11.1 |
De-Ba’athification
232.
Also on the
same day, the IPU instructed the UK Permanent Mission to the UN
in
New York to
press the UN to support the UK position on de‑Ba’athification of
electoral
candidates.189
The IPU
described the best solution as:
“… for the
IECI to (i) note the DBC’s submission of a list, (ii) make clear
that the
submission
had come at a very late stage and that it would not be possible to
go
through the
required appeals process before the election, (iii) commit
therefore
to process
the list after the elections, after going through the necessary
appeals
process.”
233.
Sir Emyr
Jones Parry, UK Permanent Representative to the UN in
New
York,
replied the same day to say that he had spoken to Mr Kofi
Annan, the UN
Secretary‑General,
who was “sympathetic” to processing the de‑Ba’athification list
after
the
election and intended to send instructions to Mr Ashraf Jehangir
Qazi, his Special
234.
Mr Annan’s
Chef de Cabinet confirmed later in the day that Mr Annan
had
spoken to
Mr Qazi “who had also agreed on the need to find a way forward
that
allowed participation”.
235.
On 6 December,
officials from the British Embassy Baghdad met Mr Jenness
to
discuss
action on de‑Ba’athification.191
Of the
de‑Ba’athification Commission’s initial list
of 218
candidates, there remained 120 individuals at risk of being removed
from the
candidate
lists. A further 83 individuals would be required by the Commission
to sign a
disavowal
of Ba’athism. The remaining 15 were not mentioned.
236.
Mr Patey
reported that Mr Jenness remained concerned for the IECI’s
legal
position,
but wanted to find solutions that allowed participation in the
elections. They
agreed that
the IECI would publish non‑final candidate lists (including the
remaining
120 names)
immediately, to test the reaction from the de‑Ba’athification
Commission’s
supporters,
and that it would write to the three‑man Presidency Council asking
for
guidance
and explaining that the IECI would not remove candidates from the
lists
without its
agreement. The candidate lists were published that
evening.
237.
Mr Patey
wrote: “This issue has underscored the need to look ahead to
the
arduous but
urgent task of securing reform of the de‑Ba’athification
Law.”
238.
The IPU
observed on 9 December that there had been “little or no public
reaction
to the
inclusion in the list of candidates named by the de‑Ba’athification
Commission
189
eGram
19989/05 IPU to Baghdad and UKMIS New York, 5 December 2005, ‘Iraq:
Elections:
De‑Ba’athification
of Candidates’.
190
eGram
20001/05 UKMIS New York to FCO London, 5 December 2005, ‘Iraq:
Elections:
de‑Ba’athification
of Candidates’.
191
eGram
20199/05 Baghdad to FCO London, 7 December 2005, ‘Iraq: Elections:
De‑Ba’athification of
Candidates:
Progress’.
45