Tuesday, October 03, 2006
al-Maliki announces plan to unite government
Politics
Iraq's prime minister announced a new plan Monday aimed at ending the deepening crisis between Shiite and Sunni parties in his government and uniting them behind the drive to stop sectarian killings that have bloodied the country for months.
The four-point plan, which emerged after talks between both sides, aims to resolve disputes by giving every party a voice in how security forces operate against violence on a neighbourhood by neighbourhood level. Local committees will be formed in each Baghdad district — made up of representatives of every party, religious and tribal leaders and security officials — to consult on security efforts. A Sunni representative, for example, could raise a complaint if he feels police are not pursuing a Shiite militia after an attack. A central committee, also made up of all the parties, will coordinate with the armed forces.
The four-point plan, which emerged after talks between both sides, aims to resolve disputes by giving every party a voice in how security forces operate against violence on a neighbourhood by neighbourhood level. Local committees will be formed in each Baghdad district — made up of representatives of every party, religious and tribal leaders and security officials — to consult on security efforts. A Sunni representative, for example, could raise a complaint if he feels police are not pursuing a Shiite militia after an attack. A central committee, also made up of all the parties, will coordinate with the armed forces.
In addition to the local and central committees, the plan calls for establishment of a media committee and a monthly review of progress, al-Maliki said. However, the new plan does not directly tackle the issue of cracking down on Shiite militias, a step Sunnis demand but many Shiites oppose. In theory, the committees would give Sunnis a venue to press security forces to take action against militias. But Shiites on the committee would have an equal chance to try to prevent action.
The top parties are to meet Tuesday to work out the details of how the committees will work, but already divisions were showing — even over wording. Shiite parties want the new plan to be focused on "terrorism," which would suggest insurgents, while Sunnis want it to address "violence," which would include Shiite militias.
The top parties are to meet Tuesday to work out the details of how the committees will work, but already divisions were showing — even over wording. Shiite parties want the new plan to be focused on "terrorism," which would suggest insurgents, while Sunnis want it to address "violence," which would include Shiite militias.
COMMENT: In theory this is a good plan and could have some success. It's not too different from how inter-tribal scores are settled. However, a lot of talking may be done and little action taken. If the two factions can't agree on wording in a document, they will struggle to agree on taking action. Al-Maliki announced a 24-point reconciliation plan when he took office in May, which laid down ways to tackle violence — including an amnesty for militants who put down their weapons as well as security crackdowns. The plan also sounded good in theory but has failed to bring the security situation under control and the pledge to deal with the militias was never honoured. The new plan still fails to deal with the militia issue directly, and that is the main issue that needs to be tackled. COMMENT ENDS.
