By Xinhua,
BAGHDAD : The Iraqi government is talking to insurgent groups trying to persuade them to end violence and engage in political process, a state-run newspaper reported on Saturday.
“Direct and indirect talks are underway between the government and some armed groups, and some positive results have been achieved,” the al-Sabah newspaper, quoted Hassan al-Senied, a Shiite lawmaker, as saying.
“Actually, some of these armed groups were convinced to lay down their arms and take part in political process,” Senied, who is a key member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s Dawa Party, told the newspaper.
The Iraqi government is talking to other groups who are close to lay down their arms, he said.
“We think that those who took up their arms were thinking they were doing the right thing, but they were wrong,” he said.
Senied also said he believes that the successes so far gained from the national reconciliation efforts by Maliki’s government was the main reason behind the substantial changes widely expected in the Iraqi political map.
On January 31, millions of Iraqis went to cast their ballots in the landmark provincial elections, which preliminary official results showed that Sunni Arabs, who boycotted previous elections, have regain power in their areas.
The successes of Sunni Arabs, who were backbone of anti-U.S. insurgency, in the provincial elections could help take the steam out of the Sunni insurgency as the community could feel it has the stake in local governments.