Bremer threatens to veto Iraqis' choice of president
Justin Huggler, The Independent ( 1 June 2004)
"It emerged yesterday that Mr Bremer warned the council during talks on Sunday not to put the decision to the vote, saying that if it elected Sheikh Yawar, he would veto the decision. Further talks scheduled for yesterday were postponed at America's request until today, meaning that the deadline to name the interim government by the end of May was missed." Justin Huggler writes from Baghdad.
Interview: The Civil Opposition In Iraq, Part 1
Bill Weinberg, ww3report.com ( 1 June 2004)
On March 3, a group of Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) supporters held a solidarity vigil with the Baghdad women at the Federal Building in downtown Manhattan. In attendance were Khayal Ibrahim of OWFI and Samir Noory of the Worker Communist Party of Iraq, who came down for the vigil from Toronto, where they live as exiles. Both are in close contact with the organizations they represent in Iraq, and serve as their North American voice. On the night before the Manhattan vigil, Ibrahim and Noory spoke with WW3 REPORT editor Bill Weinberg on his weekly midnight talk show, the Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade, on listener-supported WBAI, 99.5 FM.
Interview: The Civil Opposition In Iraq, Part 2
Bill Weinberg, ww3report.com ( 1 June 2004)
On March 30, Issam Shukri, who recently led protests by unemployed workers in Baghdad with a new organization, the Union of Unemployed in Iraq (UUI), spoke at the downtown Manhattan offices of AFSCME Local 1707, where he was hosted by local supporters. An exile in Toronto, Shukri returned to Iraq to help organize the thousands of workers thrown out of their jobs in the chaos of the post-Saddam collapse. After his presentation that evening, he spoke with WW3 REPORT editor Bill Weinberg on his weekly midnight talk show, the Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade, on listener-supported WBAI, 99.5 FM.
Rights groups - mixed reaction to new government
Report, IRIN ( 1 June 2004)
After weeks of wrangling, a new government has been sworn in to serve as an interim authority to take over sovereignty from US-led administrators on 30 June. Workers at an Iraqi human rights group and a women's group expressed cautious support for the new government, which will serve until general elections scheduled for January, but called on it to be independent of US-led coalition forces.
United Nations Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi respects the decision taken by the Iraqi Governing Council to name Iyad Allawi as Iraq's Prime Minister-designate, a spokesman for the world body said today in response to press questions.
Electronic Iraq is a news portal on the US-Iraq crisis published by respected Middle East alternative news publishers, The Electronic Intifada (EI) and incorporating on the ground reports from veteran antiwar campaigners Voices in the Wilderness. In June 2003, eIraq was awarded ADC's "Voices of Peace" Award. eIraq and EI together receive between 300,000 and 1 million unique visitors each month. [more]
