Jordan Times
Sunday, April 23, 2006
King calls on Iraqi leaders to resort to dialogue
AMMAN (JT) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Friday
urged Iraqi religious, political and tribal leaders to overcome their
differences and confront the violence plaguing their country, The Jordan News
Agency, Petra, reported.
At a banquet held in honour of a group of Iraqi leaders yesterday, the King said
the only language that should now prevail in Iraq is dialogue.
The Monarch told the visiting Iraqi leaders, who were in Amman to attend the
Iraqi Islamic Reconciliation Conference scheduled for Saturday, that Jordan
would continue consultations with religious and political leaderships to hold
the gathering.
The conference was postponed indefinitely upon a request by Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani, organisers announced on Thursday.
Abdul Salam Abbadi, spokesperson for the conference, said Talabani told King
Abdullah over the telephone that Iraqi leaders were engaged in negotiations to
form a new government.
The Monarch had invited more than 200 top Iraqi religious and tribal leaders to
Amman for talks on how they could contribute to ending violence and encourage a
political solution.
The Iraqi leaders agreed on the need to hold the reconciliation meeting, which
was scheduled to focus on settling religious differences between the components
of the Iraqi population.
At the banquet Friday, the King renewed Jordan's support for Iraq and its
keenness on preventing a sectarian bloodshed and bringing an end to the ongoing
cycle of violence in the war-ravaged country.
“The success of the political process in Iraq is a success for us,” he told the
Iraqi leaders.
“At the same time, if the Iraqis fail, this would adversely reflect on the
entire region.”
HRH Prince Ghazi, the King's Personal Adviser and Special Envoy, Chief of the
Royal Court Chief Salem Turk and King's Adviser for Tribal Affairs Sharif Fawaz
Zaben Abdullah attended the banquet.
In statements to Petra, the Iraqi leaders said although the conference was
postponed, their stay in Amman provided them with a “rare” chance to confer on
Iraq's affairs and issues related to where the country is heading.
Hareth Dari, head of the Muslim Clerics Commission, the senior Sunni authority
in Iraq, said the conference remains “a good idea and a successful initiative
despite the postponement... After all, it has achieved its goal and brought
representatives of the Iraqi spectra together,” stressing that these
representatives came to Amman looking for a solution to the problems facing
their country. He said the leaders showed willingness for understanding and
dialogue.
President of the Iraq National Accord Front Iyad Allawi said the presence of
these Iraqi leaders in Amman indicates two things: The first is that would-be
participants in the conference responded to the Jordanian invitation with
respect and appreciation. The second, he continued, was that the issue of
national unity matters as far as the invitees are concerned.
“The Iraqi brothers who came to Amman made it clear they have transcended
sectarian, ethnic and political quotas to reach a consensus on the need to work
hand-in-hand to rebuild Iraq,” Allawi said.
Their keenness on coming to Amman “also reflects their willingness to interact
with the Arab world,” he added.
Allawi, a secular politician and a former premier, said he was confident the
conference would be held soon adding that the meetings the Iraqi delegations
held in Amman “served as a cornerstone in efforts to build the future of Iraq.”
Chief Sunni Mufti of Iraq Rafe Rifai and Iraqi MP Kheirallah Basri, representing
Basra, also commended the King's initiative as one way to prevent sectarian
fight in Iraq.
They were joined by Chief Editor of the Beirut-based Al Mustaqbal Newspaper
Michele Nofal, who said the Iraqi response to the King's initiative to hold the
reconciliation conference signals willingness to resort to their Arab brothers
for a solution to their internal stalemate.
“When I saw this meeting of Iraqis in Jordan, I realised things are on the right
track,” said Rabia Al Habib, a tribal leader.
The statement was echoed by Secretary General of the Salafist Commission in Iraq
Fakhri Qaisi and Karim Khan Khalifa, the chief of the Kurdish Baradof tribe in
Kurdistan.
Also on Friday, the King joined thousands of worshippers for Friday prayers at
the newly inaugurated King Hussein Ben Talal Mosque in Dabouq.
The mufti of Egypt, Ali Jumaa, delivered the sermon and led the prayers, which
were broadcast live on Jordan Television.
The new mosque, which the Monarch inaugurated early April, has replaced King
Abdullah I Mosque in Abdali as the country's official mosque.