Iraqi leader announces plan to unite sects
Iraq’s prime minister announced a new plan 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 were not pursuing a Shiite militia after an attack.
A central committee, also made up of all the parties, would co-ordinate with the armed forces.
“We have taken the decision to end sectarian hatred once and for all,” Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said. “We have vowed before Almighty God to stop the bloodshed.”
In a possible boost to the effort to rein in the violence, a radical cleric who heads one of the most powerful Shiite militias, Muqtada al-Sadr, has ordered his followers to put aside their weapons temporarily, a Sadr spokesman said.
Maliki announced his plan hours after gunmen abducted 14 computer shop employees in a bold attack in central Baghdad, the second mass kidnapping in as many days.
The bodies of seven of the 24 captives seized on Sunday were found dumped in southern Baghdad. Sunni politicians blamed Shiite militias for both mass kidnappings and demanded the government take action.
Maliki is under increasing pressure to stop the violence, which has killed thousands since February. US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad warned this week that Maliki must make progress within the next two months to avert a crisis.
However, Maliki’s administration has been plagued by growing mistrust between its Shiite and Sunni members, who each accuse the other of fuelling the bloodshed.
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. So far, the plan has done little to stem the daily killings.
Sunnis accuse the Shiite-led security forces of turning a blind eye to killing of Sunnis by Shiite militias – some of which are linked to parties in the government. Sunnis have accused Maliki, a Shiite, of being hesitant to crack down on the militias.
Shiites, meanwhile, accused Sunni parties of links to terrorists after a bodyguard of a Sunni party leader, Adnan al-Dulaimi, was arrested by US forces on Friday and accused of plotting al-Qaida bombings. Some Shiite politicians demanded a government reshuffle to push out Sunni partied.
The local committees aim to resolve these disputes.
“We will spare no efforts to succeed in this great initiative which we agreed on today to stop the violence and killings in Baghdad and in all Iraq,” al-Dulaimi said at a news conference with Maliki. The two men signed an agreement with other Sunni and Shiite politicians on the four-point plan.
In addition to the local and central committes, the plan calls for establishment of a media committee and a monthly review of progress, 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 today 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 most well-known of these militias is the Mahdi Army led by al-Sadr, who on Friday ordered his fighters to put aside their weapons temporarily. He told supporters “the resistance (should) be political. … He does not want to see a single drop of (Iraqi) blood shed,” said Sadr spokesman Amir al-Husseini.
The Mahdi Army has been blamed for many attacks on Sunnis since the bombing of a Shiite shrine north of Baghdad in February sparked the wave of sectarian violence.
However, US commanders have suggested that since then some militants have split from al-Sadr, saying he is not radical enough and carrying out attacks on their own.
Violence has not slowed in the wake of al-Sadr’s orders. A curfew slapped on Baghdad on Saturday after the arrest of al-Dulaimi’s bodyguard brought a day of calm. But as soon as it was lifted, violence exploded.
More than 50 bodies – most bound and many of them showing signs of torture - were found in Baghdad alone on Sunday, apparent victims of sectarian killings, police said.
