IRAQI PRESS MONITOR, 07 Dec 04

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FIVE SHIA COUNCILS CONSIDER AUTONOMY

(Al-Taakhi) About 600 figures representing the councils of the five Shia Middle Euphrates provinces Najaf, Karbala, Qadisiya, Babil, and Muthanna yesterday discussed formation of a unified council as a preliminary step to establishing their autonomy within the framework of a federal Iraq. The closing announcement issued after meetings that lasted several hours in Najaf emphasised the formation of a mutual security committee and a unified administrative council for the said provinces to activate the procedures of enhancing the regions economy. Participants in the meeting also emphasised the importance of holding elections on time.
(Al-Taakhi is issued daily by the Kurdistan Democratic Party.)

SLE RULES OUT DELAY IN ELECTIONS

(Azzaman) The Supreme Legation of Elections admitted there were possible difficulties during holding elections on January 30 in Mosul, Anbar, and Salah al-Deen. But SLE spokesman Fareed Ayar said elections will not be postponed, no matter what the reasons. He also said five more days would be allowed for the registration of voters in the three provinces.
(London-based Azzaman is issued daily by Saad al-Bazaz.)

SLE SETS UP IN NINAWA

(Al-Mada) Supreme Legation of Elections representative Ali al-Dubooni has arrived in Ninawa Province, according to a source in the provincial council. The SLE will open its office to make people aware of the importance of elections. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the SLE would distribute the electoral form to public servants after ration card agents had refused to distribute them for fear of being killed. The SLEs situation, according to the source, is difficult and dangerous because public servants refused to work after the wave of threats that spread with Duboonis arrival.
(Al-Mada is issued daily by Al-Mada institution for Media, Culture, and Arts.)

LAWS FOR CHILDRENS RIGHTS UNDER CONSIDERATION

(Al-Ittihad) The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has set up a plan to reconsider some laws and legislation related to the rights of Iraqi children. Board of Childhood Care in Iraq member Amel Kadhim said the plan includes reconsidering some legal articles that would help stop violations of childrens rights as in kidnappings and labour. Kadhim also emphasised the necessity of the article that states the significance of a social researcher in every school.
(Al-Ittihad is published daily by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.)

SIX OIL WELLS ABLAZE NEAR KIRKUK

(Addaawa) Six oil wells in the Khabaza fields, west of Kirkuk, have been on fire since the last Eid, according to a source in the Petroleum Facility Protection Force. The source said the technical and engineering teams of the North Oil Company have been working to establish places to gather water near the burning wells and to prepare the necessary requirements before the Canadian experts arrive to put out the fire. Five of the wells blew up due to sabotage, while the sixth was on fire because of troubleshooting.
(Addaawa is a daily paper issued by the Islamic Dawa Party.)

BAGHDAD OFFICIAL ACCUSES OIL MINISTRY OF CORRUPTION

(Al-Nahdhah) Iraq has never before witnessed anything like the current crisis fabricated by the Ministry of Oil, according to Mizhir al-Zahir, who heads the Committee of Services in the Baghdad Province Council. Suggesting political motives at play, Zahir said we have hard evidence convicting the ministry of playing with the amounts of petroleum products they have. He also pointed out that most of the ministrys employees steal the oil and sell it on the black market. In addition, he said, the ministry used District Advisory Councils as a cover for administrative corruption.
(Al-Nahdhah is a daily newspaper issued by Adnan al-Pachachi, head of Independent Democrats Movement.)

HEALTH MINISTRY EXPOSES CONSTRUCTION FRAUD

(Al-Sabah) Eighteen dummy corporations have been aiming at participation in reconstruction of health centres in Najaf, according to the Ministry of Health. A source said the Ministrys Legal Department could reveal more than 18 cases of deception, in addition to contractors who were trying to participate in reconstructing health centres. The Ministry of Health has requested the Ministry of Planning to provide files of the companies that applied to work on reconstruction in the health sector.
(Al-Sabah is a daily independent publicly owned newspaper.)

CARTOON: (Tareek al-Shaab) Two men, referred to as Saddams henchmen are feeding a monster called terrorism. The cartoon suggests that Saddam's followers are responsible for the beastly terrorism now stalking the land.


