.contact us |.about us
News > International News ... ...
Search:
    Advertisement
Annan could announce Iraq electoral team on Monday
( 2004-01-26 11:53) (Agencies)

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Sunday he would decide in the next day or so if he would send a mission to Iraq to study the feasibility of holding early elections.

"I would expect to make a decision in the next day or so," Annan told Swedish television in an interview, a day before he is to speak at an international conference on preventing genocide in Stockholm.

He said he had been asked to send such a team at a meeting last Monday with the U.S. governor of Iraq Paul Bremer and Governing Council President Adnan Pachachi.

The team's job would be to determine if elections could be organized between now and the end of June so a provisional national assembly and government could be chosen in time for the June 30 transfer of political power to Iraqis.

The team would also recommend alternatives to the complicated U.S. plan of election caucuses, which most experts say has to be changed.

Annan said that the United Nations would be ready to set up an international tribunal for the trial of Saddam Hussein, if it were asked by the U.S.-led coalition, which toppled the former Iraqi president last year.

"We have not been asked to play a role yet. But if we were asked, I'm sure that we are capable of playing a role. We have a vast experience in this," Annan said.

Diplomats at the United Nations said earlier on Sunday that Annan may not give details on when the electoral team, expected to leave next month, would go to Baghdad or who would lead it.

Instead, the secretary-general probably would link the departure of the team to a U.N. security assessment in Iraq, required since the attack on U.N. headquarters in Baghdad on August 19 that killed 22 people.

SHI'ITE CLERIC WANTS FULL-SCALE ELECTION

Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, wants a full-scale election, which would likely favor Shi'ites, who make up an estimated 60 percent of Iraq's 25 million people.

Sistani's ally, Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, a member of the Governing Council, said that less than a perfect election would be better than ignoring the popular vote.

"It can be done, if we want it and make the effort. I believe they can be run," Hakim told Reuters at the weekend.

Hakim has said previously Shi'ites might abide by a U.N. decision, a key reason why the Bush administration, which had scorned the world body, now wants Annan to give the process legitimacy.

But U.N. officials have been as dubious as the United States about direct elections, not just because of the short time left to organize them, but because of the violent atmosphere, which tends to favor extremists.

A phased transition to self-rule would allow for time to build institutions, form political parties, and create alliances that cut across religious groupings.

The United States wants Lakhdar Brahimi, the former Algerian foreign minister who just finished a two-year stint as chief U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, to play a leading role.

But Brahimi, now a senior adviser to Annan, has resisted going to Baghdad to lead the team, negotiate with Sistani's allies after an initial report from the U.N. electoral experts, or to replace Sergio Vieira de Mello, the head of the U.N. mission killed in the August 19 bombing.

So far Brahimi, 70, according to friends, does not want any part of the assignment and is skeptical about the entire process. But as one ally said, "The pressure is incredible."

He was called to the White House on Thursday for talks with U.S. President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

The current U.S. proposal envisages a complicated selection process for a series of caucuses in 18 provinces, whose delegates would then select representatives for a national assembly. That body would pick a provisional cabinet and head of state.

 
Close  
   
  Today's Top News   Top International News
   
+WHO: Bird flu death rises to 15; vaccination recommended
(2004-02-05)
+Solana: EU ready to lift China arms embargo
(2004-02-05)
+Nation tops TV, cell phone, monitor production
(2004-02-05)
+Absence ... still makes China hot
(2004-02-05)
+Hu: Developing world in key role
(2004-02-04)
+WHO: Bird flu death rises to 15; vaccination recommended
(2004-02-05)
+Solana: EU ready to lift China arms embargo
(2004-02-05)
+US court clears way for gay marriages
(2004-02-05)
+Pakistan nuke scientist asks forgiveness
(2004-02-05)
+Sharon ready for referendum on scrapping settlements
(2004-02-05)
   
  Go to Another Section  
     
 
 
     
  Article Tools  
     
 
 
     
  Related Articles  
     
 

+Iraqi guerrillas kill 9 in 'Sunni Triangle' attacks
2004-01-23

+Iraqi blasts kill five US soldiers
2004-01-25

+Kay: No evidence Iraq stockpiled WMDs
2004-01-26

   
        .contact us |.about us
  Copyright By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved  
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产AV无码国产AV毛片| 欧美日韩在线播放| 在线电影一区二区三区| 九九视频高清视频免费观看| 羞羞的漫画sss| 国产成人爱片免费观看视频| 一二三四在线观看免费中文动漫版| 欧美日韩一区二区三区自拍| 免费一级欧美大片视频在线| 美女被cao免费看在线看网站| 国内女人喷潮完整视频| 久久久久国产一区二区三区| 激情影院在线观看十分钟| 国产人妖ts在线观看网站| 91精品天美精东蜜桃传媒入口| 婷婷六月天激情| 亚洲av无码一区二区三区性色| 毛片网站是多少| 热re久久精品国产99热| 国产精品99久久久久久人| 一本大道久久东京热无码AV| 校园性教k8版在线观看| 八戒网站免费观看视频| 肉柳高嫁03集在线播放| 国产精品久久久久久久久久久不卡| 97色精品视频在线观看| 天天综合日日噜噜噜| 久久国产欧美日韩精品| 欧美精品九九99久久在免费线| 国产一区二区不卡| 1000部拍拍拍18勿入免费凤凰福利| 大帝AV在线一区二区三区| 久久久久亚洲AV无码网站| 欧美精品一区二区三区在线| 亚洲综合视频在线观看| 美女精品永久福利在线| 国产一级视频播放| 蜜臀91精品国产高清在线观看| 国产精品久久二区二区| 3d玉蒲团之极乐宝鉴| 国产美女一级视频|