(dpa) - A meeting to revive stumbling national reconciliation efforts in Iraq looked set to fail Tuesday as Sunni and Shiite blocs walked out in protest at insufficient progress.
The two-day conference, which aims at reconciling differences among the country's rival political groups, got off to a shaky start when the Front of National Accord, the main Sunni Arab bloc, said it would not attend.
"Members of the Front received personal invitations to attend the conference while a formal invitation has not been sent to the Front (as an organization)," the Sunni bloc said in a statement.
"The Front believes that current conditions are not suitable for the success of the conference; this is why members have decided not to attend," according to the statement.
The Front last year pulled out of the Shiite-dominated ruling coalition government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki over differences over security issues and unanswered demands for the release of thousands of Sunni Arab detainees held in government-run prisons.
In an upbeat opening speech, al-Maliki identified achievements in the area of reconciliation, particularly the establishment of tribal councils backing the government's fight against insurgency.
The premier said progress had been also made in integrating former army personnel into security bodies and wooing insurgents into renouncing violence and joining the political process.
Al-Maliki's optimism is not shared by the US, the UN and Iraqi factions such as the Front, which are critical of the slow pace of reconciliation efforts.
The Front concedes the government's cooperation in passing the general amnesty law and the justice and accountability law - both of which aim at integrating members of the former Baath Party and insurgents into the political process.
However, the Sunni bloc is not happy with the way the laws are being implemented, its statement said.
"Anyone who monitors the daily practices of the government and its positions in many areas will come to the conclusion that it is not qualified to sponsor the noble project of national reconciliation," the Front said.
The Sadrist bloc loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was the second faction to boycott the reconciliation conference although its parliamentary leader, Nassar al-Rubai, attended the opening session.
"Our participation in the conference's opening and later withdrawal aimed to confirm that we are for national reconciliation but against a fictional meeting that does not present ... solutions," al-Rubai told the Voices of Iraq news agency.
"This conference can only serve the interests of the government rather then peace and security in Iraq," al-Rubai said.
The Sadrists pulled out of the government last year after the government refused to meet Sadrists' demand for a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops.
The secular Iraqi List of former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi also stayed away from the conference.
Under the recently ratified justice and accountability law, members of the former Baath Party are also allowed to take part in reconciliation conferences but it is not clear whether they are attending Tuesday's.