|
The shy
family doctor who emerged Tuesday as the most likely
candidate to become Iraq's first democratically
elected prime minister said ending the nation's
rampant violence is his top priority and that U.S.
troops would remain as long as they are needed to
achieve that goal.
In an exclusive Associated Press interview, Ibrahim
al-Jaafari, a 58-year-old moderate Shiite Muslim
politician who fled a brutal crackdown by Saddam
Hussein in 1980, also talked about drafting a
constitution that will draw not only on Islam for
inspiration.
"Islam should be the official religion of the
country, and one of the main sources for
legislation, along with other sources that do not
harm Muslim sensibilities,' said al-Jaafari, who
currently serves as Iraq's interim vice president.
He said he supports women's rights, including the
right to be the president or prime minister, as well
as self-determination and individual freedoms for
all Iraqis.
The interview took place in the office of al-Jaafari's
home in the U.S.-guarded Green Zone in central
Baghdad. Islamic art, much of it Quranic verses with
intricate Arabic calligraphy in gold that are common
in Iraq, adorned the walls. An Iraqi flag was
hanging from a pole set on a floor stand in the
background. A computer was on his desk.
Ashraf Qazi, the U.N. envoy to Iraq, was waiting
outside as Al-Jaafari's staff prepared fish and rice
for their dinner meeting.
Al-Jaafari, who lived in London and is the leader of
the Dawa Party, became the top contender for Iraq's
top government post after his main rival, Adel Abdul
Mahdi, dropped out. Ahmad Chalabi, a former Pentagon
favorite, was still in the running for prime
minister, but was considered by many to be a long
shot.
"We have two candidates for the alliance, Ahmad
Chalabi and Ibrahim al-Jaafari, but al-Jaafari is
the most likely to be the alliance candidate,' said
Humam Hamoudi, a spokesman for the Shiite political
alliance that has provisionally won more than half
the seats in the new National Assembly.
But Chalabi remains a compromise candidate and could
be picked as an alternative to al-Jaafari if
opposition to him is too high among Kurds, who took
26 percent of the vote, and Sunni Arabs, who largely
stayed away from the polls but whose participation
may be needed to quell the stubborn insurgency.
The alliance is endorsed by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani,
the spiritual leader of Iraqi Shiites. One of
Sistani's aides told the AP on Tuesday that he has
refused to endorse a single candidate for prime
minister, but has let it be known in the past that
he would support al-Jaafari.
Al-Jaafari, who spoke Arabic during the interview,
said that recent deals among Iraq's religious
parties pointed toward his victory.
"I hear from here and there, but I can't tell to
what extent it is a consensus,' he said, wearing a
blue suit, a polka-dot tie and a neatly trimmed gray
beard. "I feel like some of our brothers are
convinced, but it takes time to reach consensus.'
Al-Jaafari said that if he is confirmed as prime
minister, he would first try to stymie the violence
that has crippled the country's recovery from
decades of war and hardship.
"The security situation is at the top, as it is a
pressing element,' al-Jaafari said. As a result, he
said he would not push for the United States and its
allies to withdraw their troops from Iraq any time
soon.
"Blood is being spilled, and the land is under
attack,' he said. "How about if we decided to get
these troops out of Iraq?' he said, suggesting that
the situation would be much worse than it is now.
But al-Jaafari has kept some distance from the U.S.
occupation.
He boycotted a U.S.-organized meeting of Iraqi
politicians near the biblical city of Ur in April
2003. While he served on the Governing Council
appointed by the U.S. government shortly after the
invasion, he turned down the Americans' offer of
protection. But he did serve on the council and
became vice president of the interim government that
replaced it.
In the interview, he said he shares the Kurdish and
Shiite desires for federalism in Iraq.
"I am looking for a constitution that would be a
clear mirror of the composition of the Iraq people,'
he said. It should be "based on respecting all Iraqi
beliefs and freedoms.'
But he opposes any attempts to break Iraq apart,
following a nonbinding referendum in the Kurdistan
region promoting independence.
"Federalism doesn't mean separation from the nation
state,' he said.
Even though he leads the Dawa Party, which is part
of the clergy-endorsed United Iraqi Alliance, his
views contrasted with the official platform on the
party's Web site.
The party explicitly urges for the "Islamization' of
the Iraqi society and the state, including the
implementation of Sharia, or Islamic law.
He dismissed the apparent contradiction, saying
only, "theory is different from practice.'
Al-Jaafari was born in Karbala, the home of Shiites'
holiest shrine, and attended medical school at Mosul
University. He joined the Dawa Party in 1966, but
fled Iraq in 1980 when Saddam cracked down on the
party's leaders.
"The same day I left Iraq was the day Saddam's
security raided the hospital I was working in,
looking for me,' he said.
He changed his name from al-Ushayqer to al-Jaafari,
fearing that the Iraqi intelligence services would
hunt him down. He fled through Syria and spent 10
years in Iran before moving to London to join the
Iraqi opposition in exile.
"At the time I left Iraq, all the world's doors were
closed in our faces,' he said of those who wanted to
reform Iraq. "Not like now.'
Iraq's election commission will not certify the
provisional results of the Jan. 30 elections,
announced Sunday, until all challenges are resolved
a process which could take days or even weeks. On
Tuesday, a commission official said at least six
complaints had been filed so far. All complaints
must be filed by Wednesday.
Once the results are certified, the present
government must set a timetable for installing the
new government. There have been no indications on
how long that might take, and will depend on
back-room dealmaking among the parties.
In addition to helping select and approve the prime
minister and largely ceremonial president, the
assembly will serve as a lawmaking body. But its
most important task is to create a committee to
draft a permanent constitution.
Iraqis will vote on the proposed constitution by
Oct. 15. If they approve, elections for a permanent
government to replace the assembly will be held in
December. If voters reject the charter, the National
Assembly will be dissolved and a new transitional
assembly will be elected in December to take another
stab at constitution-writing.
AP
Top |
® 