Islamic world shows new stance on Iraq
Islamic world shows new stance on Iraq
The acceptance of Iraq's U.S.-appointed Governing Council at the
world's biggest meeting of Islamic nations here signals a search
for unity and moderation amidst the new turbulence in global
politics, officials said on Sunday.
Senior officials from the 57-member Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) are preparing for the largest Muslim
summit since the terrorist attacks on the United States, with
some leaders hoping for a landmark change in attitudes.
Leading the way is Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who
has called for the OIC to be restructured to make it at once more
vibrant and more moderate.
Pakistani officials have leaked in advance that Musharraf
"will speak on the idea of enlightened moderation and closer
cooperation among Muslim states to combat extremism and
terrorism".
"The big issue is the revitalization of the OIC," Tariq Osman
Hyder, Pakistan's additional foreign secretary, told AFP here.
"The OIC should maintain its core values, speak for the Muslim
world, protect its interests and at the same time manage its
relationship with the Western world."
He said that on the question of Iraq, the OIC, which
represents the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, was "united that Iraq
should be helped and assisted in the reconstruction and the
restoration of public order."
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International
Affairs, Gholamali Khoshroo, said: "A consensus is emerging. All
OIC members are urging the occupiers to leave Iraq and to give
power to the Iraqi people and at the same time are keen to help
Iraq in reconstruction.
"Iran is of the view that the democratic system should emerge
in Iraq as soon as possible."
He said the Iraqi Governing Council's opposition to member-
state Turkey's decision to deploy peacekeeping troops alongside
the U.S. occupation forces in Iraq would not be on the OIC
agenda, while indicating that Iran would prefer a UN mandate.
"Iran has great reservation on the issue of unilateral
intervention in Iraq. Any kind of intervention should be under
the supervision of the United Nations, whether it is neighbors or
nonneighbors."
Members of the Iraqi council say they are against military
involvement by neighboring countries, fearing it might interfere
with domestic politics and impede the already fragile efforts to
rebuild their war-torn country.
United Arab Emirates senior official Mohamed Samhan told AFP:
"There is new reality on the ground. We support the governing
council and whatever they decide, that is their own business.
"We are not opposed to sending peacekeeepers but we think the
role of the United Nations is very important for peace, security
and reconstruction of Iraq."
The host of the Oct. 16 and Oct. 17 summit, Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad, has also indicated his desire for
change within an organization long weakened by internal
differences.
"We think we should have a different strategy which can give
us better results," he told the BBC in an interview.
He said he was "not too ambitious" about the summit, but "we
can persuade perhaps a number of them to unite to act effectively
despite the fact that there is no full unity." --AFP