.Biden backs election ban on Iraq’s Baath party
Vice President Joe Biden told Iraqi officials on Saturday the United States backed a ban on Saddam Hussein's Baath party and said he had faith Iraq would resolve a row over the banning of election candidates suspected of links to it.
U.S. officials say the arbitrary way the list banned candidates appears to have been drawn up and the questionable legitimacy of the panel could undermine the election.
But Biden, on his third visit to Iraq since U.S. troops pulled out of city centers in June, said Washington had no problem with holding Baath party loyalists accountable.
"I want to make clear I am not here to resolve that issue (of the banned candidates). This is for Iraqis, not for me. I am confident that Iraq's leaders are seized with this issue and are working for a final, just solution," Biden said.
The 511 candidates banned from taking part are accused of membership or other links to executed former President Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party, feared Fedayeen (Men of Sacrifice) militia or Mukhabarat intelligence agency.
The dispute has stoked tension between the Shiite majority now leading the government and the Sunni Arab former elite and has also exposed the failings of a much vaunted but apparently stumbling national reconciliation process.
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told AFP that Biden's early talks had focused on general diplomatic relations between the two countries and security matters but the elections had also been discussed.
"He made the point that they want to see a transparent, fair election that has credibility, both for the Iraqi people and foreign people, but how you do it is your business," said Zebari, who attended some of the meetings.
Zebari, however, stressed Biden fully accepted that the dispute was for Iraqi leaders to resolve.
Biden not interfering
"Everyone is aware that the time (until the elections) is closing and this issue has to be resolved through legal means," Zebari said, referring to an appeals process through which barred candidates can have the decision reversed.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office quoted Biden as saying he "did not come (to Iraq) to seek any arrangement."
"President Barack Obama and I strongly support the implementation of Article 7 (of Iraq's constitution) that prohibits the Baath party," the vice president said, according to the statement.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh added: "He (Biden) clearly said that this is an Iraqi issue and he is not willing to interfere with the legal and constitutional process."
Saleh al-Mutlak, a leading Sunni MP and persistent critic of Maliki's Shiite-dominated government, is among those who have been barred. Maliki has denied that Sunnis have been targeted ahead of the election.
The election row sparked a flurry of contacts by Biden in recent days aimed at brokering a compromise, notably through President Talabani, who is a Kurd.
Biden "proposed that the disqualifications be deferred until after the election and that those candidates who have been barred condemn and disavow the Baath party and undertake to act through democratic means," Talabani said earlier this week.
Elections chief Faraj al-Haidari told AFP more candidates could yet be barred from the ballot, with the defense and interior ministries publishing lists naming individuals "who have criminal records or false diplomas."
Al Arabiya
Sure.
U.S. officials say the arbitrary way the list banned candidates appears to have been drawn up and the questionable legitimacy of the panel could undermine the election.
But Biden, on his third visit to Iraq since U.S. troops pulled out of city centers in June, said Washington had no problem with holding Baath party loyalists accountable.
"I want to make clear I am not here to resolve that issue (of the banned candidates). This is for Iraqis, not for me. I am confident that Iraq's leaders are seized with this issue and are working for a final, just solution," Biden said.
The 511 candidates banned from taking part are accused of membership or other links to executed former President Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party, feared Fedayeen (Men of Sacrifice) militia or Mukhabarat intelligence agency.
The dispute has stoked tension between the Shiite majority now leading the government and the Sunni Arab former elite and has also exposed the failings of a much vaunted but apparently stumbling national reconciliation process.
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told AFP that Biden's early talks had focused on general diplomatic relations between the two countries and security matters but the elections had also been discussed.
"He made the point that they want to see a transparent, fair election that has credibility, both for the Iraqi people and foreign people, but how you do it is your business," said Zebari, who attended some of the meetings.
Zebari, however, stressed Biden fully accepted that the dispute was for Iraqi leaders to resolve.
Biden not interfering
"Everyone is aware that the time (until the elections) is closing and this issue has to be resolved through legal means," Zebari said, referring to an appeals process through which barred candidates can have the decision reversed.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office quoted Biden as saying he "did not come (to Iraq) to seek any arrangement."
"President Barack Obama and I strongly support the implementation of Article 7 (of Iraq's constitution) that prohibits the Baath party," the vice president said, according to the statement.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh added: "He (Biden) clearly said that this is an Iraqi issue and he is not willing to interfere with the legal and constitutional process."
Saleh al-Mutlak, a leading Sunni MP and persistent critic of Maliki's Shiite-dominated government, is among those who have been barred. Maliki has denied that Sunnis have been targeted ahead of the election.
The election row sparked a flurry of contacts by Biden in recent days aimed at brokering a compromise, notably through President Talabani, who is a Kurd.
Biden "proposed that the disqualifications be deferred until after the election and that those candidates who have been barred condemn and disavow the Baath party and undertake to act through democratic means," Talabani said earlier this week.
Elections chief Faraj al-Haidari told AFP more candidates could yet be barred from the ballot, with the defense and interior ministries publishing lists naming individuals "who have criminal records or false diplomas."
Al Arabiya
Sure.
posted by madtom at 1:58 AM
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