Gli Usa chiedono che altri facciano pressioni sull’Irak per un governo che comprenda tutti

<106539456"> Usa, Irak, Ue, paesi arabi NYT 05-06-12

<106539457"/><106451437"> Gli Usa chiedono che altri facciano pressioni sull’Irak per un governo che comprenda tutti

Steven R. Weisman

<106539458"> N on volendo apparire come manipolatori della politica irachena, gli Usa stanno coinvolgendo Europa, paesi arabi e Onu affinché spingano il governo iracheno a includere le minoranze nel processo politico.

Nonostante alcune offerte agli arabi sunniti, Washington fatica da sola a persuadere il governo iracheno, forte del suo mandato popolare, è meno aperto all’influenza americana.

Gli Usa sono riusciti ad ottenere il consenso in diversi paesi, compresi molti di quelli che nel 2003 si sono opposti all’invasione dell’Irak; è un segnale forte a Baghdad: «è un evento significativo che Francesi, tedeschi, russi e Usa si siano seduti ad uno stesso tavolo e abbiano un comune progetto sull’Irak», un funzionario dell’amministrazione americana, non meglio identificato.

Questa campagna ha assunto forme diverse, visite lampo a Baghdad di eminenti inviati Ue e britannici, una conferenza sull’Irak a Bruxelles il 22 giugno con i rappresentanti di 80 paesi, Onu , BM, il segretario di Stato americano, Rice.

Usa ed alleati inviano tre indicazioni alla conferenza:

– il processo politico deve riflettere le differenze politiche irachene;

– la costituzione deve garantire i diritti delle minoranze e la separazione dello Stato dalla legge religiosa;

– l’Irak deve mantenere un sistema federale per evitare la secessione della regione curda e di altre regioni.

Sono previste riunioni specifiche:

– una sul futuro politico iracheno tra l’inviato iracheno, il segretario Onu e un rappresentante egiziano, probabilmente lo stesso ministro degli Esteri, Ahmed Abdul Gheit;

– una sulla ricostruzione economica diretta dai rappresentanti di Ue e Giappone;

– una su “legge e ordine pubblico”, diretta dai ministri degli Esteri di Usa e Ue , Rice e Solana.

L’amministrazione Bush ha intenzione di fare pressione sui paesi arabi affinché accrescano la propria rappresentanza diplomatica a Baghdad.

La conferenza di Bruxelles non ha come obiettivo quello di aumentare gli aiuti finanziari o militari della comunità internazionale; il numero delle truppe in Irak è diminuito a 21 000; dei $13md. promessi nel 2003 dai donatori internazionali, ne è stata consegnata solo una frazione.

Bm e Fmi hanno costituito due fondi separati , ma finora solo $1md. è confluito nei fondi; dei $19md. stanziati due anni fa’ dagli Usa per la ricostruzione ne sono stati spesi solo $7,5md. Uno dei motivi principali è la mancanza di sicurezza nella regione. NYT 05-06-12

U.S. Asks Others to Pressure Iraq to Be Inclusive

By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

WASHINGTON, June 11 – The Bush administration, seeking to close the continuing rift between Shiite and dissident Sunni Arab leaders in Iraq, is enlisting Europe, the Arab world and the United Nations to pressure the Baghdad government to include minorities in the political process, administration and other diplomats say.

The American effort has produced consensus among a broad spectrum of countries, including many that had opposed the 2003 invasion and have been reluctant to send troops or large donations.

These countries, which have joined in general United Nations resolutions supporting elections and the reconstruction of Iraq, are now said by American officials to be ready to go a step further by trying to persuade Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and his Shiite and Kurdish allies to be more inclusive.

The administration officials and diplomats said the campaign was taking several forms, from a surprise visit to Baghdad last week by top envoys of the European Union and Britain to a conference in Brussels on June 22 on Iraq, to be attended by envoys from 80 countries, the United Nations, the World Bank, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Though the Baghdad government has taken some steps in reaching out to Sunni Arabs, the administration has found it hard to persuade it to do more while acting alone. In part, that is because the new government, confident in its popular mandate, is less open to American influence, and the United States, not wanting to be seen as manipulating Iraqi politics, has not wanted to press harder alone.

