Iraq's Cabinet has approved the draft of a general amnesty bill for detainees in Iraqi prisons, a measure that could go a long way toward reconciling Iraq's warring sects and factions.
But the measure approved on Wednesday will not be brought to parliament for debate until March at the earliest, said Sami al-Askari a key adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Many key draft laws -- including measures to share oil revenue and to allow some members of late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's Baath party to hold government jobs -- have remained mired for months in Iraq's gridlocked parliament.
There was no immediate reaction from Sunni lawmakers who have in the past called for such a bill.
Al-Askari, who is a parliament member, said the amnesty would not cover those convicted of terrorism, corruption, crimes against humanity and kidnapping.
The draft will also not involve prisoners being held by US forces, said Sadiq al-Rikabi, another al-Maliki adviser.
Both the Iraqi government and the US military each hold more than 20,000 prisoners detained since the US-led invasion of 2003.
It was not clear how many prisoners might be affected by the proposed ban. Al-Askari estimated that "80 percent of those held in Iraqi prisons are there for terrorist crimes, therefore the amnesty would be for a limited number."
The Cabinet vote came as US officials forecast less violence in Iraq next year, despite a planned reduction of US troops.
The combination of more Sunni fighters in the Iraqi army and a recent backlash against militants will allow US-led troops to leverage their ability to subdue violent areas, according to US military spokesman Major General Kevin Bergner.
"Those forces will help coalition forces fight above their weight. They will help offset the reduction in coalition numbers," he told reporters.
The Bush administration plans to withdraw 30,000 US troops from Iraq by July, a reduction which would put the US force level there at about 135,000.
In northern Iraq, Kurdish officials have delayed for six months the explosive issue of a referendum to decide if the oil-rich city of Kirkuk will become part of their self-rule area or remain under control of the Shiite-dominated central government.
There was no immediate comment from the Iraqi government in Baghdad, but the referendum was widely expected to be delayed by months.
Meanwhile, the US military said an insurgent killed last month has been identified as a senior leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq and a former associate of its late leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was slain by US forces last year.
Abu Abdullah, also known as Muhammad Sulayman Shunaythir al-Zubai, was killed by coalition forces north of Baghdad on Nov. 8.
He was described in a military statement as "an experienced bomb maker and attack planner who coordinated numerous attacks on Coalition and Iraqi forces over the past three years, using a variety of improvised explosive devices combined with small-arms fire."
The US military said two soldiers were killed during fighting on Wednesday in Nineveh province in the north.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
RSS