Maliki calls for a national conference on weapons and offers to convene it

BAGHDAD — Former Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki called on Wednesday for a national conference to build agreement on bringing weapons under state control, a day after telling the U.S. chargé d’affaires that the Coordination Framework had formed a committee on the same question.

The Islamic Dawa Party, of which Maliki is secretary-general, said restricting weapons is “a demand on which no two people disagree” but that domestic and external circumstances require it be completed “through dialogue and understanding among all concerned parties, and exclusively according to the national agendas of our people.” It rejected the way the issue is being framed: “It is not a battle between two parties, as it is unfortunately being promoted politically and in the media, intentionally or otherwise.”

Maliki is positioning himself to broker it. “The secretary-general of our party, with the relations he enjoys with all concerned parties, is playing his role in order to achieve consensus on a safe and reassuring path for this process, and holding a supportive national conference in this regard may be necessary, and its outcomes useful,” the statement said. It added: “There is no fear, no danger and no clash between the sons of the same trench.”

The party backed Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, saying he “is keen on this political process, its continuity and progress, and on consultation with the Coordination Framework that nominated him.” It said fighters who took up arms in past conflicts should be recognised for their sacrifices and their experience used in state institutions, and warned that abandoning the democratic process could open the way to dictatorship, chaos and division.

Maliki told U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Joshua Harris at a meeting on Tuesday that the Framework had formed a committee to work with the government on implementation mechanisms, expected to begin soon.

Zaidi has set Sept. 30, when the U.S.-led coalition mission ends, as the date for bringing all weapons under state control, and the governing coalition said this month that armed activity outside state authority after that date could be handled under the Anti-Terrorism Law. Saraya al-Salam, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, the Imam Ali Battalions and Badr have moved to comply. Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada have refused, with Kataib Hezbollah saying it intends to keep and expand its arsenal.