Representatives of Various Iraqi Groups Gather in Baghdad on Saturday to Discuss Post-War Government Formation - 2003-04-22

U.S. officials say representatives of various Iraqi groups will gather in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss the formation of a post-war government. The U.S. Central Command states that this meeting follows last week's gathering, which included about eighty representatives from Kurds, Sunnis, Shiites, and other Iraqi groups. A senior Kurdish leader stated today that his group seeks participation in the Iraqi government. Jalal Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, mentioned that the Kurds believe they have the right to demand autonomy but are willing to work within the overall framework of the Iraqi government at this time. Mr. Talabani and his rival Massoud Barzani met today with General Jay Garner, the head of post-war Iraq affairs. General Garner, a retired U.S. Army major general, received a warm welcome from the Kurds of northern Iraq. Upon his arrival at Suleimaniyah University, students welcomed him by throwing flower petals in his path. General Garner then met with the leaders of the two main Kurdish groups that have governed the Kurdish region of northern Iraq since 1991. Additionally, the U.S. Central Command has confirmed that two other Iraqis on the U.S. wanted list have been detained by coalition forces. A coalition spokesperson stated that Jamal Mustafa Abdullah Sultan, one of Saddam Hussein's sons-in-law, and Mohammed Hamza al-Zubaidi, a former Prime Minister of Iraq, have been arrested. Zubaidi is known to be one of the main perpetrators of the suppression of Shiites following the 1991 Gulf War.