Finnish group to host peace seminar with warring Iraqi factions
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A Finnish mediation group said Thursday it will host a peace seminar this week with opposing factions from Iraq, to try to find a solution to the violence in that country.
The Crisis Management Initiative, headed by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, said the meetings will bring together participants from several countries "to explore a range of emerging options for assisting divided societies to move forward."
The seminar, to be held behind closed doors, is a follow-up to similar secret meetings in Finland last September, when representatives from Sunni and Shiite groups in Iraq agreed on a plan to achieve peace. They agreed then to meet again for more talks.
In 2005, Ahtisaari's group helped end a 30-year war between Aceh rebels and the Indonesian government.