Govt reax as at least 25 in Interior Min held over alleged Baath party plot скачать в хорошем качестве

Govt reax as at least 25 in Interior Min held over alleged Baath party plot

(18 Dec 2008) SHOTLIST 1. Wide of street scene 2. Set-up shot of Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf: 3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf, Interior Ministry spokesman: "It is too early and unfair to talk about this matter. The officers are still under investigation and we are waiting for results of investigation. The jurisdiction is the sole body which is responsible for issuing the judgment whether those officers are involved in affiliation to al-Awda (Return) Party or not. And talking a coup attempt is nonsense and baseless.'' 4. Set-up shot of Major General Ahmed Abu Raqeef, Director of Internal Affairs: 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Major General Ahmed Abu Raqeef, Director of Internal Affairs: "Mass media and TV channels have circulated that I was arrested along with other officers whom they were detained in connection with a plot or connections to al-Awda party, these information are baseless and I am still in ministry carrying out my duties." 6. Street scene FILE:DATE UNKNOWN 7. Various of then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein meeting Baath party officials STORYLINE More than 20 employees of Iraq's Ministry of the Interior have been arrested on allegations that they were plotting to revive former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party, government officials said on Thursday. Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf told reporters 23 people had been arrested over the past five days but he dismissed suggestions they were plotting a coup. Another security official put the figure at 25 and said a brigadier general in the traffic police was the highest-ranking figure. Most are low-level ministry employees, he said. The official, who has access to the investigative file, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak about the matter to the media. A third security official said those in custody were believed to have links to al-Awda, or 'Return,' a Sunni underground organisation founded in 2003 to try to restore Saddam Hussein and the Baath party to power. He also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to release the information. But Khalaf denied that the group had links to al-Awda. The US military referred all inquiries to the Iraqi government. Iraq's 2005 constitution bans the Baath party and any group that uses its symbols and ideology "regardless of the name that it adopts." Some Iraqi politicians also expressed doubt that the plotters were actively trying to overthrow the government. The ministry's director of internal affairs, General Ahmed Abu Raqeef, denied a report in The New York Times that he was among those arrested. The Baath Party ruled Iraq for 35 years until Saddam's regime was ousted by a US-led invasion in 2003. Outlawing the Baath party was the first official act of the US-run occupation authority which ruled until June 2004. The purge of thousands of Baath party members from government jobs cost the country the services of skilled people who knew how to run ministries, university departments and state companies. In February, Iraq's presidency council issued a new law that allowed lower-ranking former Baath party members to reclaim government jobs. The measure was thought to affect about 38-thousand members of Saddam's political apparatus, giving them a chance to go back to government jobs. It would also allow those who have reached retirement age to claim government pensions. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...