- British and American troops are to be granted immunity
from prosecution in Iraq after the crucial 30 June handover, undermining
claims that the new Iraqi government will have 'full sovereignty' over
the state.
-
- Despite widespread ill-feeling about the abuse of prisoners
by American forces and allegations of mistreatment by British troops, coalition
forces will be protected from any legal action.
-
- They will only be subject to the domestic law of their
home countries. Military sources have told The Observer that the question
of immunity was central to obtaining military agreement on a new United
Nations resolution on Iraq to be published by the middle of next month.
-
- The new resolution will lift the arms embargo against
Iraq, allowing the country to rearm its 80,000-strong army in readiness
for taking over the nation's security once coalition forces finally leave.
-
- 'The legal situation in Iraq will be very difficult after
30 June, with some confusion over where jurisdiction lies,' said one Whitehall
official. 'We wanted to ensure that British troops maintained the immunity
they already have under Order 17.'
-
- Order 17 refers to an agreement signed by the Coalition
Provisional Authority giving American and British troops protection. That
will now be extended to the new multinational force made up of British
and American forces which will remain in Iraq at the invitation of the
interim government.
-
- Last night MPs demanded that Iraqi citizens should have
some form of legal redress following allegations that people had died unnecessarily
during gunfights with British forces.
-
- 'How is anyone in Iraq expected to bring a case in the
British courts?' said Adam Price, the Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East,
who has been credited with uncovering many of the claims made against British
troops.
-
- 'It is taking the idea of diplomatic immunity and applying
it to 130,000 troops. There is a danger that you are actually going from
immunity to being able to act with impunity.'
-
- Price said that there should be a military ombudsman
based in Iraq who could investigate any allegations against coalition troops
and call for further action.
-
- The British army was facing fresh embarrassment yesterday
when the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, published a statement admitting
that allegations against a British soldier now facing possible criminal
proceedings over the death of an Iraqi civilian during an arrest were initially
dismissed by the forces.
-
- The Crown Prosecution Service is considering pressing
criminal charges against the soldier over the same incident. 'The case
currently under consideration by the CPS was referred to the Attorney General
after charges were dismissed by the soldier's commanding officer,' Goldsmith
said.
-
- 'In these circumstances, the case cannot be tried by
court martial.'
-
- Earlier this month the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon,
said all allegations of mistreatment by British troops were thoroughly
investigated by the Royal Military Police Special Investigations Branch.
-
- The soldier's case is one of the two which he said had
now reached 'an advanced stage with decisions on prosecutions pending'.
The first picture of how the new Iraq will look after the handover is now
starting to emerge. Senior diplomatic sources told The Observer that the
new UN resolution, which will give a legal basis to the Iraqi interim government,
will be published in the middle of next month.
-
- It is likely to say that this government should be able
to give 'strategic direction' to the multinational force although it will
not take over full command, a move that has already been rejected by the
American and British armies.
-
- Iraq's new ministers will also take over control of the
prisons, including the notorious Abu Ghraib jail where Americans have been
photographed and videotaped abusing prisoners.
-
- It will also be allowed to equip its army, run a police
force and all of the departments of state.
-
- 'We will give full sovereignty back,' said one source
closely involved in the negotiations. 'There must be a partnership between
the Iraqi government and the multi-national force. There can't be subservience.'
-
- Iraq will be allowed to control its oil revenues, which
will raise $48 billion a year within the next three years, although it
will have to pay tens of billions of pounds in reparations imposed following
the Gulf war. After the invasion and occupation of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein's
forces in 1990 and the subsequent war, the UN oversaw a reparations programme,
mostly payable to the Kuwaiti government. Iraq has so far paid $18bn funded
from its oil reserves.
-
- After the new resolution is passed it will still have
to use a proportion of its revenues to pay off the outstanding amount.
-
- Diplomatic sources made it clear, however, that after
the handover a lot of work would go into debt relief for areas of the country,
particularly around Baghdad and in the north, where there are high levels
of poverty.
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2004 http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1222817,00.html
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