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Revue de Presse-Press Reviezv-Berhevoka ęape-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozełi

Politics of exclusion in Iraq

Last week’s national political conference in Baghdad was all but eclipsed by the armed standoff outside the Imam Ali Mosąue in Najaf. But the Baghdad politicking was just as important for the futurę prospects of a unified Iraq, and the outcome was mostly discouraging.

Although it brought together what was probably the most diverse col-lection of Iraąis ever to sit in a single hall and produced some glimmers of democratic debate, the conference largely failed to achieve the crucial purpose assigned to it in the plan-ning for a transition to a workable democracy. It was supposed to provide a broader base for gov-emance and constitutional compro-mise than Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s narrow, exile-dominated cabinet. That did not really happen. Instead, the gathering was controlled from beginning to end by a familiar cast of characters, drawn from the same narrow sources as the first U.S.-appointed Iraąi Governing Council. As a result, the Allawi gov-emment largely sąuandered its best single opportunity to draw disaf-fected Iraąis into peaceful politics in advance of next year’s elections.

The conference’s main task was to choose a 100-person interim assembly with the power to oversee the cabinet, veto legislation and approve the budget The United Nations and for-eign diplomats had been concerned that the interim govemment was not doing enough to draw in political in-dependents and regional leaders. Even morę ominously, the Allawi gov-emment had not sufficiently reached out to include radical Sunni national-ists and Shiite religious factions now tom between entering the political process and persisting in armed resis-tance. Leaving large numbers of them outside the tent makes morę of the kind of revolts seen in Falluja, Najaf and the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad almost inevitable.

In the end, many who should have attended were not present and the in-dependents who did show up were deprived of real power in choosing the assembly members.

Iraq is supposed to conduct three elections next year, starting with the selection of a transitional assembly with constitution-writing powers in January and culminating in the elec-tion of a fully constitutional govern-ment by the end of the year. No one is under any illusions that the process will produce a perfect democracy. But it must create an Iraq that is united and a govemment that is deemed le-gitimate by the Iraqi people. Bitter historie conflicts and contemporary tensions dividing the majority Shiite Arabs, minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds must be worked out.

The Kurds, who had the main re-sponsibility for organizing this conference, were well .represented through their two traditional clan-based parties. But protecting Kurd-ish interests inside a new Iraq rC-ąuires bargaining with all the important forces in the Sunni and Shiite Arab communities.

Sunni Arabs, the dominant group under Saddam Hussein — as well as under the monarchy, the British and the Ottoman Empire — need to feel that they are not now going to be vic-timized by the groups their former leaders trampled on. The new Iraq must find room for nationalist Sun-nis, including those who worked with the former Baathist govem-ment, not just politicians who spent the Saddam years in foreign exile. If too many of these people feel ex-cluded, they can cause serious trou-ble in Sunni nationalist strongholds like Falluja and Mosul. Shiite reli-gious radicals are also insufficiently represented by the exile-oriented Shiite parties allied with the Allawi govemment.

The temptation to exclude radicals, like those now following Mok-tada al-Sadr, is natural. But the events of the last few months have madę it obvious that groups that feel they have no say in the new govem-ment will find an outlet through oth-er, morę destructive means. The national conference was a rare opportunity to bring in excluded groups and make the elections meaningful. Regrettably, it fell well short of achieving those goals.

La situation s’enlise a Nadjaf

De violents affrontements ont eclatś hier a Nadjaf autour du mausolśe de 1’imam Ali apres des bombardements amśricains sur les positions des miliciens chiites. Les miliciens du chef radical Moątada al-Sadr attaąuaient au mortier les chars amśricains. postśs k environ 300 metres du mausolśe. alors que ces derniers ripostaient a coups de canon.

Dans la nuit de samedi a di-manche, l’aviation amśricaine a

mene au moins trois raids sur des positions rebelles prfes du mauso-lee. Ces confrontations sont inter-venues peu apres,qu’un porte-pa-role de Moątada al-Sadr, Ahmed Chaibani, eut annoneś la suspen-sion du transfert du mausolee. que les miliciens occupent depuis cinq mois. au grand ayatollah Ali Sis-tani pour des raisons de procedurę. Les negociations sur ce transfert butent sur la ąuestion de 1’estimation des biens du mauso-lśe, qui sont d'une trfcs grandę va-leur.

Le gouvernement intśrimaire exige depuis plusieurs jours que les miliciens ąuittent ce lieu saint chiite et dśsarment, les menaęant dans le cas contraire d'une vaste operation militaire. Deux miliciens ont śtó tuśs au combat depuis samedi. selon la cliniąue installśe dans 1’enceinte du mausolśe et chargóe de soigner les combat-tants.

L’ayatollah Sistani. la figurę reli-gieuse emblśmatiąue des chiites irakiens, a acceptó en principe de reprendre les clśs du mausolśe comme le lui propose le chef radical chiite Moątada al-Sadr mais il veut d’abord s'assurer que les miliciens de 1'Armśe du Mahdi n’ont pas pillś le site sacrś durant les cinq mois d’occupation.

Par ailleurs, le sort de deux jour-nalistes franęais, Georges Malbru-not du Figaro et Christian Chesnot de Radio France internationale (RFI), ainsi que celui de lTtalien Enzo Baldoni, suscitaient la plus vive inąuietude.

Pres de Baąubah (au nord de Bagdad), un vice-gouvemeur de la province k majoritś sunnite de Diyala. Gharsan Abbas al-Kha-dran. a echappś a un attentat sui-cide a la voiture piśgśe qui a fait deux morts. outre le kamikaze, et huit blessśs, selon des sources poli-ci^res et mśdicales. II s’agissait de

la deuxi^me tentative d’attentat contrę un vice-gouvemeur de cette province depuis le debut du mois.

A Kirkouk. des centaines de Tur-comans chiites ont manifeste dans les rues de la metropole petroli^re du nord du pays ou les rwalites eth-niąues sont fortes. lis protestaient conU-e les tentatives des Kurdes de la ville d'accaparer. selon eux. des terrains leur appartenant.

Enfin. les exportations de petrole par le sud de 1*Irak ont retrouve leur niveau normal depuis samedi soir, soit 85 000 barils par heure, apres une reduction de moitiś durant treize jours, a affirme hier un responsable de la Compagnie du petrole du sud. La decision de fer-mer un oleoduc avait śte prise a la suitę de menaces de miliciens chiites de le faire sauter, en raison des combats qui font ragę k Nadjaf. Cette baisse causait un manąue k gagner de 30 millions de dollars par jour. selon le gouvemement.

LE FIGARO

23 AO0T 2004