By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- The increase in violence in Iraq makes it "more important and more urgent" to continue the political process of setting up an interim government, the chief U.N. envoy to Iraq said April 14.

At a press conference in Baghdad April 14, Lakhdar Brahimi outlined a political framework for setting up an interim government, organizing a national political conference, and creating other confidence-building measures that he hopes will help Iraq move toward recovery, peace, and stability. He said that he will finalize his recommendations after consultations with Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the U.N. Security Council, and further talks with Iraqis.

"What the aim should be at present is to put in place a caretaker government that will be in charge from 1st July 2004 until the elections in January 2005," Brahimi said. The transcript of his remarks in Baghdad was released by the United Nations in New York.

During his meetings with Iraqis, "a very large number" suggested that a large national conference should be convened, he said.

"We see merit in this suggestion," Brahimi said. He added that such a national conference "would serve the all-important aim of promoting national dialogue, consensus building and national reconciliation in Iraq."

"Let me emphasize from the outset that in this political process in Iraq, the elections scheduled to take place in January 2005 are the most important milestone. There is no substitute for the legitimacy that comes from free and fair elections," Brahimi said.

"Therefore, Iraq will have a genuinely representative government only after January 2005," he said.

The national conference would elect a "consultative assembly" to serve alongside the government during the period leading to the January 2005 elections of the National Assembly, the U.N. envoy said.

Brahimi said that a national conference preparatory committee would have to be established soon after the restoration of sovereignty in July.

Accompanying Brahimi at the press conference was Massoud Barzani, president of the Iraqi Governing Council. Brahimi said that the difficult security conditions have limited his ability to move around the country. His team had hoped to visit a number of cities in Iraq, but so far had been able to visit only Mosul. A visit to the southern city of Basra is still planned.

Nevertheless, Brahimi said, he has been able to meet a large number of people representing various constituencies including ministers, political parties, trade unions, professional associations and other civil society organizations, women's groups, academics, intellectuals and artists, and members of the Governing Council.

U.N. Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Okabe said that Brahimi "clearly ... laid down a marker today as accommodation of the various consultations that he's had on the ground there the past 11 days. As he said, he wants to now have those ideas discussed both in Iraq and also come to New York to discuss them further with the secretary-general, Security Council, etc."

Okabe said that Brahimi is expected to return to U.N. headquarters in late April.

Brahimi said that he has heard many grievances that need to be addressed, including the rights of detainees, the issue of former military personnel, and the employment of thousands of professionals fired after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime.

"Detainees are held often without charge or trial. They should be either charged or released and their families and lawyers must have access to them," he said.

"It is difficult to understand that thousands upon thousands of teachers, university professors, medical doctors and hospital staff, engineers and other professionals who are sorely needed have been dismissed within the de-Ba'athification process, and far too many of those cases have yet to be reviewed," Brahimi said.

Arriving at U.N. headquarters in New York April 13, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that despite the increased level of violence, it would be difficult to change the June 30 date of the transfer of power from the Coalition Provisional Authority to Iraq.

The date "has been embraced by the Iraqis themselves who are anxious to see the end of occupation as soon as possible," the secretary-general said. "And I believe that it is going to be difficult to pull it back. That having been said, I hope we are going to be able to bring down the violence and control the situation between now and then, because the kind of violence we are seeing on the ground is not conducive for that sort of political process and transition."