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"Drafting the constitution will be done on time,''
Talabani told Reuters in his first interview since
being named president.
Once a government is formed, writing a constitution
is the next key political step on the road to new
elections by end-2005.
Ten weeks after Iraq's Jan. 30 elections, a new
government has yet to be formed due to haggling
among political blocs. But progress was made this
week with Talabani becoming president and Shi'ite
leader Ibrahim Jaafari named prime minister.
The government's top priority would be bringing
stability to Iraq and fighting the insurgency,
Talabani said.
"The first thing we are thinking of doing after
forming a national unity government is to build
stability and security and to terminate terrorism,''
he said, adding that some insurgents may be offered
an amnesty if their crimes were not too serious.
"We need to make a distinction between misled
Iraqis, those who believe that they are carrying
weapons to liberate Iraq from what they call
occupation, and criminal gangs that came from
outside and wants to wage a deadly war on the Iraqi
people, killing women and children in mosques and
churches,'' he said.
Criminals and foreign fighters would be isolated and
hunted down, Talabani said. "As for the others, we
might enter in dialogue with them and call on them
to join the Iraqi democratic process and issue a
pardon for them,'' he said.
BREAKTHROUGH FOR KURDS
The election of Talabani has shown the new political
clout of the Kurds, who have ruled an autonomous
enclave in northern Iraq since breaking away from
Saddam Hussein's rule in 1991.
Talabani said he had long dreamed that a Kurd would
one day be president of Iraq -- but never thought it
would be him:
"I never dreamt of taking any position. I was hoping
for a democratic and federal Iraq, but I never cared
for positions. I expected that one day when Iraq
becomes a country where citizens are equal that a
Kurd would be a president, and why not?''
He said that as a young man he had modest
aspirations. "All I wanted was to be a university
teacher,'' Talabani said.
Talabani's Kurdish coalition came second in the
polls, behind a Shi'ite alliance. Iraq's Sunni
Arabs, who dominated the country during Saddam
Hussein's rule, have been left with minimal
representation in parliament because few voted.
Shi'ite and Kurdish leaders say they will ensure
that Sunni Arabs are included in government.
"Our Sunni Arabs brothers made a big mistake when
they boycotted the elections,'' Talabani said. "But
they are an important group and we cannot ignore
them and therefore they must take part in the
democratic process.''
Talabani said he would meet Sunni Arab leaders to
try to persuade them to rejoin the political
process. He said he would also work to get Sunni
Arab prisoners released from jails if they were not
accused of specific crimes or insurgent attacks.
Talabani also vowed to strive to ensure that human
rights would be respected and Iraq would never
return to dictatorship.
"We must provide all kinds of freedom, personal and
economic, to all Iraqis. I will fight for that,'' he
said.
"What happened during dictatorship must not happen
again, and we should do whatever it takes to prevent
any of the crimes that happened before from
happening again.''
Asked if he had a message for his predecessor
Saddam, Talabani said he would remind the ousted
dictator about a letter that Talabani had sent to
him before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
"I told you in my last letter, answering a
threatening letter you sent me, that you should
resign and hand over authority to an interim
government that would run the country and supervise
elections to save yourself and your people,''
Talabani said.
"It is too bad you didn't listen to me,'' he said.
"Every human must take responsibility for his
actions.''
Reuters
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