The biggest-ever meeting of Iraqi opposition groups published a blueprint yesterday for a transitional Iraqi government in preparation for a US-led war to topple Saddam Hussein.
But an opening press conference in a hotel in London, where the meeting took place, ended amid chaotic scenes, with the deep divisions between the opposition groups quickly surfacing.
Launching the document — A Democratic Future for Iraq — Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein, a member of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), said: ”Saddam could still avoid this war but we do not believe he will do so. We believe he will drag the Iraqi people, yet again, into a third disastrous war. Consequently, we in the opposition are preparing for that eventuality.”
The document pledges a democratic government, with a federal system that will take account of the ethnic and religious differences within Iraq.
It also sketches out details of the arrangements in the period between a military takeover by the US and a shift to civilian rule, a process expected to take six months.
The report also promised an independent judiciary, the demobilisation of President Saddam’s special republican guard and the introduction of a system for ”identifying and bringing to justice the worst perpetrators of crimes”.
At the end of the conference, a representative of the Kurdish Democratic party accused the INC of having attempted to hijack the entire event.
More than 300 delegates are discussing the draft document over the weekend under the guidance of a US team.
The opposition groups are almost certain to try to disguise divisions by agreeing a bland common position when the conference concludes on Monday. – Guardian Unlimited Â