Basra (Iraq), June 14: Real security in Iraq will follow the establishment of an interim authority, the UN special envoy to Iraq said today during a meeting with local leaders in this southern capital. "Real security will come from the setting up of an interim administrative authority," Sergio Vieira De Mello told political, religious and tribal leaders here. The creation of the authority has led to tension between the US administration in Iraq, which intends to appoint members to a political council, and political groups that want to chose their own representatives.
The issue dominated a 90-minute meeting between the UN envoy and the leaders from the Basra region who demanded that an interim government be set up quickly and that the United Nations play a greater role. Vieira De Mello arrived in Iraq at the start of the month saying, "The sooner the Iraqi people govern themselves, the better."
The coalition is preparing to install an interim administration, headed by a political council that will appoint ministers in waiting. Bureau Report