WRAP Inaugural meeting for Iraqi council, Bremer attends

(13 Jul 2003) 1. Wide shot exterior of building where meeting was held 2. Vehicle pulls up, Ahmed Chalabi - leader of the Iraqi National Congress - gets out, and enters building 3. Entrance to building with security guard in front 4. Wide interior shot council seated around table in meeting room 5. Mid shot council members 6. Close up former Iraqi Foreign Minister Adnan Pachachi (on left) talking to another council member 7. Mid shot Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani (on left) talking to Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum, cleric from Najaf 8. Mid shot of council 9. Close up Ahmed Chalabi gesturing to council member 10. Mid shot of council 11. Close up Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani 12. Two women council members 13. Pan of council meeting 14. US Administrator for Iraq Paul Bremer arriving, shaking hands 15. Wide shot of people around meeting table 16. Close up of Bremer shaking people's hands 17. Bremer taking his seat at table 18. Door to meeting being closed 19. SOUNDBITE: (English) Paul Bremer, US Administrator for Iraq: "Once that constitution is approved by the Iraqi people, we'll have the place to hold elections for a sovereign government. (Arabic translation) I know I speak on behalf of the coalition, President Bush, and all of our colleagues here in telling you that we will spare no efforts, as the Secretary-General said, in helping you succeed in this task as we go forward together in the months ahead." 20. Wide shot of meeting 21. Close up of Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum making a statement, pull out to people applauding 22. Close up of Sergio Vieira de Mello, Special Representative of United Nations' Secretary General in Iraq 23. Mid shot of meeting 24. Various of Bremer and de Mello standing outside 25. Various of council members posing for group photo STORYLINE: A governing council bringing together prominent Iraqis from all walks of political and religious life met on Sunday for the first time, in what US and Iraqi officials are calling a first step on the nation's path to democracy. Security was tight where the council was meeting - a building that once belonged to Iraq's powerful Military Industrialisation Authority, part of a complex where Iraq's rubber-stamp parliament used to meet under Saddam Hussein. The panel was selected after more than two months of consultations. One of its first goals will be to convince the Iraqi people that it represents them, despite the fact they never had a chance to vote on its members. Among those on the panel are Ahmed Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress, Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, a leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution, Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, leaders of the two main Kurdish groups, and former foreign minister Adnan Pachachi. The group, however, is expected to be dominated by lesser known Iraqis who remained in their country during Saddam's 23-year dictatorship. By mid to late September, the 200 - 250 strong Constitutional Convention is expected to take office and begin deliberations. The panel is meant to be the forerunner of a larger constitutional assembly that will have about a year to draft a new constitution, after which Iraqis will hold a referendum to vote on the document. Free elections to pick a government are expected to follow. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...