New Council Ends Holidays of Hussein Era

In a relaxed, smiling gathering far removed from the fear-tinged meetings presided over by Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s new governing council convened for the first time Sunday proclaiming that a new phase in the country’s history had begun.

The 22 men and three women drawn from Iraq’s main ethnic and sectarian communities promptly abolished six state holidays decreed by the former regime. In their place, the council declared April 9 -- the date that Hussein was driven from power -- as this country’s new national day.

Although the council was not popularly elected -- and ultimate authority remains in the hands of the U.S.-led occupation authority -- the panel portrayed itself as the new, true face of the Iraqi people. Its members vowed to usher in an era that will lead to a democratic constitution and a permanent, representative government to rebuild the country and help it live at peace with its neighbors.

The council called on Arab countries that had criticized the U.S.-led war to oust Hussein to set aside their animosity and accept that the former regime is finished.

Council members also chided Arab-world satellite television stations, in particular the Qatar-based Al Jazeera channel, for allegedly stoking anger at the United States rather than helping Iraqis end Hussein’s long reign.

Perhaps the most striking image of the day was the panoply of council members -- men in business suits and colorful ties, women in scarves, turbaned clerics and Arab tribal figures in flowing white robes -- taking their seats informally in a semicircle, grinning and collegially interacting with reporters and one another.

It was a far cry from gatherings of the Baath Party hierarchy, where uniformed officers and party members bowed and scraped for fear of incurring Hussein’s wrath under a glowering portrait of their absolute leader. Instead, the council members exhibited a sense of civility and democracy as they spoke of the challenges ahead. Their backdrop was a huge map of Iraq painted red, white and black -- the national colors.

The council chose as its temporary chairman moderate Shiite cleric Seyyid Mohammed Bahr Uloom, a white-bearded, elfin figure whose eyes crinkled mirthfully as he announced, to applause, the abolition of the Baathist state holidays. Although Shiites constitute 60% of Iraq’s 24 million people, they had never been allowed to play a dominant role in national politics in modern times.

“Never is Saddam Hussein going to come back,” he declared in answer to an Al Jazeera reporter’s question. “Saddam is in the dustbin of history, and there is no going back.”

Another prominent council member, returned exile Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress, was interrupted by a shout of “Long live Bush” from one member of the audience when he decried the attacks that have taken place against U.S. forces in the country in recent weeks.

“I take this opportunity to express my gratitude and the gratitude of the Iraqi people to President Bush, the U.S. Congress and the people of the United States for helping the Iraqi people to liberate themselves from the scourge of Saddam,” he said to loud applause.

“Acts of violence against coalition forces in Iraq are not ‘resistance.’ I condemn these acts of violence and look forward to enabling the Iraqi people to release their enormous energy ... so that the Iraqi people will take upon themselves the removal of the party and the removal of the remnants of Saddam’s forces.”

The council -- which will have the power to appoint interim ministers, help draft the national budget and set broad national policy -- was put together in nine weeks of consultations and sometimes hardball negotiations between leading Iraqi politicians and the chief U.S. civil administrator of the country, L. Paul Bremer III.

Bremer applauded the council from his front-row seat at the national Conference Center on the west side of the Tigris River, but he did not address the audience.

The U.N.’s special representative to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, however, did offer some remarks to the council.

“There are defining moments in history,” he said. “For Iraq, today is definitely one of those. It is thus only fitting that you let it be known that Iraq is moving back to where it rightfully belongs: at peace with itself and as a full participant in the community of nations.”

He pledged the United Nations’ support to the council. “We are here, in whatever form you wish, for as long as you want us.”

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Special Delivery

One of the female council members, obstetrician Habib Khuzaai, sought to capture the sense of the historical moment of the session.

“I have helped deliver thousands of Iraqi babies, and now I am participating in the birth of a new country and a new rule based on women’s rights, humanity, unity and freedom,” she said, in answer to a question from an audience member who accused the United States of having shown scant regard for Iraqi suffering in the last decade.

As the council begins its work, it is facing two significant questions: Will the Iraqi people regard it as a legitimate body, or merely as an instrument of the U.S.-led occupation? And will it have sufficient power to assert its will on the occupation authority?

Council members pledged to begin work immediately to take on the country’s chief problems, such as restoring security and basic services, and to launch a process for drafting a new constitution.

One possible cloud hanging over the assembly is the feeling of some Iraqis that it is too dominated by former political exiles. At least 15 of the 25 members had been political opponents of Hussein living outside Iraq or in the autonomous Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, and they did not suffer the effects of sanctions and the political oppression endured by most of the population.

