Post-War Iraq: As the British military tries to restore order to Basra after days of looting, the tribal chieftains they have contacted to form an interim civil administration are proving unpopular with the city's residents.Jack Fairweather reports.
A procession of several hundred protesters marched through the town centre yesterday waving banners proclaiming "no to tribal government, no to old Baath party members, yes to freedom", indicating the problems faced in handing over power in "liberated" Iraq.
A senior British officer said: "It's not the ideal solution, but if a tribal chieftain can help us get vital services up and running again, then we will be happy to work with the sheikhs and anyone not tainted by the regime but with experience of administration. The last thing we want to do is get embroiled in tribal politics."
The selection of Sheikh Musahem al-Canaan, head of the al-Tameeni tribe, to lead negotiations with the British military would, however, appear to make local infighting inevitable.
In nominal control of 100,000 family members in the Basra area, al-Canaan is one of several sheikhs with natural powerbases in the post-Baath Party city who will be vying to form an interim government.
Although the al-Tameeni tribe, and al-Canaan himself, have a long history of opposition to Saddam Hussein's regime, they are seen by the city's small educated elite as representing a feudal system of government.
"Tribal government does not represent political progress but a step into the dark ages," said Mutapha al-Wani, a doctor who was among the protesters.
"There will be fighting among the tribes again as there was when the British were last
here."
Yesterday, however, al-Canaan's nephew, Sheikh Mohsen al-Tameeni, said his uncle had little intention of clinging to the reigns of power.
"My uncle loves Iraq," he said, dressed in formal long shirt and head-dress to greet British officers at a school yard in southern Basra, which has become a centre of intelligence- gathering operations.
"Most of these protesters were members of the Baath Party, but my family has always hated Saddam Hussein. And it's not just political, it's personal."
Al-Tameeni described how his father, brother of al-Canaan, had found himself in the same prison with Saddam Hussein in 1958, both of them for activities against the rule of the then Iraqi president, Abdul Kasim.
"Saddam approached my father and asked him to join with him in the fight against Kasim," said al-Tameeni. "My father said that Saddam was just as bad as the president. There was then bad blood between our families."
In 1968, when Saddam became head of the intelligence services, he asked al-Tameeni's father to visit him in Baghdad.
"He refused, and was thrown in prison. He was only released in 1990, and by then he was dying. But we had our revenge on the Baath Party during the uprising here in Basra," said al-Tameeni.
"We killed many of them, but then Saddam sent his tanks from Baghdad and we could fight no more. I went to Iran, but Saddam tricked me into returning by saying I was forgiven. I was also put into prison for a time," he said. "I have seen such things that you wouldn't believe.
"I was held in a large chamber with a pit below containing hungry dogs. Saddam's sons would come and kill someone and throw them into the pit.
"My family does not want to rule Iraq," al-Tameeni reiterated.
"We want to see democracy come here. But we will fight again if the old Baath party members come into power, and if rich Iraqi exiles try to come in. We feel that only those who have suffered under Saddam's rule have the authority to govern."