Baathists must be included in national reconciliation – official

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: A Kurdish official on Saturday said that Iraq’s problems can never be solved without a comprehensive national reconciliation, which, he said, must expand to include Baathists. “All parties have to accept the Baathists’ return to politics as the country’s problems can never be solved without an overall national reconciliation,” the culture minister in the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region told IraqiNews.com news agency. “However, a fair trial has to be guaranteed for Baathists involved in crimes (against the Iraqi people). The Baathists themselves have to reconsider their position and practice self-criticism,” the minister said. He added that he expressed that opinion during a conference on reconciliation, currently in session in the Kurdish city of Arbil. “This is my own opinion that I raised during the conference but most Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni participants and even some Baathists have rejected it,” he added. AmR (P)/SR 1