Baghdad, 01 October 2007 (Voices of Iraq)
Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi said on Monday that he held serious and open talks with former Iraqi Prime Minister and Leader of the Iraqi National List (INL) Iyad Allawi regarding the development of the “Salvation Initiative” in the near future.
Meanwhile, Iyad Allawi said that he supports the Islamic Party’s National Pact project.
“There are common viewpoints on solving the Iraqi problem, and we had serious and open talks which will develop the salvation initiative in the near future through the constitutional process,” al-Hashemi’s said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq after meeting with Allawi during the Iftar (breakfast) on Sunday.
Regarding the National Pact project, al-Hashemi said that “the bill needs some amendments and ideas from political blocs’ leaders.”
“It is not important who proposed the project, the most important thing is to agree upon a salvation project that will help to put an end to this dramatic situation which is tearing up Iraq,” he added.
Last week, the Sunni Islamic Party led by Hashemi launched a political initiative, dubbed “the National Pact,” that aims, according to the party, to halt deterioration in the country.
“The corner-stone in the solution is accordance among the Iraqis themselves, by bringing their views closer regarding shaping the future Iraq and in describing the co-existence of all sects and communities within the country,” Tareq al-Hashemi, Iraqi vice-president and the Islamic Party chief, told a news conference.
Al-Hashemi said “the time has come for a frank dialogue on the essential issues.”
The 25-principle-initiative has addressed basic issues that might lead to ending the deterioration in Iraq according to the Islamic Party Secretary-General al-Hashemi.
The National Pact called for “Equality of all Iraqis before the law, condemnation of killing based on identity, shunning extremism, and rejecting foreign interference in Iraqi affairs.”
The initiative, which also called to achieve national reconciliation, recognized resistance as “a right of all occupied nations,” indicating that “terror is not considered resistance.”
“The Islamic party’s project is “open” to other political blocs for adding and amending it.” The vice president asserted.
The Islamic Party is one of three components that constituted the Sunni Accordance Front, which quit the Iraqi government two months ago after it accused the government of “closing the door to any true reforms.”
For his part, the Leader of the Iraqi National List, Iyad Allawi, said he supports the project, underling that there is a similarity between the national pact’s clauses and many projects we proposed,” he noted.
“We will support this project because we think it is in the interest of the Iraqi people,” the former premier affirmed.
“We hope to have a roadmap which will lead Iraq to stability, peace and development,” Allawi said. Iraq Updates