Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Central committee moves ahead with Maliki's security plan
Security, Politics
Under intense pressure to put an to the violence, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki a week ago announced a four-point security plan aimed at uniting the divided parties behind efforts to stop Shiite-Sunni killings. In a first step, officials said Tuesday that all security checkpoints in Baghdad would soon be manned by an equal number of Shiite and Sunni Arab troops to ensure the security forces do not allow sectarian attacks.
Al-Maliki's overall plan called for the creation of local Shiite-Sunni committees that will oversee policing in each district of Baghdad, reporting back to a Central Committee for Peace and Security to coordinate with the security forces and the prime minister. The effort to balance the checkpoints that dot the streets of Baghdad underlines the deep mistrust between Shiites and Sunnis within al-Maliki's government. Each side accuses the other of backing militias, and Sunnis in particular say the Shiite-dominated police force often allows Shiite militias to carry out kidnappings and murders.
The parties agreed Saturday on the makeup of the Central Committee, said a member of the new committee, Bassem Sherif, who represents the Shiite Fadila party on the body. The Central Committee includes four representatives each from the Shiite coalition that dominates parliament and the main Sunni coalition, along with one representative each from the Kurds and the Iraqi List, a mixed, secular party, Sherif said. The Central Committee will meet in the coming days to work with the Interior and Defense ministries on arranging the balanced checkpoints, Sherif said.
Al-Maliki's overall plan called for the creation of local Shiite-Sunni committees that will oversee policing in each district of Baghdad, reporting back to a Central Committee for Peace and Security to coordinate with the security forces and the prime minister. The effort to balance the checkpoints that dot the streets of Baghdad underlines the deep mistrust between Shiites and Sunnis within al-Maliki's government. Each side accuses the other of backing militias, and Sunnis in particular say the Shiite-dominated police force often allows Shiite militias to carry out kidnappings and murders.
The parties agreed Saturday on the makeup of the Central Committee, said a member of the new committee, Bassem Sherif, who represents the Shiite Fadila party on the body. The Central Committee includes four representatives each from the Shiite coalition that dominates parliament and the main Sunni coalition, along with one representative each from the Kurds and the Iraqi List, a mixed, secular party, Sherif said. The Central Committee will meet in the coming days to work with the Interior and Defense ministries on arranging the balanced checkpoints, Sherif said.
