Thursday, March 22, 2007
Government in talks with Sunni insurgents to lay down arms
Security, Politics, Insurgency
(AP) - The government has been indirectly talking to several Sunni insurgent groups over the past three months in a bid to persuade them to lay down their arms and join the political process, a senior government official said Thursday. Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi of the Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation said the talks were initiated at the request of the insurgents and have been taking place inside and outside Iraq.
He refused to identify the groups, but said they did not include al-Qaida in Iraq or Saddam Hussein loyalists. Members of the former president's outlawed Baath party took part, he added. Speaking to The Associated Press in a telephone interview, al-Muttalibi said the negotiations were deadlocked over the insurgent groups' insistence that they would lay down their arms only when a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition troops in Iraq is announced.
The government's response was that such a move could only be taken when security is restored. Future rounds of negotiations are planned, he said, but did not elaborate. Al-Muttalibi's comments came one day after he expressed optimism in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government was making progress in talks with insurgent groups, predicting some factions might be close to laying down their arms. "One of the aims is to join with them in the fight against al-Qaida (in Iraq)," he told the BBC.
He refused to identify the groups, but said they did not include al-Qaida in Iraq or Saddam Hussein loyalists. Members of the former president's outlawed Baath party took part, he added. Speaking to The Associated Press in a telephone interview, al-Muttalibi said the negotiations were deadlocked over the insurgent groups' insistence that they would lay down their arms only when a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition troops in Iraq is announced.
The government's response was that such a move could only be taken when security is restored. Future rounds of negotiations are planned, he said, but did not elaborate. Al-Muttalibi's comments came one day after he expressed optimism in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government was making progress in talks with insurgent groups, predicting some factions might be close to laying down their arms. "One of the aims is to join with them in the fight against al-Qaida (in Iraq)," he told the BBC.
Labels: Baathists, Iraq's Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation, Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi, Sunni insurgents
Released Mahdi Army leader in talks with al-Maliki
Politics, Security
(BBC) - An Iraqi militia leader once branded a major security threat has appeared in public alongside Iraq's prime minister after being freed from US custody. Ahmed Shibani is a senior aide to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose political movement plays a key role in Iraq's power-sharing coalition. Mr Shibani met Nouri Maliki hours after Iraqi government officials said they were talking with insurgent groups. The US-led coalition said Mr Shibani could help moderate extremism in Iraq. In a statement, the coalition said leaders judged that Mr Shibani "could play a potentially important role in helping to moderate extremism and foster reconciliation in Iraq."
Mr Shibani was seen being photographed with the prime minister and was also interviewed on Iraqi TV. Iraqi news reports say negotiations for his release appear to have been carried out by the Iraqi government. The US military jailed Mr Shibani at a military prison more than two years ago after detaining him during an uprising against the occupation in the Shia town of Najaf.
On Wednesday Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi, of Iraq's Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation, said the government was talking to a range of insurgent groups. And Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi told the BBC there was no option but to hold talks with all armed groups, with the exception of Iraq's al-Qaeda movement.
Mr Shibani was seen being photographed with the prime minister and was also interviewed on Iraqi TV. Iraqi news reports say negotiations for his release appear to have been carried out by the Iraqi government. The US military jailed Mr Shibani at a military prison more than two years ago after detaining him during an uprising against the occupation in the Shia town of Najaf.
On Wednesday Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi, of Iraq's Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation, said the government was talking to a range of insurgent groups. And Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi told the BBC there was no option but to hold talks with all armed groups, with the exception of Iraq's al-Qaeda movement.
Labels: Ahmed Shibani, Iraq's Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Nouri Al-Maliki, Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi
