IRAN’S PLAN TO SAVE SADDAM REJECTED

TEHRAN, 4 Mar. (IPS Main Iraqi opposition forces rejected vehemently Tuesday an Iranian plan aimed at saving the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hoseyn and his brutal regime.

In the first reaction following Iran's announcement, the Democratic Party of (Iraqi) Kurdistan (DPK), one of the two main Kurdish groups controlling large parts of northern Iraq, rejected the idea, presented by the Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Kamal Kharrazi, calling for elections supervised by the United Nations and urging the nation's divided opposition to reconcile with President Hoseyn.

"We want a referendum to be held in Iraq and the Iraqi opposition to reconcile with the current regime in that country under the supervision of the United Nations", the official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Mr. Kharrazi as saying during a conference held in Tehran.

"No elections or referendum can be held as long as Saddam remains in Iraq. Iraqi opposition groups have agreed on a multiparty federal system to govern Iraq after Saddam's fall. No agreement can be reached between Iraqi opposition groups and Saddam because he won't accept it", the Associeted Press quoted Mr. Piroud Ebrahim of the DPK.

He was referring to decisions made last week in Salaheddin (Arbil), in the DPK held territory by the follow up and Coordination Committee to set up a six-men leadership to rule Baghdad in the post-Saddam period.

Other main Kurdish group, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, led by Mr. Jalal Talebani, who is close to the Iranian regime, said it sent a similar proposal to the Iraqi leader six months ago and received no response.

"I don't expect the Iraqi regime to respond to such a plan and Baghdad has not responded to similar initiatives", said Hazem al-Youssefi, the PUK's representative in Cairo.

The Tehran-based Supreme Assembly for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI) also rejected the plan, saying it "has nothing to do with the plan".

"We respect Iran's stand but Tehran usually does not impose its opinions on SAIRI and we are not committed to accept the plan", a source from the Iraqi major Shi’a organisation said in reaction to Iranian plan.

Iranian analysts say the reason the rulers of the Islamic Republic, particularly ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, the leader of the regime, are doing “whatever they can” to save Saddam Hoseyn from being overthrown by the Americans is that they genuinely fear that “one day or another, they would be Washington’s next target”.

In remarks made Monday in reaction to the calamitous results obtained by the Iranian reformists in the Friday city council elections, Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Khatami expressed fears to see the Iranians turn to foreign powers to topple the Islamic Republic, “as the Iraqis are doing so now”.

Explaining Iran’s last move, which observers say is inspired from Mr. Khameneh'i, the Foreign Affairs Minister said Iran believe “this is a genuine move, that the Iraqi people elect their real representatives in a referendum supervised by the United Nations".

"The Iraqi government, which has the power in hand now, should accept this plan" Kharrazi said, adding: "We believe this is the only way for a peaceful change of government in Iraq, which will prevent the breakout of a war in the region".

Both Iranian and Arab experts described as “naïve, if not ridiculous” the Iranian latest initiative on Iraq, adding that even supervised by the United Nations, Saddam might well come out victorious.

In October, Saddam won a referendum extending his term by another seven years, capturing by official count 100 percent of the more than 11 million votes cast.

The United Arab Emirates and some other Persian Gulf rulers had previously urged Saddam to go into exile to avert an American attack on Iraq, but that the Iraqi strongman immediately rejected idea.

That proposal, presented during a weekend Arab summit in Egypt, was well received by Bahrain and Kuwait, but other Arabs expressed reservations, concerned that it amounted to meddling in internal Iraqi affairs and could set a precedent by calling for a fellow Arab leader's removal.

Iran, however, repeatedly has said it opposes a unilateral U.S. attack against Baghdad and that any military action requires U.N. approval.

State-run Iranian television quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Sadr as saying that Iran also was suggesting a meeting of Iraq's six neighbours, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and U.N. chief Kofi Annan to quell mounting tension in the region. ENDS IRAN IRAQI PLAN REJECTED 4303