IRANIAN PARLIAMENT CRITICISE GOVERNMENT’S POLICY ON IRAQ
By Safa Haeri, IPS Editor
PARIS 17 Dec. (IPS) As the Iraqis opposed to the rule of Saddam Hoseyn formally ended Tuesday their "historical" meeting in London, lawmakers in Tehran strongly criticised the government’s "failures" concerning the situation in neighbouring Iraq.
The meeting, that started on Sunday, was to last three days, but was extended
to Tuesday due to last minute wrangling from the Iranian-backed Supreme Assembly
of the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (SAIRI), demanding at least 13 seats at the
proposed Follow up and Coordination Committee (FCC) to be formed, in charge of liaising
between various opposition groups as well as with the international community
after the fall of the Iraqi dictator.
But the Shi’a-based group, which is based in Tehran and is controlled by the ruling Iranian ayatollahs, was warned by the both the United States and other major organisations that either they comply or would be ousted from the post-Saddam process.
Mr. Zalmay Khalilzad, President George W. Bush’s special envoy to the London meeting urged the 350 participants from 50 groups to bury their differences and forge a common front "or watch the US to go along with its own plans for Iraq".
Opposition leaders agreed to form a joint 65-member body to lead Iraq in a two years transitional period and adopted a political declaration calling for a "democratic and federal" Iraq after the downfall of the present government.
The National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee of the reformists-dominated Majles reviewed the outcomes of both the Tehran and London meetings of the Iraqi opposition and the role Washington plays in the ousting of Saddam Hoseyn, and seriously criticised the government’s policy on that issue, the independent Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) said, quoting Mrs. Elaheh Koola’i, the Committee’s raporteur.
According to Mrs. Koola’i, lawmakers told the Foreign Affairs and Intelligence ministries deputies present at the session that the Majles is not satisfied with the way the government is handling of the Iraqi crisis.
"A majority of the member of the Foreign Affairs and National Security Committee think the so-called neutral activity opted by the Foreign Affairs Ministry do not respond to the nation’s objectives of national interests", Mrs. Koola’i was further quoted by ISNA as having said, without presenting any other policy in that sensitive matter.
Her comments confirmed once again the big gap between the majority of the Iranians that stress on a more active role by Iran concerning the situation in neighbouring Iraq with Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, who, as the leader of the regime, has the upper hand on the regime’s foreign policy.
Critics say if Iran does not take an active part in the toppling of the Iraqi dictator, not only it could not expect to play any role in the post-Saddam Iraq, but would also downsize the share of both the SAIRI and the Iraqi Shi’a Muslims in future.
"Once again, we are repeating the same mistakes we did regarding Afghanistan, where, because of Mr. Khameneh'i’s staunch anti-American attitude, we had no share in the Afghan cake", observed one Iranian political analyst referring to the Iranian policy concerning Iraq.
Lawmakers at the Tuesday session also asked the Foreign Affairs’ representative to explain why Iran refused to send any observer to the London meeting of the Iraqi oppositions in the one hand while, on the other, is expanding its cooperation with Baghdad at a time that the days of the present Iraqi regime are numbered?
However, though Tehran has not a clear-cut policy concerning Iraq but to oppose any "unilateral" attack on Baghdad by Washington, yet some observers say in case the US goes to war, Iran might then "comply", as it did in Afghanistan. ENDS IRAN IRAQI OPPOSITION 171202