Will the declaration of a governing council hasten the end of the occupation of Iraq, asks Salah Hemeid More than three months after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime Iraqis on Sunday began what is likely to be a long process -- restoring their independence and rebuilding a battered and occupied nation. Iraqi figures from different political, ethnic and religious backgrounds formed the first interim government of post-Saddam Iraq. The new council is composed of 13 Shi'ites, who account for 60 per cent of the Iraqi population of 60 million, five Sunni Arabs, five Kurds, an Assyrian Christian and a Turkoman. Three of the 25 members are women and 16 have either returned from exile or were previously based in the autonomous Kurdish area. Despite widespread concerns that the Governing Council would be limited to an advisory role the 25 members -- including leaders of seven main former opposition groups -- vowed that they would work towards building a new Iraq. "The establishment of the council is an expression of Iraqi will in the wake of the collapse of the former oppressive regime," said Sayed Mohamed Bahr Al-Uloum, a Shi'ite clergyman, in a statement read on behalf of the council's members. "This historic moment would not have been possible without the struggle and the sacrifice of our people." The council was selected following negotiations between the main Iraqi opposition groups and the office of Paul Bremer, chief American administrator. The 25 Iraqis -- doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, clerics, diplomats, political activists, businessmen and a judge -- expect to share responsibility for the course taken by post-war Iraq. Council member Adnan Pachachi, a former Iraqi foreign minister, said he does not expect Bremer to veto council decisions. "I think negotiations will settle any disputes that arise," he said. Bremer, who was in the front row at the press conference announcing the formation of the council, made no comments about the extent of power the council would exercise though his spokesman, Charles Heatly, made it clear that final decisions would continue to rest with the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Other US officials privately suggested that the council would have the power to appoint and dismiss interim ministers, draft the budget and supervise the drawing up of a new constitution. "This is all about Iraqis taking control," said Heatly. "They have a very significant role to play." The declaration of the council is a milestone in post-war Iraq, and some members of the new interim government have expressed determination to expand their powers. "We hope that this council will work for a very short time," said Abdul-Aziz Al-Hakim, a Shi'ite cleric who represents the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. "We should have a constitutional government and we should end the occupation," he told reporters after the first meeting of the council. The council was immediately welcomed by many Arab and other governments, including Russia, France, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. A statement issued by President Mubarak's office described the council as a move in the right direction. "We hope this will be the beginning of a more profound step which will lead to enacting a new constitution and an elected government," the statement read. Only Syria expressed strong reservations, saying the council "lacked credibility". Inside Iraq the very diversity of the council raised questions over its ability to project unified goals in a chaotic transitional period during which the Iraqi population is pulling in a host of different directions. In the south the majority Shi'ites fear they will be subordinate to the Sunni minority while in the north Kurds are seeking to protect the autonomy won over the last 12 years. Determined to show that it means business, the council immediately abolished the state holidays declared by the deposed regime and announced 9 April, the day that Baghdad fell, national day of the new Iraqi state. Its second official act on Monday was to set up special tribunal to try officials in Saddam's regime accused of genocide and war crimes. It also decided to return property confiscated from the Saddam regime's opponents. The biggest challenge facing the council, though, will be to establish its own legitimacy in the eyes of an Iraqi public increasingly sceptical about Washington's plans. National elections are not expected until next year at the earliest, though if the council manages to reestablish law and order and restore basic service and rebuild the tattered economy it will be well on the way to convincing Iraqis that it is working in their interests. While the council met in a government building in Baghdad on Monday thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of the capital demanding the withdrawal of occupation forces. And on the streets of other major Iraqi towns the immediate reaction was one of scepticism. Some Iraqis felt the council had too many former exiles while others feared it was just a tool of Washington. Others objected to its sectarian and ethnic divisions. Meanwhile attacks on US forces continued in Baghdad and in Fallujah, a Sunni stronghold of anti-American resistance west of the Iraqi capital. The US military said it had launched Operation Ivy Serpent to prevent militants staging anti- American attacks on upcoming anniversaries linked to Saddam and the Ba'ath Party. The latest military operation, launched on Saturday night, is the fourth conducted by the US military to crack down on armed resistance to the occupation. "Operation Ivy Serpent is a preemptive strike that aggressively focusses on non-compliant forces and former regime leaders," a military spokesman said.
