Al-Sistani Gives Tacit Approval for New Iraqi Govt., Urges Full Sovereignty

Al-Sistani gives Iraqi government tacit approval

Top Shiite cleric urges new leaders to lobby U.N. for full sovereignty

The Associated Press
Updated: 8:03 a.m. ET June 03, 2004

NAJAF, Iraq - Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric gave his tacit endorsement to the new interim government Thursday, and urged it to lobby the U.N. Security Council for full sovereignty to erase "all traces" of the American-run occupation.


Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani did say that the new government, appointed Tuesday by a U.N. envoy, lacks the "legitimacy of elections" and does not represent "in an acceptable manner all segments of Iraqi society and political forces."

"Nevertheless, it is hoped that this government will prove its efficiency and integrity and show resolve to carry out the enormous tasks that rest on its shoulders," al-Sistani said in a statement released by his office here.


Al-Sistani's opposition to the government would have severely undermined its credibility because of the cleric's influence among Iraq's Shiite majority, believed to comprise about 60 percent of the country's 25 million people.

Al-Sistani's objections to U.S. policy in Iraq effectively derailed at least two blueprints put forward by Washington to chart the political future of Iraq.

He had demanded elections to choose the government to take power from the U.S.-run occupation at the end of this month but dropped his insistence after U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi decided that an early ballot was not possible because of poor security.

Iraqis will choose a transitional government by the end of January and elect a new administration after ratification of the new constitution next year.

FACT FILE New leaders

The 30-member Iraq interim government was named on June 1. Click below for the key members:
• Prime Minister Iyad Allawi
• President Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer
• Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari
• Vice President Rowsch Shaways
• Deputy Prime Minister for National Security Affairs Barham Saleh
• Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari
• Interior Minister Falah Hassan
• Finance Minister Adil Abdel-Mahdi
• Oil Minister Thamir Ghadbhan
• Justice Minister Malik Dohan al-Hassan


Prime Minister Iyad Allawi
U.S.- backed Shiite Muslim with military and CIA connections. His power base, the Iraqi National Accord, made up largely of former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party and former military men, stresses secularism and counts Sunnis and Shiites among its members.

President Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer
Prominent Sunni member of the Shammar tribe, which includes Shiite clans and is one of the largest tribes in the Gulf region. The presidency is a largely ceremonial post.

Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari
A leader of the Shiite Muslim Dawa Islamic Party.


Parliament speaker in the Kurdish autonomous region in Irbil and member of Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of two rival parties running northern Iraq.


Deputy Prime Minister for National Security Affairs Barham Saleh
Close to the Americans, a leader of one of the main Iraqi Kurdish groups, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.


Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari
Since his appointment in July as foreign minister of Iraq's interim government, the 51-year-old Zebari has traveled worldwide to canvass support for what he calls a new, united and democratic Iraq. Iraq's first Kurdish foreign minister was a guerrilla fighter during Kurdish rebellions against ousted Iraqi leader Saddam.


Interior Minister Falah Hassan
Provincial official in Tikrit, Saddam's home region. Son of Gen. Hassan al-Naqib, a former deputy chief of staff under Saddam who defected in the late 1970s and became active in the exiled opposition.


Finance Minister Adil Abdel-Mahdi
French-educated son of a respected Shiite cleric who was a minister in Iraq's monarchy. Official of the powerful Shiite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.


Oil Minister Thamir Ghadbhan
Has been directing oil matters for months, since first being appointed by the U.S. Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance.


Justice Minister Malik Dohan al-Hassan
As elected president of Iraq's Lawyers League after Saddam's fall, had lodged early protests about the conditions under which the U.S.-led occupation administration was holding prisoners and about the prisoners' lack of legal defense. Had been a political prisoner under Saddam. Was culture minister in the mid-1960s.


'Complete soverignty'
With the new government set to take over in weeks, al-Sistani said the main tasks were to secure Iraq's sovereignty, relieve the suffering of its people, restore security and prepare for the January elections.

"The new government should get a clear resolution from the U.N. Security Council restoring sovereignty to Iraqis -- a full and complete sovereignty in all its political, economic, military and security forms and endeavor to erase all traces of the occupation," al-Sistani's statement said.

The United States and Britain have submitted a resolution to the Security Council laying down a blueprint for the transfer of sovereignty and seeking international endorsement. It does not spell out the interim government's sovereignty.

Many key council members have said they too want the resolution to fully detail the new government's power.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari was in New York with instructions from the new interim government to discuss the text with the 15 members. He was scheduled to brief the council at an open meeting on Thursday afternoon.

Al-Sistani said the new government cannot win popular support unless it proves "through practical and clear steps" that it is sincerely trying to achieve those goals.

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