Iraqi Chiefs Sign 'Pact Of Honor'
Hundreds of Iraq's tribal chiefs Saturday signed a "pact of honor," pledging to support the prime minister's national reconciliation plan on wiping out sectarian strife and terrorism tearing the country.
At least 14 people were killed Saturday, including four members of a Shiite family in Baqouba and a woman translator working for the British consulate in Basra, Iraq's second largest city.
"Realizing the gravity of the situation our country is undergoing, we pledge in front of God and the Iraqi people to be sincere and serious in preserving the unity of our country," said the pact signed by tribal leaders and sheiks at a national conference.
The chiefs also pledged to "work hard to stop the bloodletting and ... sectarian killings that have nothing to do with our values." A representative read out the agreement, which he described as a "pact of honor," on live television.
Tribes wield considerable influence in Iraqi society, especially among rural people for whom bonds of the clan are vital. But like all other institutions in Iraq, tribal affiliations sometimes can also be tenuous.
In other developments:
Although the pact is unlikely to bring peace to Iraq, it is an important step toward winning support in this divided nation for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's 24-point reconciliation plan unveiled last month.
Al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated unity government is struggling to control the sectarian violence and a Sunni Arab insurgency that have together claimed about 10,000 lives since it took office in May.
"These tribes have to play a significant role in fighting terrorists, saboteurs and infiltrators," Al-Maliki said in a speech to open the chiefs' conference earlier Saturday.
But reconciliation seems a distant goal as none of the major Sunni Arab insurgent groups has publicly agreed to join the plan. Also, many of the Shiite militias are controlled by legislators themselves.
There is also the question of how to deal with insurgents from the minority Sunni Arab community who hope to regain the power they held in the Sunni-dominated regime of Saddam Hussein.
Al-Maliki and his fellow Shiites say amnesty can be given to insurgents who have not killed any Iraqi. But given the widespread killings in Iraq, it would be hard to find a militant who does not have blood on his hands. Differences among Shiites themselves is another hurdle.