- Title: IRAQ: UNITED STATES BACKED GOVERNING COUNCIL HOLDS INAUGURAL MEETING
- Date: 14th July 2003
- Summary: (W5) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (JULY 13, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. WIDE SHOT COUNCIL MEMBERS AT PRESS CONFERENCE; COUNCIL MEMBERS; SHIITE CLERIC ON PODIUM (3 SHOTS) 0.15 2. (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) SHIITE COUNCIL MEMBER, DOCTOR MUHAMMED BAHR ULOOM SAYING "First of all we will cancel all holidays and national days that are associated with the former dictatorship and the Ba'ath regime." 0.29 3. MV FEMALE MEMBERS LISTENING 0.34 4. (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) MUHAMMED BAHR ULOOM SAYING "The satellite channels keep asking whether Saddam is coming back, Saddam is now in the rubbish of history and he will never come back." 0.45 5. MV SECURITY 0.51 6. (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) HEAD OF THE IRAQI NATIONAL CONGRESS, AHMED CHALABI SAYING "We highly appreciate the Iraqi resistance against Saddam's regime for the past three decades. I should thank president Bush and the American Congress and the people of the United States for helping the Iraqi people liberate themselves from Saddam's regime. I also thank Mr Blair, the British Prime minister and the people of the United Kingdom for helping the Iraqi people liberate themselves." 1.32 7. MV /SLV MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL SITTING ON STAGE LISTENING 1.41 8. (SOUNDBITE)(English) AHMED CHALABI SAYING "The acts of violence against coalition forces in Iraq are not resistance to those forces. The Iraqi people do not feel that way, we condemn those acts of violence and we look forward to enabling the Iraqi people to release this enormous energy against Saddam and against the Ba'ath party that exists within Iraqi society, so that the Iraqi people will take upon themselves the removal of the party and the removal of the remnants of Saddam's forces." 2.22 9. MV MEMBERS LISTENING 2.26 10. (SOUNDBITE)(English) UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE SERGIO DE MELLO SAYING "Ultimately you will give pride back to the Iraqi's and you will help this country break out of its exclusion and isolation. Elections will need to be held the voice of all Iraqis, men and women must be heard as you shape your country for the future." 2.44 11. WIDE OF PRESSER; SLV MEMBERS STANDING ON STAGE; MV PAUL BREMER WALKING OUT; WIDE OF CONFERENCE HALL (5 SHOTS) 3.17 12. SLV BAGHDAD STREETS; SLV PEOPLE WALKING (4 SHOTS) 3.41 13. (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic)SAEB NAGEEB, IRAQI MAN SAYING "Anyone who wants to serve the Iraqi people is welcomed by us. Those who do not help us, well, we do not want them." 3.47 14. (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic)AHMED HAMZA IRAQI MAN SAYING "This is the first step on the path in order to establish a government for the future. No Iraqi opposes that because having a government is better than having a political vacuum." 15. SLV STREET SCENES 4.06 15. SLV STREET SCENES (2 SHOTS) 4.17 16. (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) KAID KHALAF, IRAQI MAN SAYING: "Having intellectuals in the (council) is better than having (Saddam's) family members who are not educated." 4.34 17. WIDE OF STREETS 4.40 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 29th July 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVAEMQJP85UJBJIX5IQHOA313024
- Story Text: A U.S.-backed Iraqi Governing Council has held its
inaugural meeting, stressing the start of a new era by
abolishing national holidays that honoured Saddam Hussein and
creating a new one to mark his downfall.
Iraq's new Governing Council said on Sunday (July 13, 2003)
its first decisions were to cancel all holidays related to
Saddam Hussein and his outlawed Baath Party and to declare
April 9, the day of his downfall, a national holiday.
"First of all we will cancel all holidays and national
days that are associated with the former dictatorship and the
Ba'ath regime," said Mohammed Bahr Uloom, a Shiite cleric and
a member of the Council.
The 25-member interim council has the ability to appoint
ministers, approve the national budget and review laws,
although ultimate authority remains with the occupying powers
that have ruled Iraq since U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam on
April 9.
"The satellite channels keep asking whether Saddam is
coming back, Saddam is now in the rubbish of history and he
will never come back." added Uloom.
It remains to be seen whether ordinary Iraqis think the
council can represent their interests, though it does roughly
reflect Iraq's religious and ethnic composition, giving Shiite
Muslims a majority in contrast to their position under Saddam.
Long exiled members of the Iraqi opposition were led by
the head of the Iraqi National Congress, Ahmed Chalabi.
"We highly appreciate the Iraqi resistance against
Saddam's regime for the past 3 decades. I should thank
president Bush and the American Congress and the people of the
United States for helping the Iraqi people liberate themselves
from Saddam's regime. I also thank Mr Blair, the British Prime
minister and the people of the United Kingdom for helping the
Iraqi people liberate themselves." said Chalabi.
Saddam and most members of his elite were Sunni Muslims
who marginalised the traditionally under-privileged Shi'ites.
As the council met in a government building in Baghdad,
the U.S. military said it had launched "Operation Ivy Serpent"
to prevent militants staging anti-American attacks on upcoming
anniversaries linked to Iraqi nationalism and Saddam.
"The acts of violence against coalition forces in Iraq are
not resistance to those forces. The Iraqi people do not feel
that way, we condemn those acts of violence and we look
forward to enabling the Iraqi people to release this enormous
energy against Saddam and against the Ba'ath party that exists
within Iraqi society, so that the Iraqi people will take upon
themselves the removal of the party and the removal of the
remnants of Saddams forces." said Chalabi.
The new council is composed of 13 Shiites, five Sunni
Arabs, five Kurds, an Assyrian Christian and a Turkmen. Three
members are women and 16 have either returned from exile or
were in an autonomous Kurdish area outside Saddam's control.
The UN special Representative who was present also
congratulated the council saying it would lead to the
resumption of links with other countries.
"Ultimately you will give pride back to the Iraqi's and
you will help this country break out of its exclusion and
isolation. Elections will need to be held the voice of all
Iraqis men and women must be heard as you shape your country
for the future." said Sergio De Mello
The administration sees the formation of the council as a
first step on the road to democracy for Iraq. Further down the
road lie the drafting of a new constitution, to be approved by
a referendum, and finally free elections.
Ordinary Iraqis asked about the formation of the
Governing Council said it would fill the vacuum and pave way
for a new government in the future. Others welcomed the idea
of being governed by people whose qualifications were more
than blood ties with the Saddam family.
"Having intellectuals in the (council) is better than
having (Saddam's) family members who are not educated," Kaid
Khalaf, a Baghdad resident said.
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