Iraqis OK Plan for Temporary Governing Council

SALAHUDDIN, Iraq -- Representatives of seven key Iraqi political parties took the first step toward the transition to a democratically elected government on Monday, approving a plan by U.S. civil administrator L. Paul Bremer III to create a temporary governing council.

The unanimous decision by the diverse groups that had stood in opposition to Saddam Hussein set in motion a process that will lead to the establishment of a government to succeed the long tyranny of the ousted dictator’s Baath Party.

The seven factions’ participation in the council, which is expected to give the body greater credibility with Iraqis, had been in doubt. Until recently, there had been a “serious possibility” that some groups would boycott the council, said Zaab Sethna of the Iraqi National Congress, who attended the gathering in this northern mountain resort.

Sethna said the Iraqis were swayed by “concessions” offered by Bremer, among them calling the body a governing council rather than a political council to reflect the fact that more power would be put in the hands of Iraqis. The Iraqis, not Bremer, will be able to nominate members of the council. The council will have the power to appoint interim ministers.

The creation of an Iraqi council and an interim administration has taken on a new urgency at a time when the U.S. occupation looks increasingly messy. At least 29 U.S. servicemen have been killed since President Bush declared major combat over two months ago, and there are an average of 13 attacks daily on American troops in the country.

Bremer’s Coalition Provisional Authority is also hampered by sabotage, foot-dragging and general confusion as it tries to restore electricity and other basic services, increase employment and begin postwar reconstruction.

Judging by the style of the meeting, the government that emerges from this new process will be far more transparent and pluralistic than any Iraq has known.

At the 30-foot-long conference table in a cool, well-appointed guesthouse, there were no uniforms. Instead, it was mostly men in business suits. Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani wore a loose, checkered turban, and one man was in traditional Arab dress. One woman also attended.

The United States will remain the legal occupying power in Iraq until its authority is turned over to a permanent elected government in one or two years. Bremer set a target of mid-July for convening the council as a way to begin giving Iraqis a chance to govern themselves.

Left open for now was the question of the mechanism for calling a convention to draft Iraq’s new constitution. One of the country’s main Shiite clerics, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, issued a fatwa, or edict, last week saying that the constitution should be written by elected delegates. Many Shiites want to make sure that the new constitution has a religious character recognizing the importance of Islam to Iraq.

At Monday’s meeting, held in the Kurdish-controlled part of northern Iraq, politicians said they were optimistic that the founding of the Iraqi council would help the Americans turn the corner and get a grip on at least some of the problems.

“It will help. There is no doubt about it,” said Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

“The moment the governing council is set up, things are going to be better,” said another Kurdish official, Falah Bakir, “because Iraqis are going to be involved.”

Bremer bruised the feelings of the seven anti-Hussein parties when he arrived in Iraq in May. He immediately dropped the previous idea of holding a large national conference of Iraqis to set up an interim government. Making clear that the United States intended to stay in charge for the time being, he instead offered up proposals for an advisory “political council” of Iraqis -- appointed by the U.S. -- to advise coalition officials.

The parties, most of which had supported the United States and opposed Hussein’s government from abroad, felt they were being pushed aside as Bremer searched for new allies inside Iraq. They argued that the small American and British political staff did not have the ability to reach the grass roots of Iraqi society to end the chaos that has marred the three months since the fall of Hussein.

They say that since then much goodwill has been squandered among the Iraqi people, and that Hussein loyalists have benefited from the delays and confusion.

In the past six weeks, however, the parties believe they have succeeded in endowing the council with greater powers.

“There has been a big change in Bremer’s attitude about this council and about his interactions with Iraqis,” Sethna said.

In their joint statement after the meeting, the seven parties said the council should also create new ministries, work with the coalition to provide internal security and represent Iraq at international forums. They said the council would also recommend new legislation to create courts to investigate Hussein’s regime for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

At Monday’s meeting, the politicians agreed that the heads of the seven groups would serve on the governing council, and that the parties would suggest other prominent Iraqis to expand the council to about 25 members. Shiite Muslims, who are a majority of Iraq’s population, would also have a majority on the council.

Bremer has said he wants the council to be as representative as possible, including members of the Christian and Turkmen minorities, women and more Sunni Muslims, who were ascendant in the Hussein years.

The seven parties decided to deal with Bremer as a united front to guide the transition to a permanent government, including proposing names for the additional members to the council.

“It is a very effective front,” one Iraqi political operative said. “They tried to find a substitute for this front, and they couldn’t.”

The parties at the meeting included the two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan; the Iraqi National Congress, an umbrella grouping of opponents to Hussein’s government that is led by Ahmad Chalabi, a secular Shiite; the Iraqi National Accord, which groups former army officers who opposed Hussein’s regime; the Shiite Muslim group Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq; the Islamic Al Daawa party, one of the oldest Shiite opposition groups; and a Sunni-based liberal democratic party.

In another step toward Iraqi self-governance, an interim Baghdad City Council met for the first time Monday.

Addressing the new council members, Bremer said: “You have courageously volunteered ... at a time when malicious people in Baghdad present a threat to the peace-loving citizens of this city. You have shown courage and honor.”

Also in Baghdad on Monday, coalition officials announced three important economic measures: the adoption of a new currency, the approval of a 2003 budget and the creation of an independent central bank.

Right now the currency is only available in a single denomination worth approximately 17 U.S. cents, meaning Iraqis must carry wads of bills for all but the smallest transactions. It also sports a portrait of Hussein. Other, pre-1991 banknotes without Hussein’s portrait circulate in Kurdish-controlled regions in northern Iraq.

Both notes will be replaced by the new currency, which will come in six denominations and begin circulating Oct. 15.

The 2003 budget will total $6.4 billion, or 9 trillion Iraqi dinars, Bremer told the Iraqi people in a televised address. The money will come from a combination of oil sales, frozen Iraqi assets and cash found by U.S.-led military forces.

The United States will also contribute money to rebuild Iraq, including $314 million for improvements to the country’s electrical system, which has been hard hit by sabotage, and $161 million for telecommunication improvements.

The new head of the central bank is Faleh Salman, a longtime economist and high-ranking bank official, senior coalition officials said. They were unable to provide more details about him. His appointment is effective immediately. Senior coalition officials said all three decisions were made in consultation with a variety of Iraqi leaders.

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Times staff writer Hector Tobar and researcher Mohammed Arrawi in Baghdad contributed to this report.