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IRAQI PRESS MONITOR, 06 Dec 04

MUQTADA AGREES TO STAND FOR ELECTIONS

(Al-Mashriq) Muqtada al Sadr has agreed to run in the forthcoming elections after negotiations with Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, according to leading Sadr supporter Sheikh Ali Smaisim. After the negotiations, the Sadr current will run for elections on the unified list supported by the religious authority, Smaisim said. This represents a turn about for Sadr, who said he would not participate in elections after last months US offensive in Fallujah.
(Al-Mashriq is published daily by Al-Mashriq Institution for Media and Cultural Investments.)

CLIMATE UNSUITABLE FOR ELECTIONS SAYS SUNNI CLERICS GROUP

(Al-Iraq al-Yoom) Muslim Clerics Board spokesman Muthana Harith al-Dhari said the security and political situations were unsuitable for holding elections, but that the Board did not ban participation in elections. Dhari said: "We said we support the principle of elections because it is the only way to express the people's opinion freely but freedom cannot exist in an occupied land. Holding elections under these circumstances will not result in choosing an honest National Assembly.
(Al-Iraq al-Yoom is a weekly newspaper issued by Isra Shakir.)

GARAGES SERVE AS FRONTS FOR WEAPONS FACTORIES

(Al-Mutamar) National Guard Commander Mudhir al-Mawla said the huge amounts of weapons found in Baghdad, Latifiya, Fallujah, and Tarmiya in the last weeks involved tons of weapons hidden underground. Armed groups used car repair shops as factories to produce local missiles, especially in Sheikh Omar and Habibiya.
(Al-Mutamar is issued daily by the Iraqi National Congress.)

OIL SMUGGLERS NABBED OFF BASRA

(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed) Border guard patrols in Basra have seized four ships loaded with gas oil in Khor al-Zubair, each containing 150 tons. Southern Area Border Force Commander Brigadier General Ali Hamadi al-Moosawi said the ships owners had been arrested and admitted they wanted to smuggle the oil to neighbouring countries.
(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed is an independent daily paper.)

INTERIOR, OIL MINISTRIES DISCUSS FUEL CRISIS

(Baghdad) The Ministry of Oil has set up a mechanism to control the queues in front of petrol stations and put an end to illegal sales of petrol. Deputy Minister of Oil Abdul Jabbar al-Waga said a meeting was held with representatives from the Ministry of Interior to discuss the reasons for the fuel crisis, led by the lack of security, which has affected petroleum transportation. Even oil pipelines that transport petroleum to the Doora refinery have been attacked by saboteurs. Waga added that police patrols soon would be stationed in petrol stations to protect them.
(Baghdad is a daily newspaper issued by the Iraqi National Accord.)

PROTESTORS PICKET ELECTRICITY MINISTRY

(Azzaman) Representatives from the eighteen provinces of Iraq staged a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Electricity yesterday to protest the long power cuts, which last more than 16 hours per day. The protestors erected a tent on the pavement opposite the ministry. Babil Province representative Abbas Jabbar said the sit-in was staged in response to a call issued by the office of Muqtada al Sadr. He said the sit-in would last at least two days depending on whether the crisis is solved or not. Basra Province representative Hasan Fahad Khashin complained that electrical appliances break down because the current is unstable.
(London-based Azzaman is issued daily by Saad al-Bazaz.)

CZECHS TO AID WITH ARCHAEOLOGY

(Al-Bayan) Baghdad Council leader Muhammed Baqir al-Suhail said the Czech government would examine archaeological sites in Baghdad in cooperation with the municipal government. He added that a Czech technical staff would participate in the process in accord with a protocol to be signed by Baghdad Municipality and the Ministry of Culture.
(Al-Bayan is issued four times weekly by the Islamic Dawa Party, chaired by Vice-President Ibrahim al-Jafari.)

CARTOON: (Al-Mutamar) A masked man is looking at a farm planted with bombs. The caption says, "Reconstructing Iraq as some people want it". In a word, the cartoonist suggests that some people want to destroy the country by planting it with bombs instead of crops.

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Iraqi Press Monitor is published by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, an independent non-profit organisation supporting regional media and democratic change.

IWPR cannot vouch for the accuracy of the reports. The views represented by the stories are not necessarily those of IWPR.

To access the Iraqi Press Monitor on the web, please go to: http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?iraq_ipm_index.html