Kurds and rebels 'close to truce deal'

[Diri]

Gulf News , 9 Oct 2006
Kurds and rebels 'close to truce deal'

By Basil Adas

Baghdad - Kurdish leaders and armed Sunni insurgents are close to striking a truce deal, said the secretary of the Kurdish Democratic Party.

Fadil Mirani told Gulf News that contacts between Kurds and armed insurgents had reached an advanced stage.

"President Jalal Talabani wants a more vital Kurdish role in backing the reconciliation process, initiated by Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. Talabani wants to take executive steps that will help consolidate reconciliation and national unity.

"The most important of which will be disarming of political parties and elements linked to them, thus putting an end to weapons used in terrorist acts and sectarian violence." said Sa'adoun Al Faili, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

"The Kurds want to back Al Maliki's national reconciliation initiative through exporting their reconciliation experience. This took place in the Kurdish Province after the authority over the Kurds was taken away from Saddam Hussain in 1991," said Nour Shirwan Mustafa Ameen, Talabani's deputy in Sulaimaniya.

Al Maliki who succeeded in conducting two reconciliation conferences in Baghdad, for tribes and civil society organisations, failed in putting an end to sectarian violence.

Al Maliki was not successful in talking to Sunni insurgent groups, while Talabani was successful in this respect.

Kurds do not believe that such conferences will yield tangible results and improve the security situation in Baghdad.

The Kurds also want Al Maliki to cease dismantling the previous Iraqi army, in an attempt to win over the army's officers, to back the reconciliation process.

Talabani, who has good relations with both former Baath leaders and Americans, can offer assurances to these armed groups in the event of an agreement on a cease fire. Al Maliki does not have this ability.

On the other hand, Talabani's moves towards presenting suggestions to back Al Maliki's initiative comes as a result of criticism directed towards the Kurds, hinting that the Kurdish Province lives in peace and stability, and is least bothered about the violence in other Iraqi cities.

Al Maliki is facing tremendous pressure from Shiite religious and political leaderships, forcing him to reject talks with the Baathists and prominent figures from the former regime.

This has made the chances of success of his initiative very thin.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

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