Monday, March 05, 2007
Arab League tells Iraq government it must control situation
Politics, Security, Region
(AP) The Iraqi government is responsible for defusing the sectarian violence tearing the country apart and should redraft the constitution and rescind laws that give preferential treatment to Shiites and Kurds, Arab foreign ministers said in a statement Sunday. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa also hinted that Arab governments may take their recommendations on stemming the violence in Iraq to the U.N. Security Council if the government's efforts to end the crisis fail.
Sunday's statement was the strongest sign yet from the mostly Sunni Muslim Arab governments in the Middle East that they blame the Iraqi government for the country's sectarian strife. "The resolution of the conflict lies on the Iraqi government and the Iraqi leaders whose first responsibility should be to reactivate efforts for national reconciliation," the ministers said in a statement released after they met in Cairo.
In the statement, the ministers set forth several recommendations they want the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to consider before they give their full support to a regional conference on stabilizing Iraq that is scheduled to start Saturday in Baghdad. Among the recommendations are expanding the political process to achieve broader participation of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, confronting sectarian tensions and working to eliminate them, speeding up constitutional reform, and ensuring the equal distribution of wealth.
The ministers also called for revoking an Iraqi law that dismissed senior members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party from the government and urged the government to pass a law that specifically says Iraqis should be treated equally based on their citizenship, not their religion or ethnicity. In addition, they called on the Iraqi government to disband Shiite militias, end armed demonstrations and decide on a specific timeframe for the withdrawal of foreign troops.
"In my opinion, the mechanism (for ending the strife) should be through the Security Council, without that there will no solution," Moussa told reporters after Sunday's meeting. Sunni Arab countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have been deeply disturbed by what they view as a Shiite bias on the part of Iraq's Shiite-led government as sectarian violence has flared in recent months. Earlier Sunday, the ministers had pledged to send representatives to the Baghdad meeting next weekend despite their reservations about the country's direction.
Sunday's statement was the strongest sign yet from the mostly Sunni Muslim Arab governments in the Middle East that they blame the Iraqi government for the country's sectarian strife. "The resolution of the conflict lies on the Iraqi government and the Iraqi leaders whose first responsibility should be to reactivate efforts for national reconciliation," the ministers said in a statement released after they met in Cairo.
In the statement, the ministers set forth several recommendations they want the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to consider before they give their full support to a regional conference on stabilizing Iraq that is scheduled to start Saturday in Baghdad. Among the recommendations are expanding the political process to achieve broader participation of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, confronting sectarian tensions and working to eliminate them, speeding up constitutional reform, and ensuring the equal distribution of wealth.
The ministers also called for revoking an Iraqi law that dismissed senior members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party from the government and urged the government to pass a law that specifically says Iraqis should be treated equally based on their citizenship, not their religion or ethnicity. In addition, they called on the Iraqi government to disband Shiite militias, end armed demonstrations and decide on a specific timeframe for the withdrawal of foreign troops.
"In my opinion, the mechanism (for ending the strife) should be through the Security Council, without that there will no solution," Moussa told reporters after Sunday's meeting. Sunni Arab countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have been deeply disturbed by what they view as a Shiite bias on the part of Iraq's Shiite-led government as sectarian violence has flared in recent months. Earlier Sunday, the ministers had pledged to send representatives to the Baghdad meeting next weekend despite their reservations about the country's direction.
Labels: Arab League, Secretary-General Amr Moussa, UNSC
