Annan warns US as Iraq council addresses UN

MEMBERS of the new Iraqi Governing Council addressed the United Nations Security Council yesterday.

Kofi Annan is hoping the UN will throw its support behind a US-picked Iraqi Governing Council as a first step toward ending the US occupation and handing control of the country over to the Iraqi people.

Four months after diplomacy fell apart inside the Security Council over war in Iraq, Mr Annan, his special envoy and members of the newly formed Iraqi group addressed the council yesterday and discussed both the high and low points of post-war life for Iraqis.

The backdrop of the gathering was a toughly-worded report Mr Annan delivered to the Security Council on Monday in which he warned the United States that "democracy cannot be imposed from the outside".

"It is important that Iraqis are able to see a clear timetable leading to the full restoration of sovereignty," Mr Annan wrote. He also noted concerns about the US treatment of Iraqi detainees and the failure to improve security in Baghdad. The critical tone of the report was unlikely to help US efforts to win support for an international peacekeeping force that could relieve overburdened American troops in Iraq.

US diplomats offered a cautious initial assessment. "We certainly agree that Iraqis should be in charge of their own country and we are working hard to do that and that's why the Governing Council is a good first step," said Richard Grenell, spokesman for the US mission to the UN.

Mr Annan was softer on the Americans when he spoke with reporters on Monday, ahead of a meeting with US Ambassador John Negroponte.

"Given the circumstances, and the fact that you couldn't possibly organise elections in Iraq today, it was a good method of putting together a council and I hope the Security Council will see it that way and grant the group its support," Mr Annan said.

The Security Council meeting was attended by the UN chief, his special envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and three members of the Iraqi council.

The delegation included Ahmed Chalabi once favoured by the Pentagon to be Iraq's next president.