CAIRO, Nov 19: Bickering marred the first day of Iraqi reconciliation talks in Cairo on Saturday, amid confessional tensions heightened by a strain of bloody sectarian attacks in the country.
Arab League chief Amr Mussa, whose organization has recently stepped up its involvement in Iraq and sponsors the current talks, described the start of the three-day meeting as ‘a historic day launching the reconciliation process’.
The meetings are aimed at setting a date and agenda for a reconciliation conference to be held in Baghdad, but optimism over the unprecedented talks was dampened by exchanges of mutual recriminations.
“We have set a red line: there is no room for Baathists in Iraq,” Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari told the meeting, which was attended by around 100 Iraqi leaders and regional officials.
Mr Jaafari, a devout Shia, echoed reservations voiced by his community over the participation in reconciliation talks of former members of Saddam Hussein’s ousted government.
Egypt and the Arab League had pressured the Iraqi government to allow former Baathists ‘with no blood on their hands’ to be included in the talks.
“I appreciate Amr Mussa’s efforts that led to this meeting, but here’s what I tell him: it may be difficult to gather all the protagonists but it is even more difficult to deal with the reality on the ground, when the other is carrying arms and spilling blood,” Mr Jaafari said.
The head of Iraq’s leading Sunni authority reacted angrily to Mr Jaafari’s comments.
“Jaafari’s speech was characterized by a spirit of exclusion and he painted a rosy picture of the situation in Iraq,” said Hareth al Dari, who heads the Committee of Muslim Scholars.
Mr Dari described Mr Jaafari’s opening speech as ‘disappointing words that do not lead us to believe we can reach a sincere understanding’ and went on to accuse the Shia-dominated government of marginalizing the Sunnis.
Later on, closed-door consultations at the league headquarters among Iraqi factions were abruptly interrupted when Shias and Kurds walked out after a Christian leader expressed a view they deemed offensive.
“The Iraqi constitution is a fabrication coming from the occupation forces,” delegates quoted Minas Ibrahim al Yusufi as saying.
The head of Iraqi Christian Democratic Party also said he had no objection to the inclusion in the talks of members of Saddam Hussein’s ousted government.
“I’m not against any Iraqi participating, it’s a protection for our people, it’s an important step we have to take,” he said before the incident, which led Iraqi communist leader Hamid Majid Mussa to suggest a 10-minute break to let tempers cool.—AFP
