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| Iraq |
| Iraq launching last-ditch peace talks |
| 2006-12-16 |
| Iraq's beleaguered coalition government was to launch another attempt to draw the shattered country's warring factions into a peace process, with the launch of broad-based talks. Preparations for the national reconciliation conference have been low-key and secretive, but Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition government hopes it will halt Iraq's seemingly inexorable slide into fratricidal bloodshed. According to Iraqi officials, one of the key planks of the effort will be the possible inclusion of former members of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's disbanded Baath Party, some of whom may be allowed to return to public life. This will raise hackles among hardline Shiite militants, whose majority community was persecuted by Saddam's Sunni-led regime, but is seen by many observers as a key first step in calming the violent insurgency. There is a growing consensus that more junior party members not proven to have supported Saddam-era atrocities or the post-invasion rebellion should be allowed into the political process as a gesture of reconciliation. Nasser al-Ani, a Sunni lawmaker and the official spokesman of the conference, confirmed that Baathists living abroad were among those invited. On Thursday, Maliki's spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh confirmed that the talks would be open to all comers, without specifically mentioning Baathists. Abbas al-Bayati, a member of Iraq's dominant Shiite parliamentary bloc, went further, adding that many Baathists might be allowed to return to their former positions in government, universities and state-run companies. There has been no discussion of removing Iraq's constitutional ban on the Baath Party as a political entity, but individual former members may be allowed back into a civil service starved of their administrative experience. Officials said the conference will begin at around 10:00 am (0700 GMT) on Saturday and involve around 300 delegates from various political factions. |
| Posted by:Pappy |