*EPF311 09/15/2004
Transcript: State's Armitage Says Iraqi Judges Vital to Iraq's Democracy
(Remarks to legal conference in Prague September 15) (1730)

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has told a gathering of Iraqi judges that the United States, Britain and the Czech Republic will not rest until the judges "are seated on the bench, making just and wise decisions for the Iraqi people."

Armitage spoke to the judges at a conference organized by the Central Europe and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI) Institute in Prague September 15. British and Czech officials participated in the conference.

Armitage said judges will play an important role as Iraq begins a "second civilization, the beginning of democracy and justice in all the Middle East."

He said establishing security throughout the country is of paramount importance in the short term because nothing can be accomplished without it.

The Iraqi military, backed by multinational forces, are working "in a very orderly way" so as to have an "Iraqi solution" to the security problem, Armitage said. After resolving the standoff in Najaf, the security forces will move on to North Babil, Samarra and eventually Falluja, Armitage said.

Iraqi Judge Abdul-Husain Sh'essa said the multinational forces sometimes clash with Iraqi law. He asked that those issues be settled in a "transparent way."

Following is the transcript of Armitage's remarks to the Iraqi judges:

(begin transcript)

Remarks to Iraqi Judges

Richard L. Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State CEELI Institute Prague, Czech Republic September 15, 2004

Released by U.S. Embassy Prague

BARBRA HILLAS, CEELI - Introduction

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Thank you very much, I am delighted to be here with this distinguished audience. I should first of all say: Kif Halich. I am very much grateful for the opportunity to come back here, and to be participating again with CEELI. And even more important, I think, for you distinguished judges is what you see before you: British allies, the allies of the Czech Republic, Americans. We are all standing together right beside you, and your country. And this is an alliance that you see before you, which is not going to be deterred, which is going to see this job through to the end. As you would imagine, I have been spending a good deal of my time in Iraq lately. We are very honored to have in the United States on the 21st, the 22nd and the 23rd of this month Prime Minister Allawi. He will be speaking at the UN, and he will also speak at a joint session of the U.S. Congress. He is going to be speaking about the hopes and the aspirations of the Iraqi people. But who better represents the hopes and the aspirations of the Iraqi people than the distinguished judges that sit here? As I mentioned, I've had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time in Iraq lately, and I've come to understand several things. I understand that the hopes and the aspirations of those Iraqi people lie very much on your soldiers. And I have absolutely no doubt that you would not be here, you would not be following the profession you do, if you were not absolutely passionate about the law, if you were not absolutely passionate about bringing justice to all the Iraqi people. So when Prime Minister Allawi is talking about the future of Iraq, as far as I am concerned, he is talking about you. You know better than anyone how difficult a road this is going to be. And it's a dangerous road. But democracy, justice, and the rule of law demand our fullest efforts. And I can promise you with a 100-percent certainty that President Bush is not going to rest until this job done. He is not going to rest until the Iraqi judges are seated on the bench, making just and wise decisions for Iraqi people. And when that day comes, as far as I am concerned, the whole face of the Middle East will begin to change. And just as the area between the two rivers was once the cradle of civilization, where alphabets were developed and arithmetic began, and the law was handed down on tablets, Iraq will be beginning a second civilization, the beginning of democracy and justice in all the Middle East. So I am sure I speak for the British Charge [d'Affaires], for the representatives of the Czech government, and certainly for your American allies when I say: We thank you, we respect you and we will do anything we can to support you. And may God bless you on this chosen path of yours. Thank you.

