Final Statement from Ankara Meeting (20/03/2003)

The following is the official statement of the participating members of the Iraqi Opposition Groups:

All participants agree that among their principle objectives regarding the future of Iraq are the following:

— Enabling the Iraqi people to build a fully representative and democratic government that meets international standards, including free and fair elections, respect for the rule of law and private property, equality before the law and respect for human rights, consistent with principles agreed at the opposition conference in London.

— Preservation of Iraq’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity;

— Elimination of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction capabilities, in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions;

— Full compliance with all relevant UNSC resolutions to allow for Iraq’s full re-integration into the world community so that there would be no need for sanctions or no-fly zones;

— Determining the future political system and the constitution for Iraq through the full participation and free consent of the totality of the Iraqi population;

— Using the natural resources of Iraq as a national asset and for the Iraqi people as a whole, to strengthen the national economy;

— Making use of the above principle objectives, in order to help foster national unity and reflect the reality that all parts and cities of Iraq belong to the nation as a whole, in perpetuity;

— Protecting civilian lives and property, strongly discouraging the uncontrolled movements of refugees and internally displaced persons, and strongly discouraging Iraqis from taking the law into their own hands or
inciting civil discord.  All claims will be addressed via a commission that will quickly be set up for a legal and organized process to address the restitution of homes seized previously by the Iraqi regime, and other claims.  All Iraqis who have rightful claims will be able to resolve them in a peaceful and orderly manner through this commission.

— Elimination of discrimination based on race, ethnic origin, gender, language or religious conviction.  The protection of the rights and freedoms of all constituent peoples of Iraq – Arabs, Kurds, Turkomans, Assyrians, Chaldeans and others – will be paramount in a future Iraq;

— The reformation of the Iraqi national military, to include the reintegration of all militia organizations (including those forces now operating under the command of the Iraqi opposition) and the reformation of Iraq’s security institutions;

— Elimination of terrorism and of support for terrorism in and from Iraq, as well as denial of safe havens and weaponry to terrorists.


ADM :  Assyrian Democratic Movement
CMM :  Constitutional Monarchy Movement
INA :  Iraqi National Accord
INC :  Iraqi National Congress
ITF :  Iraqi Turkoman Front
KDP :  Kurdistan Democratic Party
PUK :  Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
SCIRI :  Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq.