Iraqi Prime Minister Presents Peace Plan

[ECH1969]

Iraq's prime minister on Monday announced a new plan aimed at uniting the sharply divided Shiite and Sunni parties in his government behind efforts to stop rampant sectarian violence.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki emerged with the four-point plan after talks with the top Sunni and Shiite leaders in his government, trying to prevent a crisis over rising tensions between the two Islamic sects.

Under the plan, local commissions will be formed in each district of Baghdad, made up of representatives of each party, to oversee security forces' efforts against violence, al-Maliki said. A central committee comprising all the parties will coordinate with the armed forces, he said.

The joint local committees announced by al-Maliki aim to resolve such disputes by giving every party a chance to observe how security forces are acting on a neighborhood by neighborhood level. A Sunni representative, for example, could raise a complaint if he feels police are not pursuing a Shiite militia after an attack.

http://www.normantranscript.com/feeds/apcontent/apstories/apstorysection/D8KGLVSG1.xml.txt/resources_apstoryview

[ECH1969]

1. Iraqi PM unveils plan to stop militia killings

Iraq's prime minister announced a broad plan to halt militia killings, as mass kidnaps by men in uniform and dozens of tortured bodies found in Baghdad fuelled fears of all-out sectarian civil war.

A day after the US ambassador warned he had just two more months to start curbing the violence or face catastrophe, Nuri al-Maliki met Sunnis and fellow Shiite majority leaders to agree to a four-point plan focused on all-party local committees in the capital and unspecified new controls on the media.

"We will try to stop the bloodshed," veteran Sunni leader Adnan al-Dulaimi said as the assembled officials spoke live on television after the talks. "If this goes on, Iraq is finished."

Point number one, Mr Maliki told Iraqis, would be forming local committees in Baghdad districts to include rival politicians, tribal leaders and the military. These would be overseen, in the second point, by a Central Committee for Peace and Security.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1754275.htm

[leesa]

2. Item #1: Get the US the hell out.