Iraqi government to pardon persons who hand over weapons

The Iraqi Interim prime minister Eyad Allawi said that his government wants to expand the process of handing over weapons in al-Sader city to other areas like Basra.

In a speech before the Interim National Council, Allawi said that this process is part of the preparations for the general elections which he stressed will be held in its due time set by the end of January 2005. He indicated that the government decided to give a sum of $ 2 million as a humanitarian aid to Falluja city.

For his part, the minister of state for security affairs, Qasem Dawoud, said that his government will announce next week a pardoning for those who hand over the weapons to cover all parts of the country.

In statements issued yesterday, Dawoud said that this step aims at halting the flow of weapons against al-Sader city, noting that this grace period given to those who surrender the weapons in this city has been extended until next Thursday.

Upon the end of the operation, the American and Iraqi forces will carry out breaking in campaigns in al-Sader city to make sure that there are no weapons.

These developments coincide with the announcement made by the chairman of the negotiators delegation for Falluja people with the Iraqi government, Sheikh Khaled Hammoud al-Jumeili, on the suspension of peace talks with the interim government. This followed his release by the American army yesterday at dawn.

Member of the negotiations delegation Abdul Hamid Jadou's said that the release of al-Jumeili is considered a step on the right direction, noting that if the bombardment stops, it will be a second positive step and then negotiations channels can be re-opened.