Iraqi premier: "Only a steady and united government will restore confidence"
In a long article published in today's Washington Post, Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, outlined the strategy "on three fronts" of his government: reconstruction, reconciliation and dismantling militias.
New York (AsiaNews) The formation of a "real government of national unity" in Iraq is the only path that will "repay the people for their commitment in favour of democracy and their thirst for democracy." These words were written by Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi Premier, in an article that appeared today in the Washington Post, outlining the strategy on "three fronts" of his government.
The premier said he "wanted to honour the sacrifices of Iraqis to give the country its freedom, by adhering to an agenda free of compromises, aimed at guaranteeing security and services to the Iraqi people, and to fighting rampant corruption." The government strategy plans to boost the national work force to pave the way for massive reconstruction works, to launch an initiative for genuine national reconciliation and to increase the intensity and effectiveness of the training for the police and military forces.
"If some areas of the country are quite tranquil and secure, this however has not determined new investments or more reconstruction. Our government will correct this imbalance by developing infrastructures and services in those regions that will become a model for the rest of the country."
As for the national reconciliation drive to be undertaken by the government, "it is important to allow Iraqis to start healing divisions and wounds caused by the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein and aggravated by terrorism. This, together with genuine cooperation between all Iraq's ethnic and religious groups, will permit us to hunt down terrorists with the use of maximum force."
For the prime minister of Baghdad, it is also "imperative" to re-establish full state control over weapons, dismantling militia groups. "This government will implement Law 91 that provides for the incorporation of militias into the national security services, and it will do in such a way that members of the diverse militias will be identifiable from the start; they will be sub-divided in different units so as to prevent concentration into one group or department, and thus they will be followed and monitored to ascertain their loyalty to the State."
Finally, the Iraqi premier emphasized the "absolute necessity" of ensuring that "Iraq's neighbours do not interfere in the country's internal affairs." He added: "If some neighbours offered shelter to Iraqis during the dictatorial Baathist regime, this does not give them the right to interfere in Iraq now and to close an eye to terrorist operations."
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01/04/2008
