Issue No. 611
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7 - 13 November 2002 Issue No. 611 Region |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Iraqi opponents reconcile differences
Exiled Iraqi opposition groups are preparing for post-Saddam Hussein era, but seem as divided and fragile as ever, writes Salah Hemeid
Opponents of Saddam Hussein say they have reconciled their differences and are now ready to assume power in Baghdad once the current regime has been toppled by a much anticipated US-led war. The dissidents say that plans to hold a conference to outline strategies for a post-Saddam Iraq will go ahead now that problems preventing its organisation have been solved.
Hamid Al-Bayati, a spokesman for the Shi'ite Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which is based in Iran, said the opposition groups would meet on 22 November in Brussels. He told Al-Ahram Weekly from his London office that a preparatory committee had ironed out the conference papers and that invitations had been sent to selected delegates. He said 200 participants would be attending including former army officers, exiled tribal leaders and experts, in addition to representatives of the six groups that are pioneering the conference.
Fouad Masoum, a representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan opposition group, was optimistic about the prospect of the conference. "This time we are sure it will take place. All problems have been resolved. It is final," he said in a telephone interview. He even said the conference would elect "a follow-up committee" which many observers believe will act as a de facto interim government which will assume power in Baghdad after Saddam's downfall.
The conference, originally scheduled for September, was delayed because of rivalry and internecine arguments regarding power sharing after change of regime. Sceptics still believe these differences may prove to be a stumbling block for the unification of Saddam's enemies.
Haroun Mohamed, a political analyst and observer of opposition activities, said the dissidents were still far from being unanimous on most of the major issues that had blocked their efforts to topple Saddam. He told the Weekly that the plans being drawn up by the conference organisers sounded like "a manual for promoting religious and ethnic division of Iraq", indicating Kurdish Shi'ite domination of the opposition efforts.
Some opposition leaders, who requested anonymity, said a major obstacle to the conference was a demand made by Ahmed Chalabi, leader of the US-based Iraqi National Congress, to include an extra 300 INC members at the meeting. This would effectively increase his support at the conference which is expected to be dominated by more powerful political rivals.
Chalabi, who has allegedly contacted major American oil concerns to forge deals for the post-Saddam era and who is also said to have visited Israel to discuss future Iraq-Israel relations, is vying for leadership of the new regime in Baghdad. The United States has urged Iraqi opposition groups to develop plans for governing their nation if Saddam is overthrown. In a recent letter to six exiled opposition leaders, Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman urged the dissidents to organise a broadspectrum conference to discuss Iraq's future.
Grossman said the proposed conference should select a committee whose task would be to consult all sectors of Iraqi society regarding the country's future if Saddam is ousted. One of the main issues delaying the conference is the role played by Shi'ite Muslims and Kurds. They say they are being repressed by the minority Sunni Muslim community which has traditionally dominated Iraqi politics. The Iraqi opposition is split along sectarian, ethnic, clan and political lines and rivalries intensified in light of a US-led war to topple Saddam.
The six groups organising the conference have received assurances that the US would provide protection for Iraqis who could face retribution from Saddam's forces. The US administration also made it clear that it opposed the creation of an interim government before the regime was changed. Other conference organisers include the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Iraqi National Accord -- which includes former members of Saddam's Sunni Muslim party -- and the Constitutional Monarchist Movement led by a first cousin of the last Iraqi king.
Saddam, who just two weeks ago freed political opponents from prison, dismissed the US-backed Iraqi opposition leaders as agents and stooges wanted for their "financial and immoral crimes''. In a rare interview with the Egyptian weekly Al-Osbu' Saddam challenged his opponents to try to remove him, saying also that his opponents numbered very few.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that Saddam had instructed his security officials to kill Iraqi opposition leaders based in Britain to prevent them forming an alternative government in the event of a an attempt to remove him from power. According to highly classified information received by British and American intelligence officials in the past week, The Sunday Telegraph said Saddam had issued a presidential decree authorising the murder of leading members of the Iraqi opposition "by any means necessary". Details of the decree, which was transmitted last week from Saddam's presidential palace compound in Baghdad to Iraqi security officials in Europe and the Middle East, were intercepted by British officials at the GCHQ listening complex in Cheltenham.
The paper also quoted the intelligence sources as saying that Saddam may be seeking outside help. In the past few months, senior members of his Ba'athist regime visited a number of foreign countries to lobby for support. Intelligence officials were particularly interested in a recent foreign tour by Saddam's cousin, Ali Hassan Al-Majid, who is wanted for war crimes for his role in deploying chemical weapons against the Kurds at Halabja in 1988.
British intelligence officials have told Scotland Yard's Special Branch to improve security for leaders of the main Iraqi opposition groups, most of whom are based in London. The headquarters of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) in Kensington is already heavily protected by bomb-proof doors and windows and Special Branch detectives were taking steps to improve security measures for families of opposition leaders, the paper said.
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