IRAQ: In a major boost for Iraq's fledgling governing council, the Arab League agreed yesterday to let a council representative take Iraq's seat at the league's Cairo headquarters.
Although the acceptance was conditional, Arab recognition of the US-appointed council, which was formed on July 13th, gives it much needed credibility and could help pave the way for broader Iraqi representation at other international organisations, such as the United Nations and OPEC.
After hearing the news, Iraq's interim foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, told reporters that this was a first step "for the composition of a national government which would restore the sovereignty and independence of Iraq through free elections".
Iraq's seat at the 22-member Arab League has been empty since Saddam Hussein was toppled from power in April. Most Arab countries strongly opposed the war and subsequent occupation of Iraq, and feared that recognition of the governing council would be a de facto endorsement of the continued US-led occupation of the country.
After pressure from the United States and intensive lobbying by Iraqi council members, Arab moderates such as Egypt, Jordan and the UAE were broadly supportive of the effort to legitimise the council in time for the meeting of Arab foreign ministers that began at the Arab League yesterday afternoon.
However, Syria remained unconvinced and the debate over whether or not to accept the council began on Monday evening and continued until the early hours of yesterday, its length an indication of how divisive the issue remains.
As a compromise, and no doubt to appease the overwhelming public opposition in the Arab world to any US role in Iraq, recognition of the council came with strings attached. Chief among them was the demand that the interim council pressure the occupying forces to present a timetable for their withdrawal from Iraq.
According to an Arab League official, the council must also pledge to "preserve Iraq's territorial integrity and its people's unity". In addition, the council's seat at the Arab League will be temporary, lasting from between six months to a year, or until self-rule returns to Iraq. The league will review its decision at a foreign ministers' meeting in March 2004.
Officials have also made it clear that recognition of the governing council does not preclude the Arab League Secretary General, Amr Mousa, from meeting with representatives of other Iraqi groups during this period.
Even with the conditions, the Arab League's acceptance of its handpicked council is a welcome piece of good news for the United States. "This is a positive step on the road back to full sovereignty for Iraq," said an American official in Cairo.