Governing council members remain optimistic about meeting challenges

By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- The Iraqi people face many challenges ahead in rebuilding their country both politically and economically, but with the end of Saddam Hussein's regime, their problems are solvable, according to members of the new Iraqi Governing Council.

Ahmad Chalabi, one of the council members and the head of the Iraqi National Congress, said on July 22 that "there are, indeed, problems of services and security. These problems are problems we have been dreaming about. We want to have those problems because all those problems are solvable with good will and good cooperation."

"The problem that was difficult to solve and defied solution for over three decades was the problem of a totalitarian, fascist dictatorship in Iraq. Now that is solved with the courageous determination of President Bush and Prime Minister Blair," he said.

"The overwhelming news in Iraq is Saddam is gone, his regime has collapsed and the Iraqi people are free to express their opinions," said Chalabi at a press conference at U.N. headquarters.

Chalabi and two other council members, Adnan Pachachi, president of the Iraqi Independent Democrats, and Akila al-Hashimi, a former Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, attended a public U.N. Security Council session on Iraq July 22. They spoke with journalists after their formal presentation to the council.

"It is very important that we get the support of the United Nations, regional countries in the Middle East and, particularly, our neighbors," Chalabi said.

"We need them to be more positive about what is going on in Iraq," he said.
As the three were participating in U.N. events, news reports were breaking of the deaths of Saddam Hussein's two sons, Qusay and Uday.

Chalabi saw the deaths as important. "This is not isolated from the issue of security in Iraq," he said. "Getting those people, apprehending them, and putting them out of business some way or another is very important for security in Iraq."

But the group focused their efforts on explaining the governing council and its plans.
The formation of the governing council was "very important," Chalabi said. "Do not belittle it. Do not demean it."

The governing council "is united in its determination to claim full rights of government in Iraq and to work with coalition authorities on issues that will eventually restore complete sovereignty to the Iraqi people over their country quickly and with as little difficulty as possible," he said.

"We are moving forward with the establishment of institutions in Iraq for the purpose of security, for the purpose of education and health care and the purpose of restoring basic services in Iraq," he said.

"We also look forward to completing the policy of de-Ba'athification and for the dissolution of the oppressive apparatus of Saddam that was instituted on May 16 by Ambassador [Paul] Bremer," Chalabi said. "It in no way means violence against members of the Ba'ath party or against their families or in any way threatening their lives or their properties. Rather is it a process of removing vestiges that remain of the Ba'ath party from Iraqi civil society."

While the governing council looks forward to working with the United Nations in establishing democracy in the Iraq through the drafting of a constitution and elections, the process has to be entirely in the hands of Iraqis, the group stressed.

The governing council will form a committee to discuss procedures for the choice of delegates to a constitutional convention, but the committee delegates will not be subject to the council, they said.

"The constitutional process in Iraq will face many challenges," Chalabi said. "It has to be democratic; it has to guarantee individual freedoms; it has to guarantee freedom of worship, freedom of association, freedom of the press; and it has to have a bill of rights for Iraqi citizens."

Two challenges that will determine the success of the constitution are the roles of Islam and the country's Arab majority, he said. Those facts have to be reflected in the constitution when it is formed, but representatives of all communities still must be included in the constitutional process.

"Iraq is a country where a majority of the people are Muslims, and there is a Muslim culture in Iraq. This has to be reflected in the constitution with full guarantees and rights of the freedoms of worship for all other faiths in Iraq," Chalabi said. "We look forward to a process where we can separate religion from politics, while respecting the faith and the culture of the majority."

"Iraq is a majority Arab country but it also has substantial non-Arab populations," he continued. "We fully recognize the national political rights of the Kurds in Iraq, who are the largest minority with a well developed political institutions, and recognize the rights of the Turkomans and the Assyrians as well."

Asked whether he thought there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chalabi said that he has not changed his opinion that the deadly weapons developed by Saddam Hussein are hidden in the county.

"I believe there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," he said. "I believe Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and was actively developing them and it is only now the coalition is becoming serious about looking for the weapons of mass destruction."

"People have to look for them. They are not sitting around to be picked up. Saddam spent a decade developing a very sophisticated and pervasive concealment system. It is very important to find that, and finding the weapons will be a corollary of finding the people who did the concealment," Chalabi said.