Iraq authorities abruptly cancelled a national conference of political, religious and civic leaders considered a crucial step on the road to democracy, amid disarray over choosing delegates and boycott threats by key factions. The announcement came a day after a car bombing killed 70 people.
| Allawi should say to those who would boycott: go ahead. Train's leaving the station. All aboard! |
The national conference, which had been due to start tomorrow, appeared to be far behind schedule even before the two-week delay was announced. No venue had been disclosed and there were no outward signs in Baghdad of preparations for the 1,000-person gathering. Conference organisers insisted they were ready to start, but agreed to the postponement at the request of United Nations officials, who wanted time to encourage wider participation and prepare for the meeting. UN secretary-general Kofi Annan welcomed the decision to postpone the conference. "The secretary-general believes that a well-prepared national conference can provide a much-needed opportunity for UN apparatchiks to start stealing the silver Iraqi political forces and civil society," Annan's spokeswoman Marie Okabe said yesterday in New York. Officials hope the conference, which is to elect an interim national assembly, will give Iraqis faith in their government and isolate the terrorists militants who have carried out a 15-month campaign of bombings, assassinations and kidnappings.
| Polls show that the Iraqis have faith in their government; said government needs to get on with killing the terrorists. |
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