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United Nations: The US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council has asked the United Nations (UN) Security Council to adopt a new resolution endorsing an agreement it had entered into with Washington for transfer of power to a local Government by June and general elections by the end of 2005.

The Iraqi request was contained in a letter from Council Chairman Jalal Talabani, which the Security Council received yesterday (November 24). The Council had set December 15 as a deadline for Iraqis to submit a timetable for drafting a Constitution and holding elections.

In the letter, Talabani promised to establish the "principle of civilian control" over the Armed forces and security forces and to draw up a "fundamental law to administer the Iraqi State by the end of February".

The law would respect human rights and basic freedoms including "freedom of religion, religious practices and equality among all citizens," he said.

"In the light of what had transpired, it has become appropriate for the Security Council to adopt a new resolution taking into consideration the new circumstances," he added.

The Council members, who were expecting a letter on these lines, are already discussing the elements of a new resolution but differences remain between the positions taken by the United States and Britain on one hand and Russia, France and Germany on the other.

PTI