The United Nations will send a team to help guide Iraq's transition to self-rule "as soon as practicable", Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general said yesterday. His decision followed invitations from both Iraq's Governing Council and the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority, delivered earlier in the day. The UN, which claims it is not actively seeking a role, had insisted on the formal request.
In a letter signed by Mohammed Bahr Al-Uloom, the president of the Governing Council, Iraqi leaders said they continued to believe "the UN must play an important role in Iraq", according to one diplomat, and would appreciate its "advice and assistance as we look to the next challenge in the political transition: the formation of an interim Iraqi government".
| Diplospeak for "y'all are welcome to sit in as long as you don't cut and run on the next boom." |
The Council also invited UN assistance in ensuring direct elections would be held before the end of January 2005, calling its experience "invaluable" in creating the necessary infrastructure, and overseeing the conduct of elections. The coalition expressed hopes that UN election experts would arrive in Iraq early in the week of March 21, amid growing fears that the time for adequate preparation is growing increasingly tight.
The political team will be led by the veteran UN troubleshooter Lakdhar Brahimi. He faces a daunting task as Iraqis jockey for power ahead of the handover of sovereignty at the end of June. It still has not been decided what form an interim government will take, or how it will be chosen. One option, diplomats say, is to expand the current Governing Council to include a wider membership. The coalition hopes the UN's assistance will help provide legitimacy to the new body, amid some Iraqi fears that the new sovereign government will be little more than a group of coalition appointees.
But the past week saw some reports that a number of Iraqi Shias opposed the return of the UN, following disappointment that it had deemed elections could not be held before the end of June. Mr Brahimi this week sought to quell that speculation with the announcement that Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the Shia spiritual leader, supported a UN role.
| Sistani's playing these guys. |
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