Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Iraqi Constitutional Monarchist Movement call for U.N. intervention
Politics
(Al-Hayat) - The leader of the Iraqi Constitutional Monarchist Movement, Ali Bin al-Husayn, has warned of a calamity if national reconciliation cannot be achieved before foreign forces withdraw from Iraq, "Al-Hayat" reported on April 23. Al-Husayn, secretary-general of the movement, said that mutual distrust among Iraqi factions is preventing reconciliation from moving forward, and he called on the UN to intervene and act as a guarantor of any agreement.
"This military presence continues to hinge on its [UN] resolutions," he said. "So what is the objection to letting the UN Security Council play the role of overseer and guarantor for any solution to help the Iraqi people find a mechanism that will ensure a real and effective reconciliation to emerge from the current impasse?" Al-Husayn warned that if reconciliation is not achieved prior to the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces, Iraq will become an arena of conflict for regional states that have competing interests.
COMMENT: Headed by Sharif Ali bin al-Husayn, cousin of the deposed Iraqi king, Faysal II, who was killed in the 1958 coup in Iraq. The group's website claims: "Constitutional monarchy is the one thing that could rescue Iraq from the factional conflicts between the various groups over the question of the position of the head of the state, because the Monarch would not favor one group to the detriment of another, but rather would represent all the people."
The group supports an elected national assembly, and claims that it can maintain a balance in Iraq because "Monarchy needs not to be affected by the political ideologies of the competing parties because its main role is an arbitrator between all and guarantor of the constitution." The CMM was one of seven opposition groups to receive financial support from the United States prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom. However, the group was not afforded a seat on the interim Governing Council, much to the chagrin of al-Husayn. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Ali Bin al-Husayn, Iraqi Constitutional Monarchist Movement, national reconciliation, U.N.
