SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov. 23 -- At an international conference here on the future of Iraq, the interim government in Baghdad came under pressure Tuesday to work harder to encourage opposition forces to participate in the country's first democratic election as a critical step toward national reconciliation.
The pressure reflects growing concern among Iraq's neighbors and the wider Arab world that the pivotal Sunni Muslim minority will boycott the poll, now scheduled for Jan. 30, officials from participating countries said. Sunni anger and antagonism has increased lately due to U.S.-led attacks on Sunni strongholds as well as attacks on Islamic sites.
The interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi will attempt to ensure all sectors that disavow violence and terrorism participate, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told a news conference. "Of course the elections should be totally comprehensive, and in all areas, and they should not exclude any section, any province or any ethnic group," he said.
But the Arab world, where the majority of countries are Sunni-dominated, made clear they are willing to intervene to ensure that Iraq, which has a Shiite Muslim majority, does everything possible to bring Sunnis into the process.
Bahrain offered to convene a meeting of Iraqis who want to join the political process, Zebari told reporters. He said the Allawi government did not oppose the offer but had not made a final decision.
"On this issue, we believe the best place for this meeting of national reconciliation to take place is in Baghdad," he said.
In a final communique signed by some 20 countries and four international organizations, all of Iraq's neighbors, including Iran and Syria, also condemned the insurgency and called for an end to the flow of foreign fighters, arms and funds that have fueled the insurgency over the past 19 months. Signatories included the United States, China, Japan, as well as European, Arab and Middle East countries.
The participation of Syria and Iran were one of the prime reasons the conference was organized, since both have long and porous borders with Iraq that have been used by opponents waging an insurgency against the interim government and the U.S.-led multinational force. The final communique calls on Iraq's six neighbors -- Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and Turkey -- to "help us genuinely and in good faith" to improve security, tighten border controls and help Iraq prepare a "conducive atmosphere" for holding the election, Zebari said.
The meeting, attended by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell on his final trip as a member of President Bush's Cabinet, will be followed up by a gathering in Iran by interior ministers from Iraq and its neighbors on Nov. 30 and later by foreign ministers' meeting in Jordan. The United States is hoping that the neighbors will develop a regular mechanism for communicating, particularly on security issues, participants at the conference said.
