DEPUTY FIRST Minister Martin McGuinness has welcomed the weekend signing in Baghdad by all the main Iraqi political parties of a set of peace principles that are in many respects modelled on the 1998 Belfast Agreement.
Mr McGuinness, former Assembly speaker Lord Alderdice and Belfast-based political consultant Quintin Oliver were in Baghdad on Saturday as observers, as local politicians signed up to the Helsinki Principles which are based on the Senator George Mitchell Principles on democracy and non-violence.
The agreement was formally endorsed on Saturday by the Iraqi government and Iraqi parliamentarians, as well as by groups linked to the militias and insurgents.
The principles include the prohibition on the use of arms for “all armed groups” during peace negotiations. Another key recommendation is the establishment of a body to “supervise the process of disarmament of non-governmental armed groups in a verifiable manner”, similar to Gen John de Chastelain’s decommissioning body.
The initiative, running since last year, involved Northern Ireland and South African politicians in dialogue with senior Iraqi politicians from the Sunni, Shia and Kurdish groups, as well as with other tribal leaders and representatives of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The talks were held in Helsinki last September and in April this year.
Mr McGuinness, Lord Alderdice and Mr Oliver all emphasised that the Helsinki Principles were not a resolution but a framework by which progress could be made in Iraq. Mr McGuinness said he and his colleagues were willing to assist if Iraqi politicians felt their future intervention could be useful. Ireland could be a venue for such talks, he added.
Mr McGuinness said the signing gained widespread media coverage in Iraq and that over the course of Saturday they met with several senior Iraqi politicians, including president Jalal Talabani. “What is critically important now is that the people of Iraq and their politicians recognise the importance of learning from other conflict situations, and agree among themselves that the best way forward is through dialogue and through a process of meaningful and inclusive negotiations.”
Mr McGuinness said he delivered a clear message to the Iraqi politicians. “I said that our own conflict, depending on your view of history, has lasted 30 years, or goes back to partition, or goes back 800 years. My message was that they should endeavour to engage in inclusive talks sooner rather than later, and in doing so save the lives of tens of thousands of their own people.”
Mr McGuinness added that the involvement of DUP junior minister Jeffrey Donaldson in the project left an impression on the Iraqis that if Sinn Féin and DUP politicians could work together, then perhaps they should also work co-operatively for the good of their people. (Mr Donaldson was unable to travel to Baghdad for the occasion as he had political business in the United States.) Lord Alderdice said his impression was that the Iraqis took hope from the Northern Ireland experience.
He said the Helsinki Principles were an expanded series of principles based on the Mitchell Principles, tied up in a substantial document. “It’s Mitchell plus, if you like. The Mitchell Principles will apply, but the practical details will be different.” Mr Oliver, a key organisational figure in gaining a Yes vote for the 1998 Belfast Agreement, said the issue was now over to the Iraqis. “We are not telling them what to do, we are not imposing a template, we are just saying, ‘We know a bit about conflict; if we can help, please learn’.”
