Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki pledged Wednesday to continue work on Iraqi national reconciliation, describing it as “a life boat” for his country. “We look on national reconciliation as a life boat, a perpetual peace project and a safe harbor for the political process and the democratic experience,” Maliki said today before the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York. The Iraqi leader emphasized the successes of national reconciliation, citing the relative stability of the Anbar and Diyala provinces. “Al Qaeda is losing its safe havens one after another,” he said. “What has been accomplished through the continuous mobilization of national reconciliation is considered to be an important success.” Maliki also availed himself of the opportunity to call for international work to solve other ongoing conflicts in the region. “We call for recognizing the rights of the Palestinian people and helping them establish their independent state, and for the return of occupied Arab land,” he said, adding a call for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Maliki also urged “the intensification of national, Arab and international efforts to assist Lebanon and its political powers towards transcending the state of division and to prevent interference in its internal affairs so that Lebanon can regain its national unity.” While in New York, Maliki has met with U.S. President George W. Bush and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
