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Iraq: Bush wants SA to help
14/06/2006 19:40 - (SA)
Washington - President George W Bush called on South Africa on Wednesday to help strife-torn Iraq overcome its past by sharing its own experience with national reconciliation following apartheid.
A day after a surprise visit to Iraq, Bush told a White House news conference that the United States would support Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's efforts to rally Iraqis following the scars left by Saddam Hussein's deposed regime.
"We will support his efforts to bring the Iraqis together by encouraging leaders from countries like South Africa to share their experiences with this new government to help them reconcile the past," the US leader said.
In March, Bush blamed the sectarian violence plaguing the country on Saddam's divisive "legacy."
South Africa has won praise for its peaceful transition in 1994 after 46 years of white supremacist rule.
After the country's first democratic elections in 1994, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up by then president Nelson Mandela to investigate apartheid-era crimes.
The commission heard testimony from about 21 000 victims or perpetrators before closing in 2003 with a voluminous report.
- AFP
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