World>Terrorism & Security
posted April 7, 2005, updated 12:30 p.m.

Talabani proposes amnesty for Iraqi insurgents

Iraq's new president also opposes death penalty for Saddam Hussein

By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com

The new president of Iraq, Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani, said Sunday the new Iraqi government should extend amnesty to Iraqi insurgents who had "killed combatants, including possibly US and Iraqi troops." (Iraqi insurgents are primarily supporters of the previous regime, or Iraqi citizens opposed to US "occupation" of Iraq.) The Washington Post reports that Mr. Talabani said, however, that Al Qaeda members and other foreign fighters should not be included in any general amnesty.

'There are two kinds of killing [said Talabani]: In battle or in action, this could be covered by the amnesty. Those who are involved in killing innocent people, detonation of car bombs, killing people in mosques and in churches, these would not be covered by the amnesty.'

Talabani did not specifically if his proposal "would include those who had killed US troops," but he did call for the amnesty to cover fighters loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. He also did not offer any specifics on an amnesty.


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The Turkish Daily News reports that Al Qaeda's wing in Iraq dismissed Talabani's calls for an amnesty.

'The tail of America, Jalal Talabani, announced a so-called amnesty for the mujahideen (holy fighters) and called on them to enter into atheism, polytheism and the political game,' the group led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said in a statement posted on a Web site used by Islamist militants.

In an interview with CNN's Late Night, Talabani said it would be at least two more years before Iraqi troops will be strong enough to secure the country without help from American and international forces. But Talabani also didn't rule out either an earlier withdrawal or even a longer US stay in Iraq, saying that it would "depend on a number of factors including 'the common desire of Iraqi people and American people.' "

The New York Times reports that Talabani brushed aside fears of a possible civil war in Iraq. Newsweek reports on just how fragile relations are between religious factions in Iraq, and how easy it would be for them to go to war with each other.

One of the biggest issues facing Iraq is the role if Islam. When thousands of Sadr supporters demanded the withdrawal of US troops on the second anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, they also called for the imposition of Islamic law.

In the interview today [reports The New York Times], however, Mr. Talabani said there should be limits to Islam's role. Referring to the transitional administrative law co-written earlier by Iraqis and American administrators, he said, 'In the T.A.L., we agreed that Islam is the religion of Iraq, and we respect the Islamic identity of the Iraqi people, but we will not have an Islamic government. We are not asking for an Islamic government.'

In perhaps a more surprising statement, Talabani repeated that he did not favor the creation of an independent Kurdish state, which has long been a goal for many Kurds in Northern Iraq. He also said he was opposed to the death penalty for Saddam Hussein, if he is found guilty in his upcoming trial.

'I am among the lawyers who signed an international petition against the death penalty in the world and it would be [a] problem for me if Iraqi courts issued death sentences,' he told Asharq Al Awsat newspaper.

Meanwhile, The Daily Star of Lebanon reports that outgoing interim PM Iyad Allawi and his coalition (which has 40 of 275 seats in Iraq's new parliament) will join the new government. Mr. Allawi is negotiating for four cabinet posts with new Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari. Allawi's group had previously said they would not join the government, but would sit as part of the opposition.

'Iyad Allawi decided that his bloc will take part in the new government because he believes in making the political and democratic process in Iraqi successful,' spokesman Thaer al-Naqib told Reuters.

Finally, The Financial Times reports that, following the march against the US on Saturday, Sadr's forces said they would follow it up " with a non-violent campaign to oust US and other foreign forces from Iraq." Unlike many marches by Sadr supporters in the past, marchers carried no weapons.