council will have the power to approve and
nominate ministers, review laws, sign contracts and
approve the national budget. It will also appoint
members of a committee to draft a new constitution ahead
of free elections. However, ultimate control over the
country will still be in the hands of US civil
administrator L Paul Bremer, who has veto power over the
council's decisions. Bremer has said he will follow the
council's decisions under all but the most extraordinary
circumstances.
Adnan Pachachi, a member of the
council and an Iraqi foreign minister during the
pre-Saddam era in the 1960s, is widely expected to be
chosen to head the group. Pachachi says that he is
confident the council's decisions will be respected and
"differences of opinion will be managed easily through
consultations".
Officials and politicians in
Baghdad have praised the formation of the council and
its future role. Speaking to the council, the United
Nations special representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira
de Mello, said Iraq is "moving back to where it
rightfully belongs: at peace with itself and as a full
participant in the community of nations".
Entifadh Qanbar, a spokesman for the Iraqi
National Congress, said, "We are witnessing history in
the making. This is the first post-Saddam government.
This is the first time when Iraqis are participating in
a genuine way in their own political process. This is
the opening of a new Iraqi state that respects human
rights and considers democracy and considers
international constructive relations with the rest of
the world."
However, it is still unclear what
concrete role the council will play in shaping the
country's future. Neil Partrick is an analyst with the
Middle East and Africa section of the Economist
Intelligence Unit in London. He says that it is clear
that the powers of the council will remain insubstantial
for some time, simply because there are no ministries -
except for the oil ministry - for the council to
control.
Partrick says that the council's role
for the time being may be largely advisory. "I think the
first thing it's going to be doing is working closely
with Ambassador Bremer," Partrick said. "And that was
early on described as an advisory role, [but is] now
being re-presented as him consulting with them. I think
that's really more a matter of semantics."
Partrick says that the council's role may
increase once Iraqi ministries are established, but it
is unlikely that it will fully control areas such as
defense. He also says the council will have a role in
shaping Iraq's future constitution. "The other role,
which seems to be quite important for [the council], is
to have some input - it's not quite clear how - into the
planned constitutional convention. [This has], of
course, for some time been in the mind of the coalition
authorities [as] a much wider body, but I would imagine
the governing council would play a role in trying to
draw people into that." Overall, he says the events on
the ground will determine the role the council will play
and that overall it is now hard to say if the council
represents a "permanent model" for the future Iraqi
government.
The composition of the council
indicates that the US civilian administration envisages
an unprecedented role for Iraqi Shi'ites. Shi'ite
Muslims make up some 62 percent of the population, but
Sunni Arabs have traditionally held political power in
Iraq. The current council has 13 Shi'ite members and
only 11 Sunnis, themselves divided between several
ethnic groups, including Kurds.
Partrick says
Sunni Arabs may have some difficulty accepting the
shift. He says the resistance against the coalition
forces is strongest in the predominant Sunni Arab areas
north and west of Baghdad not only because Sunnis
support Saddam but also because of "genuine suspicion"
among many Sunnis that the "new Iraq" will be dominated
by Shi'ite politicians.
But Partrick says
Shi'ite council members appear determined to put Iraq's
national interests first, something which may help gloss
over their historic differences with Sunnis. The biggest
task facing the council, he says, is to win the hearts
of ordinary Iraqis. "The difficulty, of course, is
whether that governing council can command the authority
of ordinary Iraqis, those who aren't engaged in armed
resistance - which of course is a great majority," he
said.
An AP report reported some Iraqi civilians
welcomed the council's creation. Razzak Abdul-Zahra, a
35-year-old engineer, said the opening session marked
"the birth of democracy in the country". However, others
are skeptical of US intentions. Bassem al-Duleimi, a
22-year-old university student, said he did not want to
see "this council used by the Americans as a tool to
achieve their goals in Iraq".
The reaction
abroad is mixed as well. Amr Moussa, the head of the
Arab League, questioned what real powers the council
will have. He said the body "would have gained much more
power and credibility" if the members were elected
instead of appointed. Russian Foreign Minister Igor
Ivanov said the council is "a step in the right
direction" and added that Moscow wants to see power
transferred to the Iraqi people "as soon as possible".
Copyright (c) 2002, RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted
with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC
20036
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