Iraqi opposition groups will meet in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah on Saturday, a representative told a London press conference yesterday.The opposition appeared at odds with each other over the role the UN and the Anglo-American coalition should play in post-war Iraq.
But they gave a firm message that they would not accept a new dictatorship in the country and would not be subservient to the United States.
"There will be a meeting in Nasiriyah on April 12th for all opposition parties, and we hope all opposition groups will be represented," said the organiser of the meeting, Mr Ghassan Atiyyah.
He did not say which opposition parties or how many representatives would be attending the gathering.
Members of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), the Iraqi National Accord (INA), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Islamic Al-Dawa party were present at the press conference.
The US-backed INC has sent 700 fighters to southern Iraq to join coalition forces in the campaign to topple President Saddam Hussein, the INC said.
Mr Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the INC, a coalition of opposition groups, is gearing up for a major role in post-war Iraq and is already in Nasiriyah.
The opposition gave a firm message that they would not accept a new dictatorship in their country.
"We reject any form of dictatorship. Iraq didn't need any form of expertise in the past and has been able to run all sectors of the economy," said Mr Salah Shaikhly of the INA.
"We will not accept another new dictatorship," said Mr Latif Rashid, a spokesman for PUK, one of the main Kurdish opposition parties.
He said there should be an interim government as soon as possible after the war ends.
"We are not a colony," said Sharif Ali Hussain, leader of the Monarchist Constitutional Movement (MCM).
The opposition groups were divided on many issues, even fighting over the microphone to answer journalists' questions.
On the UN, while Mr Atiyyah said the world body had an important role to play in the administration of Iraq, Mr Rashid said: "The less a role the UN is given, the better. We don't need anyone's advice" about oil, he added.
"It is too early to talk about oil," said Mr al-Yawar of the INC.
The INC, the PUK and the INA were among the six groups that in February formed the leadership council in Salahaddin, Kurdistan, which aims for involvement in a post-Saddam government.