Thursday, April 07, 2005

Iraq's New Kurd President Sworn In

Shiite Islamist Adel Abdel Mahdi and Sunni outgoing president Ghazi al-Yawar were sworn in as Talabani's two deputies completing a three-man presidency that was then expected to nominate a prime minister.
"We will rebuild the Iraqi government on principles of democracy, human rights... and the Islamic identity of the Iraqi government," Talabani, the country's first freely-elected president, told a special session of parliament.
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The three-man presidency was elected by MPs Wednesday after weeks of bickering between the three main communities, riven by the bitter legacy of Saddam's Sunni Arab-dominated regime which largely boycotted the elections.
The Sunnis also obtained the promise of the defence ministry among up to six cabinet posts in the government now expected to be formed within a week, even though they have just 16 MPs in the 275-member parliament.

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