BAGHDAD, 5 June 2004 — Pope John Paul II reminded US President George W. Bush yesterday of the Vatican’s opposition to the war in Iraq and said the world has been troubled by recent “deplorable events,” an apparent reference to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US troops.
Sitting alongside the president in the Vatican, the elderly pope, struggling to utter each word, called for a speedy return of the country’s sovereignty and said the recent appointment of an interim Iraqi government was an “encouraging step.”
“It is the evident desire of everyone that this situation now be normalized as quickly as possible with the active participation of the international community and, in particular, the United Nations organization, in order to ensure a speedy return of Iraq’s sovereignty, in conditions of security for all its people,” said the pope, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease.
Bush presented the pope with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian award. “We appreciate the strong symbol of freedom that you have stood for and we recognize the power of freedom to change societies and to change the world,” Bush said.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s new prime minister urged the nation yesterday to unite against a terrorist threat that he said posed the major risk to its independence and prosperity.
As Iyad Allawi made his first televised address, the US military announced the capture of a suspected lieutenant of Al-Qaeda operative Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, who they say is organizing murder and sabotage to undermine the US-backed administration.
The most active of the sectarian militias that Allawi vowed to disband struck a truce deal in Najaf with US forces, who agreed to pull back from mosque areas as radical cleric Moqtada Sadr’s Mehdi Army did likewise. Peace seemed at hand after two months of fighting across Shiite southern Iraq. The city’s governor said Sadr and US commanders agreed to withdraw forces.
Hailing the truce as a “breakthrough”, US Col. Brad May told CNN he would begin pulling back his troops from positions near the city’s mosques to allow Iraqi police to take over.
As Iraq appointed an electoral commission to organize its first free elections in January — the key task of Allawi’s interim government — yet more of the violence that threatens to derail the process struck in Baghdad.
Five US soldiers were killed, bringing the total combat death toll to 601.
Iraqi police seized a close aide to Zarqawi on May 30, the US military said. A spokesman said Umar Baziyani was providing information but gave no details of the arrest.
Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told the United Nations Iraq wanted the right to decide when troops should leave. But in a debate on a UN resolution in which France, Russia and others are pressing for a deadline for a US withdrawal, Zebari said Baghdad’s main worry was the US pulling out early.
“Any premature departure of international troops would lead to chaos and the real possibility of a civil war,” Zebari said.
— Additional input from agencies
