Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for coming to this press briefing today.

I am Brigadier Bruce Brealey. I am the Chief of Operational Support with the Multinational Division (South East) Headquarters which is responsible for security in the provinces of Basrah, Maysan, Dhi Qar and Al-Muthanna. I am responsible for
co-ordinating military operations with the civil authorities, the Coalition Provisional Authority, and the United Nations and other International Agencies. I am delighted to be sharing this platform with Brigadier Khader Aklo, the Chief of Basrah Police. May I also introduce Deputy Chief Constable Stephen White from the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Mr Andrew Alderson, who are both working with the CPA.

I will start the briefing with a short overview of progress to date, and then Brigadier Aklo and DCC White will speak on local policing issues.

At the end of the briefing, there will be about thirty minutes for you to ask questions of us all, and this will be followed by personal interviews in English or Arabic if you wish.

I intend to talk briefly about three subjects: the general political situation, some security issues, and finally progress on regeneration.

On the political side, it is very encouraging to see the Iraqi Governing Council starting to settle into its work and to observe the way that it is increasingly recognised both domestically and internationally, including among Arab nations, as a legitimate political authority. This is the first and important step towards a sovereign Iraq governed by a democratically elected and legitimate government.

Of particular significance for the people of southern Iraq, who for so long lacked a voice in national government, was the appointment of the representatives from this area including Judge Abdelatif Izzadeen Saleem and Karim Mahud Al-Mahammidawi.
At the Governorate and local level, progress is also being made in the establishment of representative councils. Most provinces, cities and towns now have some sort of council and the CPA is working hard at the local and national level to formalise their powers and responsibilities. I have been impressed with, and would like to pay tribute to the energy and commitment the individuals on these councils have shown. The CPA and Coalition Forces are working closely with these local representatives to help them identify priorities for capital investment and to get local services up and running.

A major step forward has been the agreement of budgets for the rest of 2003 and funds are available now for Ministry Directorates to provide key services in the four southern provinces. Governorate councils are engaged in the establishing of priorities that will benefit all who live in the area.

I will now move on to address security, which continues to be a concern. However, it is important to separate two very different issues - terrorist activity and civil unrest.

There is some evidence in the south of activity by Former Regime Loyalists who are determined to terrorise the coalition forces and Iraqi people. The killing of a British officer in an ambulance in Basrah last week and, of course, the appalling atrocity in Baghdad on Tuesday this week shows that these people do not care who they attack.

I know that the people of the south in the main reject completely those conducting these attacks and we are working very hard with the community to track them down - last week we made several arrests and seized weapons and bomb making equipment.

These acts are very different from the civil unrest that we have witnessed recently from people have been frustrated with the apparent lack of progress made in reconstruction. This frustration is an entirely understandable sentiment but I urge restraint because we will progress quicker if people work with us rather than against us.

I will talk more about what we have achieved in the past few days later, but I would like to emphasise that while we are using soldiers to protect fuel tankers, power lines and other parts of the infrastructure, we are not able to conduct security patrols to combat organised crime, smuggling and looting.

There has been a serious increase in the levels of organised crime in the area since the removal of Saddam's regime, and copper theft and fuel smuggling is damaging the local economy. Since the war ended we estimate that about $1.7 million dollars of copper has been looted and over 2500 tons of oil has been smuggled each week.

Military and police operations throughout the south are making a real impact on crime - we have confiscated 125 road tankers and arrested 150 criminals to date. But if we are to have sustained long term success against the criminals, we need the local population to work with us to stop the thieves and ensure that the resources stay where they are needed - in the hands of the Iraqi people.

We are also very aware of the need to clear an enormous amount of unexploded ordnance from the area - legacies not just of the recent conflict but of previous conflicts over the past 20 years. So far the UK and Danish teams have cleared nearly 350,000 unexploded munitions including a large number of mines and missiles

Turning now to the essential services. We know that the priorities for the people of southern Iraq are power, fuel and water, and we understand how important these basic services are to everybody.

The sad fact is that power supplies have been hit by a combination of looting and sabotage. We, the CPA and local engineers are doing all we can to restore services to the people. In the last week, a total of 13 electricity pylons have been repaired and work continues to assist the Iraqi repair teams by providing them with equipment and trucks to finish the repair of the power lines to the refinery. New generators have been purchased and fitted in many locations. Just yesterday we completed installation of the new emergency generator at the Shaibah sub-station which will provide much needed uninteruptable power to the Basrah refinery.

The short term solution of shipping in fuel through the ports and from Kuwait continues. 700,000 litres of benzine and 300,000 litres of LPG are being imported each day. However, a significant increase in the number of cars and the low number of fuel stations places a strain on the fuel distribution system. We need time and the understanding of the local people to get this right and are doing all we can to increase fuel stocks and supply.

Water is no longer at critical levels but its distribution is dependant on available power and a distribution system that has suffered from a lack of investment and poor maintenance.

Major investment is taking place across the south to repair pipelines and install potable water supplies - this investment will create 1,600 new jobs in the Basrah area. We have also supplied water tanks to some of the outlying communities to help with the storage of drinking water.

We know that a good deal of the infrastructure is worn out and has had little investment for over 20 years. These problems won't be solved overnight. However, we are working very hard with the Director Generals, local councils and engineers to prioritise and invest in quick, high impact projects to stabilise and improve the situation. These will be followed by the major projects to re-build the infrastructure. MND(SE) has invested 9.6 million dollars to date on assisting local projects. Examples are 100 schools, 108 police stations and 38 health centres which have already been renovated and there is more to come

A good deal more money is also being spent on communications, port repairs, and power stations. And of course Basrah International Airport. All of these projects are aimed at providing a sustainable infrastructure for the local people, to provide employment and to get the economy moving.

On the subject of the airport, I am pleased to confirm that the first civilian flight will arrive next week. This will be an historic occasion for Basrah and Iraq, and I hope you will be able to join us to witness it.

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