Posted on 09/30/2003 10:58:53 PM PDT by kattracks
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The world's Islamic nations gave a nod to Iraq's Governing Council on Tuesday and called for officials of Saddam Hussein's deposed regime to be brought to justice for alleged mass killings.Foreign ministers from the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference also called on group members to provide "all forms of support and assistance to meet Iraq's needs" so the war-torn country can quickly get back on its feet.
The statement was sure to be a psychological boost to Baghdad's U.S. and British military rulers, who have been under fire from the Muslim world since invading Iraq in March without U.N. approval.
Despite U.S. denials, Muslims accused Washington of targeting Islam in its efforts to stamp out terrorism.
The Islamic conference, in a statement issued after a meeting at U.N. headquarters, called on the United States and Britain, who have run Iraq since toppling Saddam, to respect Iraqi sovereignty and safeguard its civil and religious liberties and cultural heritage.
But it also "condemned with deep sorrow" alleged mass killings of innocent Iranians and Kuwaitis as well as Iraqis carried out by Iraq's former rulers.
"The meeting called for bringing to justice the officials of the former Iraqi regime who committed such crimes," the statement said.
While welcoming the establishment of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council, it stressed the right of the Iraqi people to fully control their natural resources and "establish a fully representative and broad-based government."
The 25-member Governing Council was appointed in July by U.S. administrator Paul Bremer, who can veto its decisions. Council members have been pressing Washington to give it greater leeway to administer their oil-rich nation.
Under pressure from Security Council members eager for a time-line for Iraqi sovereignty, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said last week he wanted to see an Iraqi constitution ready for ratification in about six months so Washington could quickly hand over power to an elected government.
But the Iraqi group working on the new constitution said it would be impossible to complete the job within that time because of deep disagreements over major issues, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
09/30/03 19:34 ET
Anybody think it will knock the non-issue (Wilson CIA leak) off the front page? I'm not exactly holding my breath waiting for it to happen.
Can you imagine dozens of Christian nation-states forming a coalition and putting their stamp of approval on a nation!? The press-UN-EU-Commies-DNC would howl at the suggestion.
If you want on or off my Pro-Coalition ping list, please Freepmail me. Warning: it is a high volume ping list on good days. (Most days are good days).
(Okay, I don't really know this for a fact, but I'm playing the odds!)
I just wish there WERE dozens of Christian nations.
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