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Framework for Mosul's interim government set

MOSUL, Iraq (Army News Service, May 5, 2003) - Mosul is setting up its first democratic government in decades after the commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) brokered the first few meetings with local officials.

Mosul is Iraq's third largest city, and is home to several ethnic groups, including Arabs and ethnic Kurds, who share it uneasily. Marines had been holding parts of Mosul, including the airfield, until the Army arrived.

A total of 232 delegates selected by their peers, representing nine geographical and ethnic factions in Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh province, came forth two weeks ago and started meeting with Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, 101st division commander. Together, they hammered out an interim government, which will have authority over Mosul and the outer laying municipalities.

"The commanding general has been the great factor in making all this work," said Maj. Trey Cate, the 101st division public affairs officer. "He has been the mediator. He's the one who brought the city's power brokers together under one tent."

The 101st Abn. Div. provided security and the mediating, and taught the local leaders the basics of a representative government system, but the delegates were the ones who decided upon the size and structure of their interim government and determined who would lead it, Cate said.

"The United States is not the one who selected the delegates or the representatives of the city council," Cate said. "They decided this during the meeting with the commanding general and they decided it democratically."

"Each faction gets to elect a certain number of representatives to the city council," Cate said. "The number was agreed upon by all the delegates."

Each faction will elect one council seat per nine delegates, except for the Turkomen faction, who have 15 delegates and one seat.

The Arab population will hold a slight majority on the council. Seven seats are reserved for Arabs living within Mosul, and six are for Arabs from the surrounding areas. The rest of the seats are split among Kurdish, Turkomen, Assyrian, Assyrian Christian, Yezidi and Shabakh factions.

A group of retired military generals who represent no particular ethnic group but are well-respected in the community will also elect two council seats. Once the delegates choose the council, the council will elect a mayor from a pre-selected list of four candidates.

"The mayor had to meet certain criteria," said Col. Richard O. Hatch, the 101st division staff judge advocate. "He had to be independent, someone from what they call a "great family" in Mosul which means his grandfather was born here or he has roots in the region ... and he had to be someone willing to serve and someone who will set a good example."

The council will also select eight ministers to manage the province's main government departments. Those seats are the ministers of education, police, public works, health, agriculture, administration of the municipalities, fuels and the central bank manager. The ministers will not have voting authority.

The council's primary task is to serve as an advisory board to the mayor, though he can reject the council's recommendations unless they vote against him with at least 22 votes, Hatch said.

"It's a system where the mayor is a strong mayor," Hatch said. "He will essentially be the governor of the Nineveh province and the mayor of Mosul."

One major talking point in the meetings was whether former Ba'ath Party members could participate in the interim government. Though many delegates had resentful feelings against Ba'athists, it was realized that some former party members might be needed.

"Our conclusion, Hatch said, "was that if anyone affiliated with the party was blanketed, there would be almost nobody with any experience left."

It was decided that high-ranking Ba'ath Party officials will be barred from serving, and eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis. If a prior official is elected, he will have to draft an affidavit renouncing his affiliation prior to taking office, Hatch said.

The interim government will rule for an indefinite period of time, but only until a permanent government can be established.

"It will be at least a year," said 1st Lt. Jeanne Hull, the 101st division's secretary for the meetings. "They have to do a census first, because one hasn't been done since 1956. They have to decide who's going to register where, and where the voting places will be, and allow time for political parties to start to form."

The focus of the interim government was primarily how to accomplish a fairly representative body as quickly as possible, Hatch said.

"Obviously, the sooner we can get any government in place, the better," Hatch said. "Right now, people here are used to being told what to do, so some are not doing anything, so we need someone who can tell these people what to do."

(Editor's note: Pfc. James Matise is a writer for the 101st Abn. Div.)