Iraq to 'reach out' to rebels

2005-07-03 17:44

Baghdad - The Iraqi government is ready to talk to insurgents who fought US troops before the January election but not those implicated in the killing of Iraqis, spokesperson Leith Kubba said on Sunday.

"The political process aims to reach out to groups that resisted and targeted foreign troops before the election and that perceived these troops as having entered Iraq without a legal pretext," Kubba told reporters.

"With the presence of an elected national assembly, these groups can achieve their objective of driving out foreign troops through the political process and the door is open to them."

UN Resolution 1546 endorsed the sovereignty handover by the US-led occupation to the interim Iraqi government in June of last year and gave international legitimacy to the US-led foreign troop presence.

Unclear

It was unclear from Kubba's remarks whether the Iraqi government would be willing to talk to those who continue to target foreign troops.

A US official said on Friday the US embassy is constantly approached by intermediaries claiming to represent armed groups but denied it has knowingly participated in direct talks with insurgents as announced by US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld one week ago.

The official said the intermediaries, who include Sunni Arab academics, tribal sheikhs and members of the former ruling Baath party, are usually referred to the Iraqi government.

In response to Rumsfeld's comments, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said last week: "The Iraqi government has nothing to do with the negotiations with insurgents. If the Americans are negotiating with them, it's up to them."

Efforts by former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi to reach out to insurgents before the January election went nowhere because of what officials in his government have described as a veto by the United States over talks with those implicated in the killing of American troops.

Unacceptable

"From our perspective what is unacceptable is to talk to those who kill Iraqis, someone who killed Iraqis has no place in society, he is a criminal that must be punished," said Kubba.

"But there are those who used to target US forces and believe they were resisting Americans. They are sons of Iraq and this is their opinion and they have all the right to be part of the political process."

The US embassy was unable to provide immediate comment on Kubba's statements.

Iraq's once-dominant Sunni Arab community, unlike the majority Shiites, largely boycotted the January election and is accused of fuelling the raging insurgency.

- AFP