Baghdad: The killing of terror mastermind Abu Musab Al Zarqawi will not lead to an improvement in the security situation in the country, former Iraqi prime minister Eyad Allawi has said.
In a wide-ranging interview on the current situation in the country, the former prime minister told Gulf News: "There are several types of violence that have to be dealt with. They have to dealt with not by force, but through initiatives, pardons and by conducting dialogue with the resistance".
Following are excerpts from the interview:
Gulf News: Will the security situation in Iraq improve with the implementation of the Baghdad security plan?
Eyad Allawi: As long as sectarian allocations and divide remain the situation will continue to worsen. But the Iraqi government should capitalise on the killing of Al Zarqawi and set in motion initiatives to unite the country.
They should start dialogue with the resistance and pardon detainees, excluding criminals, as well as getting rid of unfair legislations such as the Baath uprooting law.
They should also find a workable solution to integrate former Iraqi army and police personnel into the new State. They should now differentiate between terrorists and Iraqi resistance.
The government has to also concentrate on dissolving armed militia groups. All these steps will lead to the retreat of violence in Iraq.
Will Al Zarqawi's killing in particular lead to a noted security improvement in Iraq?
I do not think the killing of Al Zarqawi will put an end to violence or terrorism. Terrorism in my country is multi-faceted. There is violence. There is terrorism. There is organised violence conducted by criminal gangs. There is sectarian violence which is taking place spontaneously.
We also have to regard Al Zarqawi as the product of a phenomenon and not as a person. So maybe his assassination was a blow to terrorism, but we have to cure violence in Iraq with various solutions.
Al Zarqawi's killing was made possible with help from other Arab countries such as the Kingdom of Jordan. They pitched in to protect the Iraqi people from terrorism that aims to destroy the country. That is a positive outcome.
In your opinion, would the Iraqi security forces have pulled off the Al Zarqawi operation?
Iraqi security forces' capabilities are still short of the requirements and need to be developed, but I think that the international-Iraqi-Jordanian cooperation led to an excellent level of intelligence work, and the outcome was Al Zarqawi's killing.
Do you support dialogue with armed groups?
Resorting to military force alone is wrong. We have to be open to dialogue. President [Jalal] Talabani and myself are in the midst of such talks, where we have elicited good response from many groups. Many have given up arms.
I emphasise that dialogue will bring positive results to Iraq. There are former leaders of the armed groups who are now in parliament, government and state.
What are the key demands of armed groups?
They are demanding an end to collective punishment policies, seeking economic solutions and not to be marginalised, reframing of the constitution, lifting of sectarian allocations, emphasising the Arab and national Iraqi identity and the release of prisoners.
There are some who object to a dialogue with armed factions and groups, even in the unity government. Are you going to convince the opposition on the effectiveness of such methods and dialogues?
We have to adopt two principles: the law protects all Iraqis and the State represents all Iraqis. Hence dialogue between all Iraqis is a must. We are one people, we live in one country and we are in fact sailing in the same boat.
I wrote a letter to Ebrahim Al Jafaari [former prime minister], but he did not reply, and I wrote a letter to President Talabani and he concurs with my opinion.
Do you believe an Iraqi rapprochement conference will result in a conciliation?
Yes, the conference is an important point in the Iraqi national conciliation process, and I have personally asked the Secretary-General of the Arab League to postpone the conference for it not to be an ordinary gathering and platform for speeches.
You have good ties with Arab countries such as Syria, do you think the Syrians will cooperate well in the security field with a permanent Iraqi government?
I have received positive responses from Syrian officials to activate security cooperation for the protection of Iraq from terrorist elements and I am to visit Damascus soon to strengthen these ties.