Jalal Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, dismissed any notion that the council would lack power and legitimacy. “We have a lot of powers,” he said. Adnan Pachachi, a veteran Iraqi diplomat who left the country after the Baathist takeover in 1968, and at 80 the oldest member, said he had no fears that Bremer would veto the council’s decisions.

The council convened in private at 11 a.m. in a building that formerly belonged to the Ministry of Military Industrialization -- the agency responsible for creating the former Iraqi ruler’s war machinery.

A statue of Hussein once stood in front of the building. Its plinth still stands, but the bronze remnants of the president sit broken in the courtyard near where U.S. Army troops stand guard.

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A Late Start

The ceremony at the conference center, originally expected at 1 p.m., did not begin until nearly three hours later as the council worked on its initial statement. In addition to about 300 journalists, members of the city’s small diplomatic corps, supporters of the individual council members and a smattering of U.S., British and Australian troops also attended.

Outside the hall, some Iraqis who watched on satellite television greeted the inauguration with skepticism.

“I don’t believe in this council, because the members have been chosen by the coalition,” said Omar Jasim, a 34-year-old graphic designer. “These members were living a very good life outside of the country in nice, furnished hotels. They did not feel, and have not lived, our suffering.”

But Hiba Katham, a young homemaker shopping in the Adamiyah district, where the sidewalks and shops were full of people enjoying the relative cool of the early evening, smiled from ear to ear when asked about the interim government.

She had followed the proceedings throughout the day on television and was delighted by what she had seen.

“It’s very good for women to participate now. It is our turn, God willing,” she said. “It’s so good that we have no enemies now.”

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The new Iraqi council

A look at members of Iraq’s new governing council:

* Ahmad Chalabi: Shiite banker who left Iraq as a youth and leads the Iraqi National Congress, a large organization of political groups that opposed Saddam Hussein’s government from exile.

* Abdelaziz Hakim: Political leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the largest Shiite political party.

* Jalal Talabani: A Sunni Kurd and leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of two Kurdish parties that have ruled northern Iraq since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

* Massoud Barzani: A Sunni Kurd and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of two Kurdish parties that have ruled northern Iraq since the Gulf War.

* Ibrahim Jafari: Main spokesman for the Islamic Dawa Party, a Shiite group opposed to Hussein.

* Nasir Chaderchi: A Sunni lawyer and businessman who leads the National Democratic Party.

* Iyad Allawi: A Shiite and secretary-general of the Iraq National Accord, which opposed Hussein from exile.

* Adnan Pachachi: An 80-year-old Sunni who served as foreign minister before the Baath Party came to power in 1968.

* Ahmad Shyaa Barak: A Shiite and general coordinator for the Human Rights Assn. of Babel who has worked with U.N. programs in Iraq since 1991 in the Foreign Ministry.

* Aqila Hashimi: A Shiite and diplomat, he led the Iraqi delegation to the New York donor’s conference for Iraq.

* Habib Khuzaai: A Shiite woman who heads the maternity hospital in the southern city of Diwaniyah.

* Hamid Majid Moussa: A Shiite and secretary of the Iraqi Communist Party.

* Seyyid Mohammed Bahr Uloom: A Shiite cleric who returned from London, where he headed a charitable center.

* Ghazi Ajil Yawer: A Sunni civil engineer who had been living in Saudi Arabia.

* Mohsen Abdel Hamid: A Sunni and secretary-general of the Iraqi Islamic Party, author of more than 30 books on interpretation of the Koran.

* Samir Shakir Mahmoud: A Sunni writer and entrepreneur from the western city of Haditha.

* Mahmoud Othman: A Sunni Kurd and independent Kurdish politician.

* Salaheddin Mohammed Bahaddin: A Sunni Kurd and secretary-general of the Kurdistan Islamic Union.

* Younadam Kanna: An Assyrian Christian, secretary-general of the Assyrian Democratic Movement.

* Mouwafak Rabii: A Shiite physician and human rights activist.

* Dara Nooreddine: A Sunni Kurd who served as a judge on the Court of Appeal until he was imprisoned by Saddam Hussein for ruling against the government.

* Sondul Chapouk: An engineer who represents the country’s Turkmen community and directs the Iraqi Women’s Organization.

* Wael Abdulatif: A Shiite lawyer and judge, named governor of the southern city of Basra.

* Abdul Karim Mohammedawi: A Shiite dubbed “Prince of the Marshes” for leading the resistance movement against Hussein in Iraq’s southern marsh region for 17 years.

* Abdul Zahra Othman: A Shiite writer, philosopher and the leader of the Islamic Dawa movement in Basra.

Source: Times wire services

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Times staff writer Terry McDermott in Baghdad contributed to this report.