DOHA, April 16: A group of Iraqi opposition representatives, local and tribal leaders met in Nassiriyah on Tuesday and approved a 13-point statement outlining principles for the future of Iraq.
The 13 points released by US Central Command in Doha, Qatar:
1. Iraq must be democratic
2. The future government of Iraq should not be based on communal identity
3. A future government should be organized as a democratic federal system, but on the basis of countrywide consultation
4. The rule of law must be paramount
5. That Iraq must be built on respect for diversity including respect for the role of women.
6. The meeting discusses the role of religion in state and society.
7. The meeting discussed the principle that Iraqis must choose their leaders, not have them imposed from outside.
8. That political violence must be rejected, and that Iraqis must immediately organize themselves for the task of reconstruction at both the local and national levels.
9. That Iraqis and the coalition must work together to tackle the immediate issues of restoring security and basic services
10. That the Baath party must be dissolved and its effects on society must be eliminated
11. That there should be an open dialogue with all national political groups to bring them into the process.
12. That the meeting condemns the looting that has taken place and the destruction of documents
13. The Iraqi participation in the Nassiriyah meeting voted that there should be another meeting in 10 days in a location to be determined with additional Iraqi participants and to discuss procedures for developing an Iraqi interim authority.—dpa
AFP adds: But around 20,000 mostly Shia Muslims rallied in the nearby city of Nassiriyah to protest US influence in shaping post-Saddam Iraq, underscoring the pitfalls facing Washington’s effort to re-make the country after 24 years of dictatorship. The largest Shia group declined to attend the meeting and blasted what it saw as US interference in the country’s future.
An AFP correspondent in Nassiriyah witnessed a tense standoff in the city as demonstrators unleashed their wrath over Ahmad Chalabi, who has had Pentagon backing as a future Iraqi leader but is not seen as having broad popular support. Chalabi did not attend the meeting, but sent a delegate to represent his umbrella Iraqi National Congress.
