Sunnis Said Ready to End Boycott of Talks

Sunnis Said Ready to End Boycott of Talks (QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press)

Sunni Arabs are ready to end their boycott of talks to form a new government if rival Shiites return mosques seized in last week’s sectarian attacks and meet other unspecified demands, a top Sunni figure said Monday.

[...]

The Sunnis walked out of the talks Thursday after the bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra triggered a wave of reprisal attacks against Sunni mosques in Baghdad, Basra and elsewhere. The walkout threatened U.S. plans to establish a unity government capable of luring Sunnis away from the insurgency so U.S. and other international troops can begin heading home.

Adnan al-Dulaimi, whose Iraqi Accordance Front spearheaded the Sunni boycott, said the Sunnis have not decided to return to the talks but are “intent on participating” in a new government. “The situation is tense and within the next two days, we expect the situation to improve and then we will have talks,” he told The Associated Press. “We haven’t ended our suspension completely but we are on the way to end it.”

He cited “some conditions” that must be met first, chief among them the return of mosques still occupied by Shiite militants in Baghdad and Salman Pak. Al-Dulaimi did not mention the other demands, but some Sunni politicians have insisted on replacing Shiite police with Sunni soldiers in heavily Sunni areas.

[...]

The city was otherwise generally peaceful Monday â the first day without extended curfews or a ban on private vehicles since the crisis erupted, pushing the nation to the brink of civil war.

Iraqi Sunni Bloc to Rejoin Talks on Government (EDWARD WONG, New York Times)

Leaders of the main Sunni Arab political bloc have decided to return to suspended talks over the formation of a new government, the top Sunni negotiator said Sunday. The step could help defuse the sectarian tensions that threatened to spiral into open civil war last week after the bombing of a Shiite shrine and the killings of Sunnis in reprisal.

That bloodletting has amounted to the worst sectarian violence since the American invasion nearly three years ago, and the possibility of Iraqis killing one another on an even greater scale appears to have helped drive Sunni Arab politicians back to moderation, after they angrily withdrew from negotiations last Thursday.

The Bush administration has pegged its hopes for dampening the Sunni-led insurgency, and withdrawing some of the 130,000 American troops here, to Sunni Arab participation in the political process.

While the Sunni bloc, the Iraqi Consensus Front, has not publicly announced its decision and could still reverse course, Iraqi officials say the talks may resume as early as this week, depending on the level of tension in the streets.

Sectarian violence appeared to be ebbing across Iraq on Sunday, with more people venturing outside for the first time in days. Nonetheless, Shiite militiamen retained control of some Sunni mosques they had raided, and scattered mayhem left at least 14 people dead, including three American soldiers. At least 227 people have been killed since the shrine bombing.

The young spiritual leader of the Shiite militiamen, Moktada al-Sadr, made his first appearance in Iraq since the paroxysm of violence. He arrived in the southern port city of Basra from a trip to Iran, and, in a rare public speech, called for unity between Shiites and Sunnis while demanding a timetable for the withdrawal of American forces. Blaming the American military for the recent violence, he told Iraqis to “cut off the head of the snake.” Thousands of followers, some waving Kalashnikov rifles, cheered in the streets.

The return to talks of the Sunni Arab bloc would be a crucial step in keeping on track the formation of a permanent government, which was mired in troubled negotiations even before the attack last Wednesday. The Sunni negotiator, Mahmoud al-Mashhadany, said Sunni politicians now recognize the need to form a widely inclusive government as quickly as possible to succeed the current interim government, dominated by religious Shiites and Kurds. “We’ve canceled our withdrawal from the talks,” Mr. Mashhadany said in a telephone interview. “We should hurry up and form a national unity government, to change this hopeless government. In the new government, everyone will handle responsibility.”

The Bush administration has been pressuring the majority Shiites and the Kurds to allow significant Sunni Arab representation in the coming four-year government, in hopes of politically engaging the Sunni-led insurgency. The Sunni Arabs are severely underrepresented in the current government because they boycotted elections in January 2005.

The mediation efforts of the American ambassador here, Zalmay Khalilzad, were dealt a serious blow last Thursday, when the leaders of the Iraqi Consensus Front, which is religiously conservative, said they were boycotting talks on forming a government out of anger at the sectarian violence, organized mostly by Mr. Sadr’s militiamen after the bombing of the golden-domed Askariya Shrine in Samarra.

The Sunni Arabs presented a list of demands to the Shiite-dominated government, including repairing the damaged mosques and honoring the memory of Sunnis who were killed. On Saturday night, at an emergency meeting of political leaders, the Iraqi prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, said the demands were valid.

Mr. Mashhadany said Sunday that the Sunni Arabs would remain vigilant for any broken promises from the Shiites. “We don’t need words on paper,” he said. “We need them to implement these changes.” But he generally struck a conciliatory tone, saying “there’s a desire to accelerate the formation of the cabinet” and adding, “This is from the leadership of all the groups â the Sunnis, the Shia and the Kurds.”

In the past several days, Iraqi officials have put aside the negotiations to deal immediately with the sectarian violence. If the streets remain calm on Monday, they say, that could prompt leaders to restart the talks. The Iraqi government announced that on Monday it would lift an extraordinary day curfew it had imposed on Baghdad since Friday. “We’re not yet talking about forming the government,” said Sheik Jalaladeen al-Sagheir, a senior Shiite politician. “We want to make sure the air is clear first.”

In the past several days, American diplomats have conferred with Iraqi leaders to try to bring all the parties together. The Americans approached several Iraqi officials, particularly Sunni Arabs, requesting their presence at the emergency meeting called by Mr. Jaafari on Saturday night. “We strongly felt Sunni Arabs had to be there and accept the invitation,” one diplomat said.

At the meeting, dozens of politicians formed an advisory council to look into reducing the sectarian tensions. All sides still have major concerns: Some Sunni Arab leaders, for instance, are demanding that the Shiite-dominated police, accused of running death squads and torture chambers, release Sunnis who were arrested during the wave of violence.

ADVERTISERS

ADVERTISERS

Sunnis Said Ready to End Boycott of Talks

OTB MEDIA

TOPICS

ARCHIVES