12 June 2003
Coalition Ready to Shift Focus to Economic Growth in Iraq
(Ambassador L. Paul Bremer June 12 Press Conference) (1200) By Vicki Silverman Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- U.S. Presidential Envoy and Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority to Iraq, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer told reporters June 12 that Coalition efforts over the past 30 days have achieved the resumption of basic services throughout the country, enabling the Coalition Provisional Authority to focus on restoring economic activity. Speaking via satellite from Baghdad to reporters at the Pentagon in Washington, Bremer also spoke of the formation of an Iraqi political council and constitutional conference, set to convene in late July, to represent the aspirations of the Iraq people prior to full, democratic elections. "The thugs and the torture chambers may be gone, but everyday we find new evidence of how bad the regime was" both in terms of its tyranny and its chronic under-investment in Iraq's development, Bremer said. "We have completed the first phase of the coalition's efforts towards the reconstitution of Iraq. The focus during that phase was on getting basic service delivered, utilities turned on, and providing better law and order for everybody," he explained. Bremer reported June 12, that water and power were above pre-war levels in many parts of Iraq. "Here in Baghdad, we are producing 20 hours of electricity a day. The gasoline lines that you have read about have almost disappeared, as have the lines for liquid petroleum gas which is what is used for cooking," he said. He noted all 12 hospitals were up and running in Baghdad. Confident that the pace of improvements seen over the last 30 days would now continue, Bremer said Phase II efforts aimed at restoring economic activity have begun. Restarting the Iraqi Economy "We must now create jobs for Iraqis. Our best estimate is that before the war, Iraqi unemployment was running at about 50 percent and we think it is substantially higher than that now...there can be no higher priority than finding a way to create jobs," he said. Bremer outlined several short-term economic initiatives implemented over the past week in consultation with Iraqi businessmen and women, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and United Nation's Development Program. These include a $70 million local community action program, where communities identify activities that believe can lead to the most rapid improvements. "On Tuesday [June 10], I announced a $100 million emergency construction program," Bremer said, in order to create immediate jobs and tangible growth to bridge the employment gap before broader, private sector economic development takes hold in Iraq. "We are also trying to encourage trade now that the sanctions have been lifted," Bremer said, noting that the first sale of Iraqi oil directly into the world market is imminent. "This is all just the beginning...it's going to take time and patience to revive this very sick economy," Bremer said. "Repairing the damage of the last regime -- material, human and psychological -- is a huge task and it is a task that is only going to succeed if we have real partnership with the Iraqi people. I am deeply committed to that kind of partnership," he stressed. Security Bremer reported steady progress in arresting high-ranking members of the former regime. "We have more than half of the 55 most-wanted [officials] in custody or confirmed dead. ... We're picking them up every week," he said. Asked about organized resistance in Iraq, Bremer said there were pockets of it in the areas north and west of Baghdad but added, "We do not see signs of central command and control in that direction at this time." He added that the Coalition was closely monitoring these attacks, which were largely sponsored by small groups of Ba'ath party loyalists, to see if they evolved into a more organized resistance. Bremer reported no evidence that Saddam Hussein is directly linked to these activities but he noted that Iraqis still fear the re-emergence of the Ba'athist apparatus. Continuing U.S. military operations are important in proving to the general population that "the Ba'athists are done," he said. "We do have clear evidence of Sunni extremism in the area to the west of Baghdad and we do have clear evidence of Iranian interference in the affairs of Iraq. ... We are very attentive to the possibility of [Anasar Al Islam] flowing back into Iraq," Bremer said. Political Representation Asked what role religion might assume in the new Iraq, Bremer indicated confidence in the Iraqi people to identify and blend the needs of a new system of government with their culture, history and social experiences. "Questions like the role of Islam are so fundamental to the kind of society that the Iraqis will rebuild that I believe this is a question that needs to be left to the constitutional conference which will be convening towards the end of July," Bremer said. He was confident Iraqis view freedom of religion as one of the fundamental principles of the new Iraq. Asked how long the U.S. presence would continue in Iraq, Breme said, "My guess is that it is going to be a substantial amount of time, but whether that is measured in terms of months or years will depend on developments." He said after security is established, the Iraqis will have to write a constitution, get it ratified and call elections. "I have told Iraqis I have no deadline," Bremer said. Bremer outlined the formation of an interim authority, a rapid step towards Iraqi governance supported by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483. Iraq's Interim Authority will be composed initially of two bodies, he explained, a political council and a constitutional conference. "The political council will be made up of some 25-30 Iraqis from all walks of life and from the various strands of Iraqi society -- men, women, Shia, Sunni, Kurds and Arabs, tribal leaders, Christians, Turkmens, urban people, professionals etc. That group is the subject of some rather intense consultations that we are undergoing right now with people from all those walks of life and I expect that we will arrival at a list of agreed candidates within the next 4-6 weeks." Bremer noted the Political Council would be immediately responsible for identifying interim ministers for the more that 20 ministries that now make up the Iraqi government. "The interim ministers will in turn have substantial responsibility for how those ministries are run," he said. The Council will also set up commissions to study longer-range issues that have major impact on Iraqi society such as educational reform and organizing a national census, a vital issue related to democratic elections in Iraq, he explained. The second political body will consist of several hundred Iraqis who will draft a new Iraqi constitution. As in the case of the Political Council, the Constitutional Conference is expected to convene in late July 2003, Bremer told reporters. He said the Constitutional Conference will have not only determine the shape of Iraq's future government, but also assume the leading role in fostering a broad, intense national political dialogue on the fundamental principles and institutions that will support the new Iraq. (The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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