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BAGHDAD, Feb 1 (AFP) - Shiite powerbroker
Ibrahim Jaafari might get into trouble with his wife
if he called for an Iraq where women could not
drive, but he has no hesitation about supporting the
death penalty for Saddam Hussein.
The current vice president is a key leader of the
fundamentalist alliance expected to become the
biggest single bloc in the Iraqi national assembly
after the historic weekend election.
Some talk of Jaafari as a prime minister in the next
government or in the near future.
A powerful Shiite government might worry some people
outside of Iraq, but in an interview with AFP
Jaafari sought to reassure that he wants Sunni
Muslims, who boycotted the election, to be involved
and he does not want a state that mirrors the
theocracy in neighbouring Iran.
Jaafari, a doctor by training, is said to have close
links with Iran. After his Hezb al-Dawa al-Islamiyya
(Islamic Call Party) took up arms against Saddam's
regime, he fled to Iran in the early 1980s before
moving to London in 1989. His five children still
live in Britain and his wife worked there.
Jaafari was among the first exiled leaders to return
after the 2003 US-led invasion. He was the first
president of the now-defunct governing council named
by the United States that year.
When talks were underway over the fundamental law
which serves as Iraq's interim constitution, Jaafari
was among those who favoured Islam as the only
source of legislation.
But he distances himself from a hard line.
"Secularism originally meant opposing God and
religion. Now it is not the same. Islam has changed
too. It is different from country to country.
"It is true that some countries stop women from
attending schools and others do not let women drive.
For me that would be a problem. My wife is a
surgeon, she cuts open abdomens, and I would never
stop her doing surgery."
Jaafari said he wants social justice and human
rights and points to the US example of a strongly
religious country that keeps state affairs separate.
"The currency clearly states 'In God we trust'. Yet
this doesn't necessarily mean that all Americans
believe in God."
But he would like Islam to be Iraq's official
religion. "It would be logical to mention Islam in
the constitution. But it does not have to resemble
Iran if that what is on your mind."
Jaafari, like many Iraqis, takes a hard line,
however, on the kind of justice they want for the
the country's former dictator.
"I think it is a public demand that his trial go
ahead as soon as possible, it would not be right to
delay the trial. Yesterday I spoke with the judge in
the case. He said they will expedite the trial."
In the publicised mass purges of Shiites, members of
Jaafari's Dawa party lost their lives.
"I think there is a need to excute the one who
committed these crimes. But I will accept any result
on condition that it is fair and organized by a fair
government."
Jaafari's party is part of the United Iraqi
Alliance, backed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the
Iranian-born spiritual head of Iraq's Shiites.
Others in the alliance including Finance Minister
Adel Abdel Mahdi and nuclear scientist Hussein al-Shahrastani
are also possible candidates for the prime
minister's post.
Jaafari said that if asked to become premier he
would not refuse.
Jaafari believes a withdrawal of US troops battling
the Sunni insurgency anytime soon could lead to a
civil war.
"Despite their presence here in Iraq, terrorism
exists," Jaafari said. "Can you imagine what will
happen if we ask them to leave. This could mean the
beginning of a civil war."
"We are trying our best not to have a civil war but
if the multinational forces leave now, certainly
there will be more and more assassinations, bombings
and victims."
Improving security -- so Iraq can ask US and British
forces to leave -- and forming a government that can
satisfy the aspirations of the Sunni minority
community, will be two key tasks for the next
government, according to the vice president.
The Sunnis monopolised power under Saddam and for
decades before. Many fear the prospect of Shiites
taking control.
Jaafari said there was no sense of revenge. "We want
Shiites back in power but at the same time we don't
want to do what Saddam did."
Jaafari suggested top posts could be shared between
the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
"It is most likely that the next prime minister
would be a Shiite, while the president and the head
of the parliament would be a Sunni and a Kurd."
AFP
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