Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=10/14/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-308561

TITLE=O-I-C/IRAQ (L-ONLY)

BYLINE=MARY MOTTA

DATELINE=HONG KONG

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Islamic foreign ministers meeting in Malaysia are working on a draft to accept Iraq's U-S appointed interim government, but at the same time are calling for a timetable for returning power back to Iraq. V-O-A's Mary Motta has more from Hong Kong.

TEXT: Senior officials of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference will be issuing a draft statement that welcomes the U-S-picked Iraqi Governing Council into the fold of the O-I-C.

The draft resolution will be presented to Islamic leaders at their summit Thursday and Friday. It also calls for the United Nations to play a stronger role in rebuilding Iraq.

Over the past few days, foreign ministers have been working out divisive issues - Iraq being at the forefront. Tuesday's agreement to welcome Iraq's Governing Council seems to indicate that the group is making progress.

But Imran Waheed, a critic of the O-I-C who heads the British Islamic Liberation Party, says the O-I-C's progress may be illusory.

///WAHEED ACT///

The majority of Muslims I meet both in the U-K and the Muslim world feel that the O-I-C is very much an impotent organization which has no power and which merely pays lip service to the occupation and subjugation of land such as Iraq. So, I don't think the O-I-C has any degree of political clout.

///END ACT///

Summit leaders failed to say on Tuesday whether or not they will send peacekeepers to Iraq to help the U-S led coalition - an issue that has dominated talks on the sidelines of the meetings.

So far only Turkey has agreed to send forces, but the U-S-appointed Iraqi Governing Council is resisting the presence of Turkish troops because of tensions between Turkey and ethnic Kurds in northern Iraq.

Meanwhile, U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan canceled a planned visit to the O-I-C meeting because of stalled Security Council negotiations over Iraq.

The United States revised its draft resolution on Monday to include a deadline of December 15 for the handover of power to the Iraqis. O-I-C senior officials reacted negatively to the U-S resolution, saying it does not give enough power to the United Nations. (SIGNED)

NEB/HK/MEM/MH