“The ostensible reason for the conference is for the international community to recognize the legitimacy of the newly elected Iraqi government,” said an administration official, asking not to be identified because of the implicit criticism of the new government of Mr. Jaafari. “The other reason, less stated publicly, is to get the Iraq government to commit to steps so that it is not a narrowly based Shiite regime.”

The administration official said that the Shiite leadership of the new government, which was elected at the end of January in balloting largely boycotted by Sunni Arabs, had made some headway in inviting Sunnis into the constitution-writing process, but that “Sunni dissatisfaction remains deep.”

“There is a kind of radical, unrepentant core of Shiites in the government that thinks they’ve done plenty and don’t need to do more,” the official said.

The administration and its international allies have three main signals they want to send at the conference: making sure the political process reflects Iraq’s political diversity, ensuring that the constitution protects minority rights and a separation of the state from religious law and, finally, guaranteeing that Iraq maintains a federal system that prevents the Kurdish region and others from splitting off.

Administration, Western, Arab and European diplomats speaking about the conference asked not to be identified because they did not want to be seen as pressuring Iraq. They said it was uncertain whether the conference would achieve any immediate result in terms of Iraq‘s politics, but that bringing together a broad group of nations, including some that had declined to join the war or send peacekeeping troops, would send a positive message to Baghdad.

“The idea is to take another step forward in the creation of a new Iraq,” said a second administration official. “Having the French, the Germans, the Russians and the United States sitting together and underscoring a common vision for Iraq will be a significant event, even at this point. But what happens is not up to us. It’s up to the Iraqis.”

European, Arab and United Nations diplomats said in interviews that they supported the administration’s goal of making the Iraqi government more inclusive and that they would work to press for further steps and for a process of producing a constitution with guarantees for minorities, in their own contacts with Iraq and at Brussels.

“We cannot be seen as telling the government in Baghdad what to do,” said an Arab diplomat, asking not to be identified because he did not want to be seen as insulting the Iraqis. “But we can tell them what they need to gain international legitimacy.”

A European diplomat said: “The constitution has to be put together by the Iraqis. But people in the international community have to make clear that we’re following what they do very closely, and that all segments of Iraqi society must participate and that United Nations Security Council resolutions have to be respected.”

The diplomat was referring to the goal set by the Security Council to complete the constitution-writing process by August and hold a referendum and elect a new government by early next year.

A Western diplomat with extensive contacts in Iraq said the new Iraqi government was not as amenable to pressure as the Iraqi Governing Council, its predecessor. The council members were put in place by the American-led occupation administration, chosen mainly from among exile leaders.

“This is not an American puppet government anymore,” said the diplomat. “It’s standing up to the United States because it feels it has been elected and has legitimacy.”

The first administration official said, “Despite the rhetoric and the to-ing and fro-ing in Washington, people in Washington are getting more worked up over Iraq as their influence on the ground becomes less and less.”

American officials say the Brussels conference will not be aimed at new aid pledges from the international community or new troop commitments. The number of foreign troops in Iraq has dipped to 21,000, and of the $13 billion pledged in the fall of 2003 by international donors, only a fraction has been delivered.

For example, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund set up two separate entities for contributions by donor countries, but only about $1 billion has gone into the funds so far. A major reason for the lag in donations is the security situation, which is also a main reason why only $7.5 billion of nearly $19 billion appropriated by the United States for reconstruction of Iraq two years ago has been spent.

The political pressure is expected to be exerted in the conference most acutely when Iraqi envoys join with a session on Iraq ‘s political future to be led jointly by Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations and a senior Egyptian envoy, most likely Foreign Minister Ahmed Abdul Gheit. A session on economic reconstruction is to be led by envoys of the European Union and Japan, and a session on “rule of law and public order” is to be led by Ms. Rice and Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief.

Another element of the conference, administration officials said, would probably involve pressure by the Bush administration on Arab countries to upgrade their diplomatic representation in Baghdad.

Arab countries say, however, that the only obstacle to sending such missions is security. A month ago, King Abdullah II of Jordan said the country would send an ambassador as soon as one could be protected.

Copyright 2005 The New York Times