24 September 2004
Iraq Seeks Help in Defeating Terrorists
Allawi says he is committed to January 2005 elections
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- Asking the international community to support his country's efforts to defeat terrorism, hold elections, and rebuild the economy, Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi September 24 said that "our struggle is your struggle, our victory will be your victory, and if we are defeated, it will be your defeat."
In Iraq's first appearance at the annual U.N. General Assembly since the ouster of Saddam Hussein and the end of the occupation, Allawi appealed for help in defeating the terrorists who want to "destroy the aspirations of our people and the physical infrastructure and create a state of tension, panic, and instability."
"I call upon all friendly and peace-loving nations to stand fast by Iraq because we need their assistance not only in the next year, but right away," he said.
"I realize some countries were against the war. . . . That is their right, but the differences over this should not block helping Iraq secure freedom and democracy and economic development," Allawi said.
"Let us stand side-by-side as one international family to our cause," he said.
The prime minister said that the terrorists are "an extremely tiny minority of criminals from the previous regime" along with "a number of foreigners who have infiltrated from neighboring countries." The terrorists chose Iraq as their battleground, he said, "because they are afraid of the success in building democratic institutions."
"They will reap nothing but failure," Allawi said.
"Our important priority is to defeat terrorism, hunt down the terrorists, and bring them to justice" in order to provide security for economic reconstruction and to complete the political process, he said.
Allawi said that he is committed to holding elections by the end of January 2005 "despite the complexities and difficulties."
Elections are needed "to improve the situation" and continue the process of rebuilding the country, the prime minister said.
Iraq needs more help from the coalition forces and needs the multinational force to have a broader base, he said, "so we will stand more determined and have security protection for the United Nations."
NATO's announcement that it will help train Iraqi security forces is "especially welcome," he said. "Our duty is to ensure our national borders are more secure to stop the infiltration of terrorists."
At a press conference a few blocks from the United Nations on September 24, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said that that while in Washington earlier in the week, Allawi said that if elections were held today, 15 of the 18 provinces would not have a problem.
"We are fully aware that we have to take political and military and security and police action to bring these three additional provinces firmly under government control and to create conditions where people will be free to register, and free and able to vote when the time comes," Powell said.
"Will there be places where it might be more difficult than other places? I'm sure there will be," the secretary said, adding, however, that the international community cannot allow terrorists to stop elections.
"We will all be working hard over the next several months to create conditions of security and firm government control throughout all of the provinces," Powell said.
The elections will be run by Iraq with technical help from the United Nations, but U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that the United Nations needs more security in order to be able to increase its presence from the current level of 35 staff members as the elections approach.
Powell said that he and the secretary-general "are deeply engaged in that now with the multinational force and with other nations that might provide funding assistance."
The bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003, which killed over 20 people including U.N. Special Envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello, "was a shock to the international system, to the U.N. system," Powell said.
"The secretary-general, of course, has an obligation to continue to do the work of the U.N. but, at the same time, provide a reasonable level of protection for the people who are asked to perform that work. And he is now balancing those two issues and we're going to help him with the protection issue so that we can get these people in to do their work," Powell said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=September&x=20040924191315ndyblehs0.7537195&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
