|
Online Articles
Posts: 283
Joined: 11/9/2004
Status: offline
|
Maliki urges Iraqis to board the 'love boat' BAGHDAD (AFP) — Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on all Iraqis on Saturday to unite aboard what he called a "love boat" in a stirring appeal for reconciliation in the war-torn nation.
"The security in Iraq has settled down at a level that allowed the leaders of the tribes to come from everywhere," Maliki told a conference of Sunni and Shiite tribal figures in the capital.
"National reconciliation has become a principle that we depend on ... I invite everyone to stay in the boat of national reconciliation, the boat of fraternity, love, justice and equality that will lead us to the shore of safety," he said.
The prime minister, a Shiite, has issued repeated calls for unity in the US-occupied country, but rarely using such colourful language.
"This conference is the message of national unity for all sides," Maliki said, adding that he wanted to send out a "message of reconciliation for those who boycotted Iraq, because of the sectarian problems."
Security has improved dramatically since sectarian violence between Shiites and Sunnis peaked in late 2007, although bombings remain a daily occurrence nationwide.
In a Friday call for national unity Maliki urged the country to forgive members of the former regime of executed dictator Saddam Hussein.
"We have to reconcile with those who were during a period time forced to work in those difficult times," he told a meeting of only Shiite tribes.
"We must open a new phase and gather all our energy and unify our words until no gap remains for our enemies to infiltrate us."
Shiites, while a majority in Iraq, were severely repressed by Saddam's regime.
Amid criticism from rivals, Maliki has moved to create councils that support his Rule of Law Coalition and that helped lift his allies to a resounding win in January's provincial elections.
Candidates backed by Maliki dominated Baghdad and eight of the country's nine other Shiite-majority provinces, in a huge vote of confidence for the premier, whose standing has steadily grown at home and abroad in the past year.
But major difficulties for the increasingly surefooted prime minister remain, including demands for a decentralised state, Sunni political guarantees and Kurd territorial and economic demands.
Maliki faces serious challenges over the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, a fractious mix of Turkmen, Kurds and Arabs. The Kurds want it attached to their autonomous regions.
The potential ethnic timber box echoes an ongoing confrontation between the central government Iraqi Kurdistan's president, Massud Barzani.
Maliki wants a strong central state and has called on the Kurds to respect the constitution while Barzani aims to preserve his region's near-independence and does not hide his territorial ambitions.
Meanwhile, Sunnis accuse Maliki of foot-dragging on promises for 20 percent of former Sunni militia fighters to be absorbed into the country's security forces, and the remainder to be considered for civilian jobs.
|
Main Page
Log In
Register
Help/FAQ
Ticket List
Printable Version
Maliki urges Iraqis to board the 'love boat' - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread