'Iraqis will opt for monarchy return'

"When given free choice, I am confident that the Iraqis would opt for the return of monarchy. It is actually up to them to choose the type of regime," Mr Hussain said, while speaking at the Zayed Centre for Coordination and Follow-Up.

Rejecting the idea of imposing any political party on the Iraqis, Al Hussain said that many Iraqi segments including tribes, former military men, religious men, businessmen, former diplomats, government officials and dignitaries support the return of monarchy.

Al Hussain, who is on a short visit to the UAE as part of a tour of the region, has been in negotiation with American officials regarding his return to Iraq.

A heir to the throne of a short-lived modern Iraqi monarchy that ended 40 years ago, he survived a revolution in 1958 that toppled his cousin, the last King, Faisal II. The King was killed, along with the Crown Prince, Abdullah. Ali, then only two-year-old, was taken out of Iraq by his parents, both of whom were also related to the royal families of Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Al Hussain's grandfather, the Emir of Makkah, was the uncle of Iraq's first modern King, Faisal I, who had been handed the throne of Iraq by the British in 1921.

Britain, given a mandate to rule Iraq after the collapse of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in World War I, quickly set about establishing a parliamentary system in Iraq (also short-lived) and decided to crown it with a constitutional monarchy.

Al Sharif's family went to Lebanon from Iraq and now lives in London. But he thinks nonetheless that the idea of a constitutional monarchy still has resonance in Iraq. With a largely Western education, he has produced a plan for a future Iraq that he calls a National Covenant that he claims would restore an Islamic monarchy pledged to protect the human rights of followers of all religions and create a free-market economic system, a multiparty democracy and an independent judiciary.

On Israel's participation in reconstructing Iraq, he maintained that the relations with Israel were to be decided by an Iraqi sovereign and independent government away from the pressures of the coalition troops. He said that he was confident that the Iraqis would back up a permanent and comprehensive peaceful solution in the Middle East that guarantees the legal rights of Palestinians.

He ruled out giving Israeli companies opportunities of investment in Iraq.

Commenting on the resistance directed against the coalition troops, he said that such violence and resistance were undertaken by elements affiliated to the former deposed regime. In addition to attacking the coalition forces, they are also destroying Iraqi facilities and utilities that directly serve the people. He explained that the coalition troops were considered as guests in Iraq, and that cooperation was made with them to fill in the administrative and political vacuum, and also to speed up their withdrawal from Iraq.

Al Hussain said that he expected the coalition forces to stay for months and not years, as their long stay would inflict damage on the coalition interests and the interests of the Iraqis and the whole region.

On his visit to the UAE, he said that he chose to start his current trip in the Gulf and other Arab countries with visiting the UAE in view of its key role in serving Iraqi affairs, especially the President, His Highness Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's constant efforts which aim at restoring normal life to Iraq.

He indicated that he had listened to Shaikh Zayed's advice and guidance on how to deal with the coalition troops in this delicate and sensitive period in order to restore Iraq national sovereignty.

He lauded the noble efforts by Shaikh Zayed in supporting the Iraqi people, expressing the Iraqis' gratitude for Shaikh Zayed's initiatives which are embodied not only in building up hospitals and providing various services to citizens, but also through the support extended, for years, in various fields.