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.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)