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Iraqi president asks insurgents to lay down arms
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-21 11:14
Iraq's president said during a reconciliation conference Sunday he was ready
for talks with anti-government opposition figures and members of Saddam
Hussein's outlawed Baath Party, and he called on the Sunni-led insurgency to lay
down its arms and join the political process.
But President Jalal Talabani, in Cairo for the U.S-backed and Arab
League-sponsored conference, insisted that the Iraqi government would not meet
with Baath Party members who are currently participating in the Sunni-led
insurgency and attacking Iraqi and U.S.-led forces in the country.
"I am the president of Iraq and I am responsible for all Iraqis. If those who
describe themselves as Iraqi resistance want to contact me, they are welcome,"
Talabani told reporters. "I want to listen to all Iraqis. I am committed to
listen to them, even those who are criminals and are on trial."
Talabani made clear in his remarks, howeer, that he would talk with
insurgents and "criminals" if they put down their weapons.
Talabani's remarks came amid reports that he had already met with
representatives of the former regime in Cairo. They also appeared to catch some
Shiite delegates by surprise.
"This is a unilateral move, which was not coordinated with us," said one
Shiite leader, who declined to be identified by name, fearing political
repercussions.
The London-based Al Hayat newspaper reported Sunday that Talabani had
received proposals from insurgent groups and that their "conditions" were being
reviewed in coordination with the Pentagon and American officials at the Cairo
conference. Talabani did not comment on the report.
"Those who carry guns should come back to their senses, there is no reason to
hold arms," he said.
The three-day meeting in Cairo opened Saturday under the auspices of the Arab
League in an attempt to patch over ethnic and religious fault lines and address
the contentious issue of who would participate in a larger reconciliation
conference planned for January.
Leaders of Iraq's Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish communities are struggling with
serious differences over power sharing, the 30 month insurgency and the future
of the U.S. troops in Iraq.
Sunni leaders, who were dominant under the Saddam regime, are pressing ahead
with demands that the Shiite-majority government should agree to a time table
for the withdrawal of all foreign troops and broad amendments to the
constitution which was ratified on October 15.
They also want recognition for resistance forces and the reconstitution of
Saddam's army in order to bring back former regime officers.
Shiites have been skeptical of the conference from the start and strongly
opposed participation by Sunni Arab officials from the former Saddam regime or
from pro-insurgency groups.
The conference nearly collapsed on its first day when Shiite and Kurdish
delegates stormed out of the closed session, infuriated when a speaker said they
had sold out to the Americans.
Later they were persuaded by Saudi foreign minister Prince Saudi Al Faisal to
return after an apology, but the walkout highlighted the sectarian and political
divisions at the all-party gathering, which was boycotted by some key leaders of
Iraq's Shiite and Sunni communities.
As delegates continued talks Sunday, they agreed to form a committee to work
out an agenda for the January meeting. Alaa Rushdi, a spokesman for the League,
said Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Arab foreign ministers were trying to
bridge the deep gaps separating the parties.
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