The Iraqi Governing Council was dissolved yesterday after the appointment of a new interim government that will take over at the end of this month, a member of the outgoing body said.
"The Governing Council dissolved itself today. It no longer exists," said Mahmoud Othman, who has been appointed a minister of state in the new line-up.
Iraqi leaders got their way over US opposition yesterday to have tribal chief Ghazi Yawar appointed president after Washington's choice stepped aside in a face-saving arrangement between occupiers and occupied.
PHOTO: AP
As they met, a massive explosion nearby at the offices of a Kurdish political party just outside the US Green Zone headquarters killed 25 people, police at the scene said.
It was not clear what caused the blast. Widespread violence poses the greatest challenge to the interim government's efforts to organize Iraq's first free elections next year.
After two days of bitter confrontation over the largely ceremonial post, Iraqi Governing Council members said Washington's preferred presidential candidate, elder statesman Adnan Pachachi, had turned down the post minutes after being offered it by the UN in defiance of the Council.
A further test of strength between Washington and the US-appointed Governing Council lies ahead with the imminent announcement of 26 ministers to serve in an interim Cabinet until elections are held next year.
"Pachachi was named, then he turned it down and Yawar was named to the position instead. That's it, and everyone is happy," Council member Rajaa Habib Khuzai said.
UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, the man charged by Washington with naming an interim government, and Pachachi, an 81-year-old former foreign minister, were among those to congratulate Yawar, a civil engineer with ties to Saudi Arabia.
"Dr. Adnan Pachachi, who enjoys wide respect and support in Iraq, was offered the presidential position with the support of Sheikh Ghazi, but declined for personal reasons," Brahimi said in a statement confirming Yawar's appointment.
Pachachi told a news conference he had had the support of the majority of the Iraqi people but withdrew because he was opposed by "certain parties."
Reflecting the balance among Iraq's ethnic and religious groups, two vice presidents -- one Shiite Muslim, the other a Kurd -- were appointed to serve under the Sunni Muslim president. Prime Minister-designate Iyad Allawi, appointed on Friday, is from the long-oppressed Shiite majority.
Paul Bremer, the head of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority, and Brahimi were also set to announce the names of a Cabinet line-up for the interim government that will take over from the occupation administration on June 30.
The Governing Council has broadly agreed on a list of key Cabinet appointees among themselves but aides to Council members said it now appeared that Brahimi and the US officials might disregard that and appoint a different line-up.
Brahimi was brought in by the US to mediate between Washington and Iraq's various ethnic, religious and political groups. But the Governing Council had sought to push its own candidates on the UN envoy.
The 22-member body, appointed by US officials a year ago, has little clear support among ordinary Iraqis. But its members say they are the legitimate voice of the people following the US invasion that ended Saddam's dictatorship 14 months ago.
US and UN officials have said in the past that the Governing Council did not have the right to make appointments on its own. It caught Brahimi off guard on Friday by announcing the appointment of one of their number, Allawi, to the top job of prime minister. Many of the other nominations from the Council have come from among their own ranks.
Despite Brahimi's suggestion some weeks ago that he would prefer to see an interim government of apolitical technocrats, the Council appears set on naming many of its own members to the new administration that will supersede its role this month.
Both Yawar and Pachachi are Council members from the long dominant Sunni Muslim minority.
The vice presidents are Ibrahim Jaafari, head of the Shiite Dawa party, and Rowsch Shways from the Kurdistan Democratic Party. It was the offices of the rival Kurdistan Patriotic Union that were hit by the Baghdad blast.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS