By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A government committee formed to try to unite the country's sectarian and political groups will hold its first meeting Saturday, a parliament member said.
The Supreme National Committee for Reconciliation and National Dialogue will be comprised of about 30 members, including legislators, religious and tribal leaders, said Hassan al-Suneid, a Shiite in parliament.
The group also will include tribes from the Iraq's western Anbar province, where insurgents remain active, he said.
The committee was formed in response to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's 24-point national reconciliation plan, which he released shortly after taking office in May. The plan includes an amnesty program for insurgents not involved in killing Iraqis or multinational forces.
Al-Maliki vowed Wednesday that insurgent attacks would not undermine his efforts toward national reconciliation.
The prime minister will head the first meeting, which will put in place an organizational framework and ask political and dialogue committees to contact armed groups, al-Suneid said.
One of the committee's missions will also be holding a reconciliation conference, he said.
Several insurgent groups have indirectly contacted al-Maliki's office to say they want to join the political process, al-Maliki said. President Jalal Talabani made similar statements.
The committee will be headed by al-Maliki while Minister of National Dialogue Akram al-Hakim will be the director, al-Suneid said.