BAGHDAD, June 23 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is hoping his amnesty plan will bring about reconciliation of the country's rival factions.
The plan goes before the Iraqi parliament Sunday. Maliki's latest proposal offers amnesty to Iraqis who "carried weapons" but not to those who committed serious crimes, the Washington Post reported Friday.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, the plan makes no distinction between attacking American soldiers and Iraqi government forces.
"It says that the government will issue an amnesty for all those who have not committed crimes against the people of Iraq and the friends of Iraq," Saleh said.
Earlier proposals had suggested offering pardons to Iraqis who have attacked U.S. troops but not to those who attacked Iraqis, an idea that the U.S. Senate found unacceptable.
The new plan has about 20 central points, which include inviting human rights organizations to monitor Iraqi prisons and allowing certain members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to make a case for reinstatement. However, lawmakers say defining the scope of crimes and amnesty will take a good bit of work.