Applause

BARBARA HILLAS TO THE JUDGES: The Deputy Secretary will take a couple of questions.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE:: As long as it's not questions on the law. (Audience laughs)

QUESTION from Judge Noman Fathy Hassan (Deputy Chief Justice of Baghdad)(in Arabic, interpreted): Welcome, Sir. The judiciary should play a role in security and in bringing about justice. But how can the judiciary play a role when there is a security problem that governs the relations? How do you think that the current problem in Iraq can be solved, because unless it is solved politically and security-wise, the state will remain the state of disorder, and the law can play there no role?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Thank you, Your Honor. You are absolutely right, without security in Iraq there can be nothing. No amount of reconstruction, no amount of study can be realized unless there is security. The coalition is working alongside now the Iraqis who are fighting for Iraq. I think many of you know better than I that the recent problem in Najaf was resolved because Iraqi military forces exerted military pressure supported by the Coalition, and that military pressure allowed the Grand Iatollah al-Sistani to negotiate Moktada al-Sadr's departure. And the very next day Prime Minister Allawi and the Coalition brought reconstruction money to Najaf, hired more than 1,000 Iraqi citizens to go about the clean-up, and in 16 days there has not been one more incident in Najaf. Now, on to North Babil, on to Samara; eventually on to Falluja. But we're going to do this together with our Iraqi allies in a very orderly way, with the Iraqi military being the first force, so we can have an Iraqi solution. Simultaneously, in concert with the government of Iraq, last Saturday we sent our top Middle East expert to Damascus, and we have agreement with Bashar al-Assad to have a tri-partite border security operation. I'm not stupid. I know that we can't close the border with Syria, even if I trusted the Syrian government. But we'll make it better. Step by step, we're going to get a handle on this security situation. But our feeling is that between now and the January elections in Iraq, there is going to be trouble. We expect further attacks to try to disrupt our elections on November 2. We have had 1,016 soldiers killed, and the insurgents want to increase that number to put pressure on our President. Equally, a democratically elected government in Iraq in January is something the insurgents fear and will do their utmost to disrupt. And I'll say again, that, speaking for President Bush, and I think, for our British allies, and our Czech allies, that we're not going to rest until you are seated on the bench, and you are able to fulfill your most valuable and your most respected role for the people of Iraq.

Barbara Hillas: Will you take another question?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE:: Sure.

QUESTION from Judge Abdul-Husain Sh'essa: (in Arabic, interpreted): Your Excellency, Mr. Deputy Secretary of State, dear brothers, you are welcome. I am pleased by your words, sir, when you talked about the civilization of Iraq. In addition to being a judge, I am also an academic in ancient history, in the history of civilization thus, the civilization of Mesopotamia. If the law is ancient, the ancient law of Iraq is also (inaudible) . . . the most ancient laws in the world are the laws of Hammurabi. We have good relations with the U.S., and regarding the antiquities, especially with the University of Pennsylvania. As for the British side, and I remember very well the best that was written in the detective stories by Agatha Christie taking place in Ur, (inaudible) in al-Nassarija. So, we have an ancient relationship. We hope that this relationship could be an old and historic relation, although the antiquities of Iraq are there in Western museums. This is something that pleases us, for the world to see us as the cradle of civilization. We are proud of our civilization, and the ancient law of Iraq. Mr. Assistant Secretary of State, we aspire for your support for the independence of the Iraqi judiciary. There is a huge number of multinational forces; they sometimes clash with Iraqi law. We hope these issues are settled in a transparent way. We are with you in the old relationship, and we hope to continue and maintain it. This intersection with the Iraqi law is yielding some very negative things for the Iraqi individual. Our demands are also to have good English through courses either in Iraq or in the U.S. Thank you very much, Your Excellency.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I feel in a very inferior position, because you are both a judge and an academician. I was neither I was a soldier. Let me clear about one thing I chose my words about Mesopotamia very carefully. Too few people understand the deep nature of Iraqi civilization. Yes, we study about the Hammurabic Codes. But, to really understand what it would mean to an Iraqi, to really understand what that would mean for an Iraqi citizen, takes much deeper study and much deeper understanding. And I think that one of the many, many benefits that will occur once democracy is planted in Iraq, is that the world will get to understand the deep nature of Iraqi civilization, and the debt civilization owes to Iraq.

BARBARA HILLAS: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Secretary. Would you have thirty seconds to take a group picture with the judges?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Certainly. I would be honored to have my picture taken it will help my reputation. I'm not certain it will help theirs.

(end of transcript)

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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