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<DIV align=left><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size=2><I>Published on Sunday, November 7, 2004 by <A
href="http://www.reuters.com/" target=_new>Reuters</A><!-- #EndEditable --> </I></FONT></DIV></TD></TR>
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<DIV align=left><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=5><B><!-- #BeginEditable "Header" -->Iraqi Interim Government
Declares Martial Law<!-- #EndEditable --> </B></FONT></DIV></TD></TR>
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<P>BAGHDAD - Iraq's interim government declared a state of emergency for
60 days on Sunday to quell violence gripping the country ahead of January
elections.
<P><!--/beginimage/-->
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<TD align=right height=255 width=350><FONT
face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size=1><BR></FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--/endimage/-->The state of
emergency, equivalent to martial law, would apply throughout Iraq except
the Kurdish north, a spokesman for interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi
said.
<P>"We have decided to declare a state of emergency in all areas of Iraq,
with the exception of the region of Kurdistan for a period of 60 days,"
spokesman Thaer al-Naqib told reporters.
<P>He said the decision was intended to crush insurgents behind relentless
bombings, killings and kidnappings ahead of elections scheduled for the
end of January but threatened by the violence.
<P>The announcement came ahead of a widely expected U.S. offensive against
the Sunni Muslim cities of Falluja and Ramadi, which the government says
are nerve centers of an insurgency they say is led by foreign militants
and Saddam Hussein loyalists.
<P>Naqib did not say how the law would be applied, but said the government
would not allow rebels to derail the political process.
<P>"The prime minister will give details in a news conference tomorrow,"
he said.
<P>Iraq passed the National Safety Law giving the government the power to
impose a state of emergency in early July but it was not immediately
implemented.
<P>It was one of the first pieces of legislation passed by the interim
government after it took over sovereignty from the U.S.-led occupation
authority at the end of June.
<P>Emergency laws have been in place in neighboring Syria for more than 40
years and in Egypt since 1981, drawing criticism from human rights groups
who say the region's leaders have abused the legislation to curb freedoms.
<P>Iraq's law gives the government the right to impose curfews, set up
checkpoints, and search and detain subjects, provided they have a valid
reason and present suspects before a judge within 24 hours.
<P>The period of martial law can be extended with the written approval of
Allawi and a presidential council at 30-day intervals, but would
automatically expire if not extended.
<P align=center>© Copyright 2004 Reuters
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