HIGHLIGHTS Group to Discuss New Constitution to Create a Multi-Party System & Enshrine Press Freedom|| Izzet Ibrahim Appointed by Saddam to Head a Commission Tasked with Drawing up the New Constitution|| Visiting Group of 'The National Coalition' Calls for a Multi-Party System in Iraq But Does Not Back the Overthrow of Saddam || Group Leader Abdel Jabbar Al-Qobeissi Was Part of the Leadership of the pro-Syrian Wing of Iraq's Ruling Party When He Fled Baghdad, 1976|| STORY: Leaders of an Iraqi opposition group who want to work with President Saddam Hussein said they have come to Baghdad to discuss a new constitution for Iraq that would create a multi-party system and enshrine press freedom.

Abdel Jabbar al-Qobeissi, who is the head of the National Iraqi Coalition, said he and five colleagues held talks in the Iraqi capital Monday with Saddam's number two Ezzat Ibrahim, 10 days after their arrival.

Ibrahim told them that he had been appointed by the Iraqi leader as head of a commission tasked with drawing up the new constitution, Qobeissi told AFP.

"This new constitution will allow a multi-party system and will guarantee public freedoms, such as that of the press," Qobeissi added.

The draft would be submitted to the head of state in one month before being sent to parliament for approval.

Qobeissi and his colleagues, who said they arrived in Baghdad on November 8 after representatives of the Iraqi government approached them in Europe, hope to meet with the Iraqi leader in the next few days.

The Iraqi National Coalition, founded in 1990, has been pushing for the establishment of a multi-party democracy in Iraq, but does not back the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Qobeissi said.

It rejects the position of the other opposition groups which support US policy aimed at toppling Saddam Hussein.

Based in France, the 58-year-old Qobeissi fled Iraq in 1976 while he was part of the leadership of the pro-Syrian wing of Iraq's ruling Baath party.

However, the two groups split, with one based in Damascus and the other in Baghdad.

"Two of my brothers were detained and then executed in 1981 by the regime which wanted to put pressure on me to return," he said. "Even my seventy-year-old mother was imprisoned.

"In the past we (the opposition and the regime) struggled for power, but today we must open a window of hope to our people and we hope that will happen thanks to a political openess."

Referring to US threats of war against Iraq over Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction, the opposition leader said that "a people who are united and enjoy their freedom will defend their country better.

"If the new constitution is adopted, we will return to Iraq to create a political party and publish a newspaper," he said.

"We reject the one-party system and we want to promote a dialogue and reconciliation in Iraq," said Qobeissi, who spoke to AFP as he sat with his colleagues in the lobby of a luxury hotel in the Iraqi capital. 

PHOTO CAPTION

Four members of an Iraqi National Congress opposition group, from left: Abdel-Jabbar al-Qubeisi the group's leader, Fadel al-Rabaei the group's media officer, Awni al-Qalmashi, spokesman, and Labib Abdul-Aziz, member of the central committee, speaking together at the lobby of Al-Rashid hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2002. Six members of the group arrived in Baghdad recently and met with President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s deputy Izzat Ibrahim, in a very rare visit by opposition members of Baghdad. (AP Photo/Hussein