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| Nations declare support for Iraq at international summit |
| 2005-06-22 |
| Nations attending a conference on Iraq's reconstruction pledged Wednesday to support a reform plan by top Iraqi officials who are working to secure order, rejuvenate the economy and draft a new constitution. Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and other members of his transitional government put forth their plans at the one-day conference that brought together more than 80 senior officials from the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and other countries. "We have presented our visions and our priorities to you. Now it's your turn to look at those elements and those priorities to see where you can help," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said in closing remarks. Zebari set out four top priorities: drafting a constitution and holding elections on time, securing the stability of the country, rebuilding the economy and healing ties with neighbors. He asked for help training Iraq's military and for its neighbors to take serious action in controlling their borders to prevent insurgents from infiltrating into Iraq. The nations responded by adopting a declaration of support, as well as promising aid and expertise. They said they backed the transitional government's "efforts to achieve a democratic, pluralist, federal and unified Iraq, reflecting the will of the Iraqi people, in which there is full respect for political and human rights." U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called it a "watershed" moment for Iraq. "Ultimately, of course, Iraq's future lies in the hands of the Iraqis themselves," he said. The conference, co-hosted by the EU and Washington, was called to bolster international backing for the return of Iraq to the international community, said Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn. "We are here to show to Iraq, to the Iraqi people, that we are on their side in this difficult period of transition," said Asselborn, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency. In return, Iraq must improve security, develop its economy and "open political space for all members of Iraqi society who reject violence," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. "Terrorism can be defeated in Iraq. It will be defeated in Iraq. And when it's defeated in Iraq, at the heart of the Middle East, it will be a death knell for terrorism as we know it," she said in her closing remarks. She added that Syria must do more to crack down on insurgents crossing the border into neighboring Iraq. "Syria has a responsibility ... to the international community, it has a responsibility to its neighbors not to allow its territory to be used for the gathering of people who are wreaking havoc and causing harm," she said. International leaders have urged Iraq's new Shiite-led government to include Sunni Muslims in the political process, a move seen as key to curbing the deadly insurgency. "What we need from you is exactly what your people need from you: The children of Iraq are just like yours — they don't want to lose their fathers and turn to orphans," al-Jaafari said. "The women of Iraq are just like yours — they don't want to lose their husbands, to turn to widowers." Zebari said a lot of work lies ahead of December elections to choose a full-term government. Iraq does not underestimate the "real challenges" it faces, from the continuing insurgency to finding agreement among its many ethnic groups on a constitution, he said. "We want a stable, constitutionally elected government, established through democratic processes," Zebari said. Zebari also said Iraqis would ask their neighbors to restore diplomatic relations with Baghdad that were suspended under Saddam Hussein's rule. He announced Wednesday that Egypt is the first Arab nation to send an ambassador to Iraq. Farouq al-Sharaa, foreign minister of Syria, said his nation was ready "to fully cooperate" with the Iraqi government to stop insurgents — but he accused the United States of getting in the way. The "party that does not enable Syria to succeed in a better way to secure its border with Iraq is the same party that throws the strongest criticism at Syria and prevents Syria from attaining the equipment necessary to protect its long borders," he said. Al-Sharaa also called for a "timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq ... that will contribute to calming down the Iraqi people fears." The declaration by the nations at the conference urged "all Iraqis to participate in the political process," especially in writing the new constitution. Participants also committed to carrying through on some $32 billion in pledges made at a donors' conference last year and reiterated commitments "to provide debt relief on generous terms." Asselborn announced a date for a new donors' conference: July 17-18 in Amman, Jordan. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |