By Bernama,
Canberra : Australian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said here on Monday that his government remained committed to a positive role in the reconstruction of Iraq.
“There’s no suggestion the Iraqi government doesn’t want non-U. S. forces in its country,” China’s Xinhua news agency quoted Fitzgibbon as saying to a local media, adding that the Iraqi people have a democracy now and these things must go through the parliamentary processes.
Earlier, the Iraqi parliament had rejected a bill which gave more than 6,000 troops legal authority to remain in the country once the United Nation’s mandate expired at the end of the year. But later Iraq has allowed non-U.S. forces to stay in the country beyond December 31.
The Australian government wanted to ensure that the 1,000 Australian troops stationed in Iraq had the necessary legal protection to remain in the country, Fitzgibbon said.
“That’s why we continue to work with the Iraqi government and the Iraqi parliament to make sure we’re well placed to continue to play whatever positive role we can play in their reconstruction efforts,” he said.