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Iraq gives order to reopen shiite sadr newspaper { July 19 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/19/international/middleeast/19IRAQ.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/19/international/middleeast/19IRAQ.html
July 19, 2004
THE NEW GOVERNMENT
Iraq Gives Order to Reopen Paper G.I.'s Had Closed
By IAN FISHER
BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 18 — Prime Minister Iyad Allawi on Sunday ordered the reopening of a radical Shiite newspaper closed by United States soldiers nearly four months ago. The closing was a catalyst for some of the worst anti-American mayhem of the occupation.
Dr. Allawi's decree concerning the newspaper, Al Hawza, was a pointedly conciliatory gesture to Moktada al-Sadr, the rebel Shiite cleric whose associates run the newspaper. The decree came on the same day as Dr. Allawi approved an American airstrike meant to pound another branch of insurgent fighters, in the city of Falluja, a center for attacks on American and Iraqi forces here.
Together, Dr. Allawi's two actions seemed early evidence of his stated strategy for taming the deadly insurgency by making concessions to fighters who cooperate and cracking down on those who do not. It is unclear, however, how much influence he has with the American military, though American officials said the airstrike in Falluja was carried out after Dr. Allawi had endorsed it.
At least 11 people were reported killed in the Falluja airstrike early on Sunday morning against what the American military said were forces allied with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Mr. Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant with reported ties to Al Qaeda, has claimed credit for much of the worst violence in Iraq, including three beheadings in recent weeks and two car bombs on Saturday. The militants in Falluja are largely members of Iraq's minority Sunni sect and foreign fighters.
Hours after the airstrike, Dr. Allawi announced in a statement that because he believed in freedom of the press he would allow the reopening of Mr. Sadr's newspaper. It had been padlocked March 28 by American soldiers acting on orders of L. Paul Bremer III, the former occupation chief, because he said it had incited anti-American attacks. The closing of the paper incited strong protests by thousands of Iraqis who accused the United States of hypocrisy for silencing dissent in the name of promoting democracy in Iraq. The protests widened into an armed Shiite uprising led by Mr. Sadr in several southern Shiite cities.
Since Dr. Allawi took power as head of a new interim government on June 28, he has said repeatedly that his most important task is to restore security and stability to Iraq, wracked by violence that has scared Iraqis, hampered reconstruction and cast a pall over the American effort.
But he has had to walk a fine line between toughness and compromise: many Iraqis, expressing outrage and humiliation at being occupied, supported attacks against American forces. Dr. Allawi has sought to find a balance by offering amnesty to fighters who did not commit serious crimes, even as he promised hard action against those who did not cooperate.
Mr. Sadr, a 31-year-old cleric who has a large following among poor and unemployed Shiites, and his aides have offered contradictory statements on Dr. Allawi's new government, but they seem to have settled on cautious and conditional acceptance. His spokesmen have said they could support the government if Dr. Allawi proves he is working on behalf of Iraqis and not under American orders.
On Sunday, a top aide to Mr. Sadr, Sheik Ahmed al-Shaibani, said it was not up to Dr. Allawi to decide when and if the newspaper resumed publication. But he acknowledged Dr. Allawi's gesture.
"It cannot be denied that it was a good step, but it came very late," he said in Najaf, the holy Shiite city south of Baghdad where Mr. Sadr lives. "What is required from the new government is to extend bridges of trust and cooperation between itself and the people."
It was unclear if Dr. Allawi timed his concession to a Shiite branch of the insurgency to soften any public-relations blow among Iraqis — many skeptical of Dr. Allawi's real power — from the airstrike against Sunni Muslim militants and foreign fighters in Falluja.
American military strikes against Iraqi targets have sometimes served to unite Shiite and Sunni insurgents. The strikes have also reinforced the perception that the United States, which has 140,000 soldiers here, is ultimately in charge.
At a joint news conference with the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage, visiting Iraq for two days, sought to emphasize the role of the new government in approving the airstrike — and its power, presumably, to veto it.
"We're not in the front seat anymore with the hand on the steering wheel," Mr. Armitage told reporters. "We are a supporting partner to a sovereign government. They will make decisions."
The Iraqi government, he added, was "fully informed" about the attack on Falluja, the latest of several bombings against suspected safe houses for Mr. Zarqawi's militants, and he said it "agreed with us on the need to take action."
"The point is, we didn't just act on our own," Mr. Armitage said. "A sovereign nation had to agree."
A military statement said the strike in Falluja was carried out just after 2 a.m. against "a known terrorist fighting position." The strike, the statement said, "destroyed defensive fighting positions and trench lines near the remains of a house and a foreign fighter checkpoint." About 25 insurgents were near the site just before the bombing, the statement said.
News services quoted Iraqi doctors in Falluja as saying that several women and children were among the dead.
In his trip here, Mr. Armitage, the highest ranking American official to visit Iraq since the transfer of formal sovereignty, struck many of the same notes as the new American ambassador to Iraq, John D. Negroponte, did the day before, in his first public comments to reporters since arriving here. Both emphasized what they said was Iraq's real sovereignty and a role for America that is supportive in organizing elections, reconstructing the country and calming the violence.
Mr. Armitage met with Dr. Allawi and the Iraqi president, Sheik Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, and discussed security issues and efforts intended to reduce Iraq's $120 billion foreign debt.
Mr. Armitage pledged continued American cooperation in security and reconstruction.
"We understand that Iraq's people need more electricity, more water, more jobs — and we are determined to find ways to help the government meet these needs," he said.
The strike in Falluja came at a time of escalating violence here after several weeks that had been relatively free of major attacks, and amid what appeared to be a substantial political victory for the insurgents. On Sunday, the Philippine government announced that it would complete the withdrawal of all 51 of its military personnel, the condition that kidnappers here had set for the release of a Filipino hostage, Angelo de la Cruz.
The insurgents had threatened to behead Mr. Cruz, a truck driver working for a Saudi company who was captured July 7, unless the Philippine government withdrew its contingent. Credit for the kidnapping was claimed by Mr. Zarqawi's group, which also took responsibility for beheading three other captives, including a Bulgarian truck driver last week.
On Sunday, Mr. Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister, repeated his criticism of the Philippine withdrawal.
"This in my view and the view of the Iraqi government has set a bad precedent and sent all the wrong messages," he said in the news conference with Mr. Armitage. "Terrorism should not be rewarded."
Marek Belka, the new prime minister of Poland, one of America's crucial allies in Iraq, reinforced his nation's commitment to keeping troops in Iraq through 2005, though he said on Sunday that the numbers would drop substantially at the start of the year.
Though Poland has a close relationship with the United States, the deployment of troops to Iraq has been unpopular there. Last week, the government said it would reduce its troop level to 1,000 to 1,500 in January, from 2,400.
Mr. Zebari also said 43 new Iraqi ambassadors would be appointed on Monday, as the nation begins to rebuild diplomatic ties. On Monday, Dr. Allawi was expected to visit Jordan, the first stop in visits to other Arab countries, expected to include Egypt, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Also on Sunday, the American military said it had captured a former member of Saddam Hussein's elite Republic Guard who is suspected of planning and financing insurgent attacks. The military said it arrested the man, Sufian Maher Hassan, a former Iraqi general, on Friday in Tikrit, Mr. Hussein's hometown.
An Iraqi employee of The New York Times contributed reporting from Najaf for this article.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
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