Iraqis okay UN return; Contradictory reports on Ayat Sistani letter

By: Hamoud Kufi

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Leaders in Iraq have agreed to invite the UN back to Baghdad to advise the country on its transition to self-rule, Iraqi officials said Wednesday.

In the last few days some Iraqi Governing Council members, especially former exile leader Ahmed Chalabi, reportedly voiced opposition to a UN return.

Tuesday, a senior UN official Lakhdar Brahimi told a news conference at UN headquarters in New York that the country's Ayatullah Ali As-Sistani sent a written message to Secretary-General Kofi Annan a few days ago saying he wants the world body to play a role and that there was no basis for news reports saying the Ayatullah opposed a continuing role for the world body.

But Wednesday, Ayatullah As-Sistani's son, Muhammad Riza, an adviser to his father, issued a statement insisting the Ayatullah had not written to Annan and Sistani would not meet Brahimi again if he returned to Iraq.

However, senior UN officials disputed this, saying that someone close to the Ayatullah had sent such a note to Annan on Sistani’s behalf.

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