Iraqi PM welcomes US handover of Green Zone and palace

THE United States handed over control of the Green Zone and Saddam Hussein’s presidential palace to Iraqi authorities yesterday in a ceremonial move described by the country’s prime minister as a restoration of Iraq’s sovereignty.

At a ceremony marking the transition, Nouri al-Maliki said he will propose January 1 be declared a national holiday to commemorate what he called “Sovereignty Day” — the day Iraq took the lead in security away from US forces, regained control of its airspace and reclaimed a wide swath of Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone. Iraq already marks New Year’s Day as a holiday.

The area that became known as the Green Zone on the west bank of the Tigris River was occupied by the United States shortly after the 2003 US invasion and walled off from the rest of the city.

Until Wednesday, Saddam’s former palace formally served as the US Embassy and headquarters of the US military in Iraq. Thursday’s palace handover was mostly ceremonial, as most US diplomats and military officials long since moved to a new embassy building on the other side of the Green Zone, which is also known as the International Zone. “This palace is the symbol of Iraqi sovereignty and by restoring it, a real message is directed to all Iraqi people that Iraqi sovereignty has returned to its natural status,” al-Maliki said.

“We have the right to be proud and to be happy and to hold celebrations these days, especially on this day,” said al-Maliki, adding he would submit his national holiday proposal to the cabinet. “This day is to be remembered and we have the right to consider it a national day.”

The 6-square-kilometre area along the Tigris is separated from the city by a 13-foot-high (3.9m) wall of reinforced concrete, dotted with watch towers and machine gun nests.

Restricted to US and coalition personnel, several other embassies, Iraqi ministries and parliament, it was considered the most potent and visible sign of American occupation and had often come under insurgent attacks. Although now under Iraqi control, it is unlikely to be dismantled any time soon because of the violence persisting around Baghdad — despite an overall dramatic drop in attacks and killings nationwide.

But violence continued yesterday. A roadside bomb killed two Iraqi soldiers in the town of Jalula, 128km northeast of Baghdad, a regional police official said.

In the northern city of Mosul, where the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq continues, a parked truck bomb killed three police officers trying to search it and wounded a bystander.

In the city of Kirkuk, also north of Baghdad, Iraqi and US troops killed three suspected al-Qaida gunmen during a raid, police said.