Global Policy Forum

As the United States prepares to reorganise Baghdad's vital oil sector, some Iraqi officials worry they will fall out of favour after the expected return of other experts from years of exile. "Most Iraqis think those who preferred to stay in the country all these years deserve to serve the country more than those who left," said senior deputy oil minister Mazen Jumaa. "We were under pressure, we deserve to take the positions instead of the others. Many of the people who have stayed are not top-ranking officials of the regime," he said.

The oil advisor to the US administration in Iraq, Gary Vogler, on Tuesday gave the ministry an official letter asking staffers to stay at their posts "until told otherwise," which many took as a sign of a pending reshuffle. The letter told the ministry "not to substitute any official or employee without specific approval of the (US-led) coalition" and not "to accept directives from anyone other than the coalition." According to US press reports, Washington has appointed a former Iraqi oil official in exile, Muhammad Ali Zainy, to head the ministry for the transitional period.

Jumaa, the highest ranking ministry official here after the arrest of former oil minister Amer Rashid on Tuesday, said those who stayed behind under Saddam lived a difficult life and would not now accept being demoted. "Many of the people who stayed in Iraq were an internal opposition" voicing dissent "in the privacy their homes," he said. "They stayed because it's their country. They have their homes, their way of life. They should not be considered second-class citizens. I myself would not accept that," he said.

The debate over the role of exiles in the new Iraq erupted at a meeting Monday, when many who suffered under Saddam Hussein's brutal 24-year reign said they preferred a longer US presence in the country to bring stability. Many exiles however came out in favour of a quicker US handover of power. In addition to Zainy, specialist publications have also speculated on the return of another exile, Fadhil Othman, an old hand at the State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) who has lived in Turkey since retiring in the 1990s.

Vogler said he had no comment on the reports and poured praise on the local staff of the ministry. "The reputation of the Iraqi oil industry, the people who work here, is very high," he said. "When I walked into this country several weeks ago, I've seen evidence of that throughout. I developed tremendous respect for these people," he said. The oil ministry was partially looted after the collapse of the regime but was not burnt like other government buildings as US forces moved in quickly to protect it. US special forces also took control of Iraq's southern oil fields before the war was launched on March 20 to bring down Saddam. Jumaa said the ministry would be ready to "cooperate" with outsiders if they are sincere in their motives. "Anyone who would like to help sincerely, I'm sure everyone should cooperate with him to get to our objectives," he said.