Al-Yawar: I was Pressured to Withdraw my Candidacy

Al-Yawar, a Western educated businessman who was critical of the U.S.’s Iraq policies, disclosed to the Sharkul-Evsat newspaper that the coalition forces did not prefer him. He added that due to outside pressure the announcement of his name as the new Iraqi president was delayed for three days. "I was pressured to withdraw from candidacy and other tasks were suggested instead; however, I did not accept any of them."

Al-Yawar explained that these ‘other tasks’ included an offer to be an ambassador to Washington or a guaranteed position in the state ministry or deputy prime ministry. Iraqi leaders would have none of it and forced the Washington administration and the United Nations to recognize Al-Yawar as the new president. The other day, Washington denied that the administration was unhappy with his appointment.

Meanwhile, the new Iraqi Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, announced that he would make a series of security agreements with the U.S.-led coalition forces until such time that the Iraqi forces are ready to undertake their duty. The Iraqi Prime Minister anticipates increasing violence in Iraq but defended that evil forces and terror will not be able to affect stability process in Iraq. He told a Jordanian newspaper yesterday, "We will sign security agreements under the auspices of the UN."

On the other side, Iraqi Kurdistan Democracy Party (KDP) leader Mesud Barzani gave his support to government; however, he expressed sorrow that neither the President nor the Prime Minister were Kurdish. Barzani defended that involving Kurds, who are not out to grab power, in the formation of the new government would be beneficial to Iraq’s integrity.

Elsewhere, the Iraq Turkmen Front (ITF) announced that Turkmen are not pleased with the lack of attention being shown to them in the interim government. A high-ranking ITF official complained about the decline of Turkmen representation, "We were 1/26th of the government, now we are 1/36th of that."