Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=8/7/2004

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ/AMNESTY (L)

NUMBER=2-318097

BYLINE=CHALLISS McDONOUGH

DATELINE=BAGHDAD

CONTENT=

HEADLINE: Iraq Prime Minister Signs Limited Amnesty Law

INTRO: The interim Iraqi prime minister has signed a limited amnesty law that will pardon insurgents who have committed minor crimes, but have not killed anyone. The long-awaited move is aimed at helping end the 15-month insurgency that has hampered efforts to rebuild the country. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Baghdad.

TEXT: Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi says insurgents have 30 days to turn themselves in to Iraqi security forces to qualify for the amnesty.

Earlier proposals would have pardoned almost everyone involved in the insurgency. But Mr. Allawi says the law he signed will not apply to serious crimes, such as murder, rape or the destruction of government buildings.

/// ALLAWI ACT ///

"This amnesty is not for people who have committed crimes, who have killed. The criminals will be brought to justice, starting from Zarqawi down to anybody who commits a crime on the streets of Baghdad. They will be brought to justice."

/// END ACT ///

He was referring in that statement to Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is alleged to be responsible for a series of deadly car bombings, as well as the kidnapping and beheading of several foreigners.

Those eligible for amnesty include people who possess small arms and explosives, as well as those who withheld information about terrorist groups, or helped those groups carry out their attacks.

/// OPT ALLAWI ACT IN ARABIC, EST AND FADE ///

Mr. Allawi says, "This order has been established to allow our citizens to rejoin civil society and participate in the reconstruction of their country and the improvement of their lives, instead of wasting their lives pointlessly toward a lost cause." /// END OPT ///

The prime minister also offered an olive branch to radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose followers had been battling U.S. and Iraqi troops for days in southern and central Iraq, especially in the holy city of Najaf.

Mr. Allawi has given the firebrand cleric a chance to distance himself from the actions of his followers and begin taking part in the political process.

/// ALLAWI ACT ///

"I have been having positive messages from Moqtada al-Sadr. That is why we don't think that the people who are committing the crimes in Najaf and elsewhere are his people. We think they are people using his name. We invite, and I invite from this platform, Moqtada al-Sadr to participate in the elections next year."

/// END ACT ///

/// OPT /// Previously, Moqtada al-Sadr has rejected invitations to participate in a national conference and national council, and has not indicated any willingness to take part in the elections scheduled for January. /// END OPT ///

In another development, the interim Iraqi leader and his interior minister say they have closed the Baghdad office of the al-Jazeera satellite television station for one month. Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib accused the station of inciting violence.

/// AL-NAQIB ACT ///

"They have been showing a lot of crime and criminals on TV, and they transfer a bad picture about Iraq and about Iraqis. And they have encouraged the criminals and gangsters to increase their activities in the country, which has suffered a lot. We want to protect our people, and won't allow al-Jazeera or anyone else to disturb security in the country."

/// END ACT ///

Mr. al-Naqib and the prime minister said an independent committee has been monitoring al-Jazeera broadcasts for the last month before deciding that the station should be kicked out. They declined to say whether any other stations are being monitored, but Mr. al-Naqib has recently voiced similar criticism of the Saudi-backed Al-Arabiya channel.

Several foreign journalists not affiliated with the Arabic television stations call the move a disturbing development for freedom of the press in Iraq. A spokesman for al-Jazeera called the decision unwise and regrettable, but said the channel will try to continue covering Iraq the best it can. (SIGNED)

NEB/CEM/ALW/TW