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BAGHDAD - For a few minutes Iraq's first Kurdish
president Jalal Talabani passionately described his
vision for transforming the strife-torn country into
a prosperous beacon of democracy in the Middle East.
Words like liberty, equal rights, tolerance and
civilisation trilled from Talabani's lips as he
stood behind a podium in the freshly painted and
brightly lit auditorium where Iraq's new parliament
met Wednesday and chose him as president.
"We will work seriously with you and the government
to build a democracy that will protect human rights
and liberties and purge terror, corruption and the
Aflaqist fascist ideas," he told deputies referring
to Syrian-born Michel Aflaq, the founder of the
Baath movement embraced by Saddam Hussein's ousted
regime.
The room erupted in thunderous applause.
The veteran fighter for Kurdish rights then sought
to comfort the country's Arab majority, especially
Sunnis who ruled the country during Saddam's 35-year
reign and every other government before that.
"We must work for Iraq's proud return to
civilisation and to its Islamic and Arabic milieu...
to be a true partner with these nations and an
example for freedom, democracy and national unity to
liberate the nations of the near east from tyranny
and dictatorship," the portly Talabani, 72, said
with zeal.
Wednesday's session opened with a white board
showing Talabani's name preceded by the title ustaz,
or master in Arabic, neatly marked out in black and
followed by the two vice president nominees: Shiite
Adel Abdul Mahdi and Sunni Arab Ghazi al-Yawar.
"List number one," read out a lawmaker counting the
votes cast by the assembly for the three men who
nominated on one slate for the presidency council.
The lone list garnered 227 of the 257 votes cast by
the 275-member assembly with naysayers skipping the
proceedings altogether or leaving their ballots
empty.
Sitting on the left of the room were deputies from
the Kurdistan Alliance, which holds 77 seats,
mingled with members of outgoing prime minister Iyad
Allawi's list, which has 40 seats.
Kurdish women deputies beamed as they sashayed
around the room in their finest robes.
Although Kurds have enjoyed the fruits of
semi-autonomy from Baghdad for the past 14 years,
for many it was a sweet moment of acceptance and
vindication after decades of persecution by ruling
Arabs.
But this feeling was mixed with concerns over their
place in a country they say is more divided than
ever along sectarian and ethnic lines, especially
after they and the Shiites embraced the elections,
while most Sunnis shunned it.
"What happened today makes me think it is possible
to transform Iraq from a country of tyranny and
racial discrimination to a country of equal rights,"
said MP Barham Saleh, outgoing deputy prime minister
and a member of Talabani's Patriotic Union for
Kurdistan party.
"That it is possible for us as Kurds to feel that we
belong and fit in a place that has been built on
ethnic and sectarian considerations for the past 80
years."
Saleh, who was seated in the front row next to
Talabani, admitted Iraq was going through a critical
phase that requires the participation of Sunnis, who
are often blamed for fueling the relentless
insurgency.
"This a true danger and a challenge that requires
delicate efforts," he said.
Talabani's family looked on eagerly from the back
row, taking photographs as other deputies lined up
to congratulate the new president with kisses and
hugs.
"He deserves it, he spent his whole life fighting
for our cause," said Liluz Ibrahim, 48, Talabani's
sister-in-law.
Two of his nieces and nephews, who speak only
Kurdish and English, said they would learn Arabic
now.
"Five years ago, would you have imagined this day?"
exclaimed Zagros Ibrahim, 17, in a polished British
accent.
AFP
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