19 April 2004
Watch the Prime Minister deliver his statement in Parliament
Read the full transcript below
[check against delivery]
With permission Mr Speaker I should like to make a statement on my visit to the United States from 15 to 16 April. In New York I met the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan [PM and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan meet the media in New York], and in Washington President Bush [Press conference at the White House following talks with President Bush]. With them both, the two main points of discussion were Iraq and the Middle East Peace Process.
On Iraq, there is no doubt the present situation is very difficult. Since mid March the US have suffered 123 military fatalities, of which 112 were killed in hostile action. One Ukrainian soldier was also killed in Al Kut during recent disturbances.
A number of contractors have been targeted since the middle of March. In addition to a number of US civilians killed, one British, one Italian and one Canadian security guard, two Finnish businessmen, three Germans and one Dutch contractor have been killed.
Most security incidents continue to occur in the "Sunni Triangle" north west of Baghdad. This includes the town of Fallujah where the US Marines have set up a cordon against Sunni insurgents. US forces are also deployed around Najaf, where Muqtadr al Sadr’s supporters are still ensconced. There is currently a pause in military activity in Fallujah and Najaf to allow discussion with those involved.
And we should not lose sight of what is actually happening across the majority of the country. 2300 schools have been rehabilitated. $32 billion has been pledged for reconstruction. Electricity generation is above pre-conflict levels. Higher oil production over the last four months has given Iraq $2 billion more in revenues than we expected even last November. Iraqis are enjoying the benefits of a new Iraqi currency worth 40 per cent more than the discredited Saddam dinar.
Of course there will be resistance - as we are seeing in Fallujah and Najaf. It is absolutely clear what is going on there. All those who think they will lose out when Iraq becomes democratic - former Saddam supporters, foreign terrorists, militias led by extremist clerics - have a vested interest in seeking to delay or disrupt the transition towards democracy. They portray themselves as opponents of American occupation. In fact, they are opponents of allowing the Iraqi people the chance to choose their own leaders in free and fair elections.
It is essential the forces of reaction and terror do not prevail.
The vast majority of Iraqis want a prosperous, stable, democratic Iraq, at peace with its neighbours, a force for good in the region and the world, with international forces staying not a day longer than they have to, Iraq’s wealth Iraqi wealth, Iraq’s oil Iraqi oil, a country that is a sovereign, independent state governed by Iraqis for Iraqis.
That is exactly what the coalition want. We are on their side against the small minority of those trying to disrupt this vision. And we have a political and military strategy to achieve it.
Our work on reconstruction and investment in Iraq must continue, so that all parts of Iraq know that they have a place and a future in the new Iraq.
We will redouble our efforts to build the necessary capability of the Iraqis themselves to take increased responsibility for security and law and order.
We will hold absolutely to the 30 June timetable for handover of sovereignty. We will work with the UN Secretary General’s representative, Mr Brahimi, and all members of the UN Security Council to secure a new Security Council Resolution to set out the new arrangements. The UN should have a central role and this should be developed still further once the occupation ends on 30 June. The UN will have a vital role in the electoral and constitutional processes in 2005, and in co-ordinating international reconstruction assistance.
I welcome the proposals made by Mr Brahimi for this transition. As he says, the most important milestone is the elections to be held in January 2005. Before then, there will be an interim government from 1 July, to be formed before the transition, led by a Prime Minister, with a President to act as head of state and two Vice Presidents.
I also welcome Mr Brahimi’s suggestion of a large national conference to promote dialogue, consensus-building and reconciliation in Iraq, and to elect the consultative assembly to serve alongside the government in the period up to January 2005, and help prepare for elections.
That is the vision. We will stay the course until it becomes the reality. I hope that the whole international community will come together to support it.
Whatever people’s views of the wisdom of the war in Iraq, it must surely be in everyone’s interest not just in Iraq but across the world, for this vision of hope to succeed.
Mr Speaker, I also discussed the Middle East Peace Process with both Kofi Annan and President Bush.
We condemn the targeted assassination of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantissi, just as we condemn all terrorism including that perpetrated by Hamas. We have to break out of this vicious cycle of suicide bombings and retaliation. Israel needs security, and the only lasting security will come from the stability of a solution to the Middle East Peace Process with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side peacefully.
That is why we welcome the Israeli proposal to withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank.
The Road Map remains the best way to peace, and disengagement from occupied territory can be an opportunity to return to it. Disengagement is not the final step, but an important first step on the road to a final settlement.
There was criticism that last week’s announcements prejudged the issues of Palestine’s final status. It should not and does not. It is a statement of fact that those final status negotiations, when they come, cannot ignore the reality on the ground, but all issues are to be decided in that negotiation.
Israeli withdrawal also provides a chance for full engagement by the international community. The Quartet should seize this opportunity to help the Palestinian Authority take the necessary economic, political and security measures so that a viable Palestinian state becomes not just a concept but a real possibility. I hope a meeting can take place as soon as possible and in any event not later than May.
Mr Speaker, among the other issues I discussed in both New York and Washington was Cyprus. I am sure the whole House will join me in paying tribute to Kofi Annan - both for the skill and distinction with which he has led the UN during difficult times, and specifically for the work he has done on Cyprus. I hope the people of Cyprus will see the benefits of his plan and vote for it in the referendums on Saturday.
Mr Speaker, I believe passionately that all these issues need to be seen in their wider context, for they are all linked. We are firm in response to terrorism and WMD. But we must also be firm in tackling the breeding grounds of terrorism. That means broadening out the international agenda and confronting the issues upon which the terrorists pray: poverty, conflict, religious and ethnic strife.
Both the UN Secretary General’s high level panel on the future of the UN and the G8, chaired this year by the US and next by the UK, can help establish this inclusive agenda and set a forward direction for the whole international community. It is essential they do so.
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