BAGHDAD, 8 July 2004 — Iraq’s interim government yesterday unveiled a tough emergency law granting Prime Minister Iyad Allawi far-reaching powers as rebels fired mortars near his home and a gunbattle killed two national guardsmen in Baghdad. Allawi vowed to defeat “foreign criminals” after five people were wounded in the mortar assault and another 21 were hurt in the gunbattle.
The so-called national safety law gives Allawi the right to impose curfews, arrest suspects, ban groups and declare martial law in a bid to end the violence that has killed thousands in Iraq since last year’s US-led invasion. The government defended the measure as a vital response to the 14-month-old rebellion, but claimed there were checks on Allawi’s powers.
According to a copy of the text made available to Arab News, the premier has the right to declare an emergency in “any area of Iraq where people face a threat to the lives of its citizens because of some peoples’ permanent violent campaign to prevent the creation of a government that represents all Iraqis.”
The state of emergency cannot exceed 60 days and must be dissolved as soon as the danger has ended. However, it can be renewed every 30 days, with the approval of the prime minister, the president and vice presidents.
The law also grants Allawi the right to ask judges to issue arrest warrants and impose restrictions on the movement of foreigners.
In addition, it gives the government the right to open mail and tap telephones, ban political groups, cancel meetings and bar street protests.
Curfews could be imposed for limited periods of time in limited areas, but would require an endorsement from the Cabinet, the president and his deputies.
Justice Minister Malik Dohan Al-Hassan and Human Rights Minister Bakhtiar Amin defended the measures, aware that the steps echoed authoritarian rule in Iraq’s not too distant past.
Amin vowed to monitor the implementation of the law for any potential abuses and said he had “full license” from Allawi to monitor and investigate any violations to the law.
The government is further expected to announce an amnesty for supporters of the fighting not directly involved in pulling the triggers in attacks.
It is banking that an amnesty for low-level rebels will drive a wedge into the fighting, isolating hardcore members of the old regime and suspected foreign fighters from the general population.
Just hours before the text was made public, fighters fired four mortars near Allawi’s home, wounding at least five people, according to police and a statement from the prime minister’s office. “I am confident all Iraqis will unite to crush these foreign criminals that have illegally entered our country to hinder our progress and delay our development toward a united, safe and developing nation,” Allawi said in response.
Meanwhile, a Filipino has been taken hostage in Iraq and will be executed unless the Philippines withdraws its troops from the country within 72 hours, said a video broadcast on Al-Jazeera television.
The kidnapped Filipino, employed by a Saudi company working with US troops based in Iraq, was kidnapped by an armed group calling itself the “Khaled ibn Al-Walid Brigade,” Al-Jazeera said.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, a blazing gunbattle broke out as rebels shot at Iraqi National Guards and US soldiers, supported by helicopters, just before the announcement of new security laws, witnesses said.
Two National Guards were killed and 21 wounded, 19 of them guardsmen and the other two police, officials said.
The US military said four Marines were killed in action Tuesday in the Al-Anbar province, taking its death toll in the volatile region to 14 in just over one week.
In northern Iraq, five policemen were wounded in drive-by shootings around Kirkuk, while another Iraqi policeman was killed and eight other people wounded in a bomb attack in Mosul.
Meanwhile, Amin said one of Saddam Hussein’s nephews, Mohammed Barzan Al-Tikriti, had been arrested a few months ago along with a Moroccan Jew, George Bin Baki, on the Jordanian border.
Amin said another 20 foreigners are being held in the security wing of the Abu Ghraib prison.
— Additional input from agencies
