The international conference on the Iraq issue attended by delegates from over 20 countries and international organizations and held on November 23 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, reached a consensus on many points. Prior to this, the seventh conference of foreign ministers from the neighboring countries of Iraq held in the same place called upon the international community to extend helping hands for the reconstruction of Iraq.  

On the occasion of attending the international conference on the Iraq issue, Wang Guangya, special envoy of the Chinese government and permanent representative of China to the United Nations, transmitted to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit the letter from Chinese President Hu Jintao to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

In his letter President Hu expressed the hope that the present meeting would help expand consensus among various parties, stabilize the situation in Iraq and promote the process of Iraqi reconstruction. China's stand on the Iraq issue was universally welcome by the various parties concerned.

It can be seen from the communiqué of the international conference on the Iraq issue that although the various participating parties reached a 14-point consensus on the affairs of the Iraqi reconstruction, there were doubts on three questions, namely, how to stabilize the current Iraqi situation, whether election can be held as scheduled and when foreign troops will be pulled out.

According to the plan of the Iraqi interim government, whatever the circumstances may be, general election will be held on January 30 next year as scheduled. The Iraqi provisional government also announced that 156 parties and groups have been approved to participate in the election.

As a result of reports on the heavy casualties of civilians caused by the use of contraband weapons during the period of US troops' attacks on Fallujah and other places, 47 Iraqi religious groups with Sunnites as the mainstay have announced giving up the election. But the Iraqi provisional government holds that refusing to participate in the election is inadvisable and that one should express one's will with the vote through election.

On the other hand, US President George W. Bush also indicated that the United States unswervingly holds that Iraqi election be held in January next year, adding that America is willing to accept the result of Iraqi election.

The difficulties facing Iraqi election not only lie in preparation for concrete matters relating to election, but also in how to stabilize the pre-election situation. In the past few months, anti-US armed forces have been active, and activities of terrorist attacks rampant in various localities of Iraq, not only civilian and commercial institutions and their personnel have been subjected to frequent attacks and kidnappings, but even the coalition troops stationed in Iraq and Iraqi soldiers and policemen can hardly protect themselves.

It is the general view of public opinion in the Middle East region that the illegal war has opened the "Pandora Box", and the interweaving of the struggle against foreign invasion and terrorist attacks of complicated backgrounds has made the postwar Iraqi situation both chaotic and dangerous.

In order to guarantee that election can be held as scheduled in January next year, the coalition troops stationed in Iraq and the Iraqi national armed guards have recently taken continuous military actions to clean up anti-US armed forces in Sadr City, Najaf, Fallujah and other places.

It is estimated that US-UK-Iraq coalition troops will conduct major mopping-up operations in the northern areas of Iraq, but it is hard to say whether the operations can quickly quiet down the situation.

Another big difficulty of the Iraqi situation is when the US-led multinational troops will withdraw from Iraq. The lingering of foreign troops directly affects Iraq's sovereignty and independence; it is also a major dispute existing among various parties after the war. The existence and actions of foreign troops in Iraq after the war have become a main aspect of Iraq's internal and national contradictions.

Leaving aside the legality of the entry and stationing of foreign troops in Iraq, viewed from Iraq's urgent needs in the defense of its territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence and unification, foreign troops should unconditionally withdraw from the country as soon as possible after the conclusion of Iraq's election and other political processes. However, at the international conference on the Iraq issue, there was no explicit decision on the time for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

The continued turbulence of the postwar Iraqi situation has become a current hot spot in the international arena. The international conference on the Iraq issue shows that the international community expressed the eager hope for an early stability of the Iraqi situation and joint promotion of the process of reconstruction. So long as the various parties concerned strengthen consultation and cooperation under the framework of the United Nations, there is hope for Iraq's postwar reconstruction.

(People's Daily November 26, 2004)