By NNN-KUNA,
Baghdad : Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has stressed that national reconciliation is significant in preventing Iraq from sliding into civil war.
“We have sidestepped civil war, and you, as tribal chiefs, are instrumental in achieving that,” he said when receiving a delegation of tribal chiefs here Sunday.
Iraq has always been a nation of disparate tribes with roots deep in its history, he said.
He emphasized that the government had no intention of forcing its domination on the tribes. However, he saw the need for everyone to work hand in hand under the rule of law for the furthering of the nation’s aspirations.
Al-Maliki indicated that the government is seeking to establish a national tribal chiefs’ council where chiefs of all tribes would consult amongst themselves and in unison with the government for the expressed purpose of deepening the application of the rule of law within the country.
He further said that the government had plans to compensate farmers who had either lost their farms or experienced the partial destruction of their farms and that farmers overall would be assisted in their work by being provided modern farming tools and machinery.
As for the upcoming local elections nationwide, the prime minister hoped that they would be conducted through the use of open lists of candidates to give voters more freedom in making their choices.