Hope and mistrust in Nasiriya

Hope and mistrust in Nasiriya

Damian Grammaticas BBC correspondent in Nasiriya

The talks bring together exiles and local sheikhs and religious leaders

The first meeting in Iraq to discuss a new administration did not start without a hitch.

The flight bringing exiled Iraqi representatives to an airbase near Nasiriya was delayed by a huge dust storm.

When they did arrive, they were brought to an air-conditioned tent to meet local tribal sheikhs and discuss the shape of the government.

Outside, the Americans closed down access roads for security reasons.

In the town of Nasiriya, just three kilometres (two miles) from the entrance to the base, there has been a huge demonstration.

About 2,000 local Shia Muslims took to the streets, extremely angry, saying their voices would not be heard in the meeting.

Their representatives were not there and they believe they will not get a fair deal from this process.

Boycott

The Shias form 60% of the Iraqi population, so it is vital for the coalition to have them on board.

But the main Shia opposition group, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri), is boycotting the talks, saying it does not want any part of an American-sponsored attempt to create a puppet regime.

The Americans were hoping that the Shias would rise up in the south and help them early on in the war. That did not happen.

Many Shias in Nasiriya have not shown support for Ahmed Chalabi

Shias have been very mistrustful of the United States since an uprising that followed the Gulf War failed to draw any American aid.

They suffered enormously at the hands of Saddam Hussein for that uprising.

They are wary too of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), the London-based group led by Ahmed Chalabi.

Mr Chalabi is a Shia, but Shias in Nasiriya say they know nothing about him and do not support him as he has not lived in Iraq since 1956.

Despite that, there is quite a lot of hope here.

People have been through a dark period under Saddam Hussein and they are looking now for a new start.

Maybe that will come with a democratic regime incorporating all of Iraq's ethnic and religious groups.

The people of this area feel they have been marginalised in the past and want the new regime to benefit them.

Security concerns

The Nasiriya meeting is a testing board, bringing people together and sitting them down inside Iraq for the first time.

The reality is that it was planned before the fall of Baghdad and arranged for Nasiriya because the coalition were not sure Baghdad would have been taken.

Now the capital has fallen, I think we will see this sort of meeting moving perhaps towards the capital and other areas of the country.

Until then, Nasiriya is in the spotlight and the Americans are intent on keeping security tight.

Pockets of fighting still exist and caches of weapons are still being discovered.

The militias may have melted back into the shadows, but there is concern for those attending the meeting.

Many of the Americans we spoke to were counting on the speedy establishment a new administration as they wanted to get home as soon as possible.

It is incredibly hot, it is incredibly tough, and most of the troops will be happy to finish their job and get out.