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| Iraq lifts curbs on Saddam allies | Iraq lifts curbs on Saddam allies |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Iraq's parliament has passed a bill to allow ex-officials from the Baath party of former leader Saddam Hussein to return to public life. | Iraq's parliament has passed a bill to allow ex-officials from the Baath party of former leader Saddam Hussein to return to public life. |
| The US had been urging Iraq's Shia-led government to pass the law in an effort to involve the minority Sunni Arabs more closely in the political process. | The US had been urging Iraq's Shia-led government to pass the law in an effort to involve the minority Sunni Arabs more closely in the political process. |
| It will allow thousands of former party members to apply for reinstatement in the civil service and military. | It will allow thousands of former party members to apply for reinstatement in the civil service and military. |
| Sunnis had described the old law as a collective punishment. | Sunnis had described the old law as a collective punishment. |
| WHO ARE THE BAATHISTS? The party was the political instrument of Saddam Hussein's ruleAn estimated 2.5 million Iraqis were party membersBanned and broken up by US administrator in May 2003Baathism was a pan-Arab secular nationalist movement | WHO ARE THE BAATHISTS? The party was the political instrument of Saddam Hussein's ruleAn estimated 2.5 million Iraqis were party membersBanned and broken up by US administrator in May 2003Baathism was a pan-Arab secular nationalist movement |
| Saddam Hussein was executed on 30 December 2006 after a special tribunal found him guilty of crimes against humanity. | |
| His regime was predominantly Sunni and many figures were removed from government after his fall in 2003 under an edict from ex-US administrator Paul Bremer. | |
| The army was disbanded, thousands of teachers, university lecturers and civil servants were sacked and anyone who had been a member of the higher tiers of the party was banned from government employment. | The army was disbanded, thousands of teachers, university lecturers and civil servants were sacked and anyone who had been a member of the higher tiers of the party was banned from government employment. |
| However, many were reinstated after the US found that it had cleared out key ministries and the military without having any replacements. | However, many were reinstated after the US found that it had cleared out key ministries and the military without having any replacements. |
| Sunni insurgency | Sunni insurgency |
| The new law creates a three-month period for the ex-members to be challenged, after which they will be immune from prosecution over the Saddam era. | The new law creates a three-month period for the ex-members to be challenged, after which they will be immune from prosecution over the Saddam era. |
| It excludes former Baath members charged with crimes or still sought for them. | It excludes former Baath members charged with crimes or still sought for them. |
| However, it will grant state pensions to many former Baathist employees even if they are not given new posts. | However, it will grant state pensions to many former Baathist employees even if they are not given new posts. |
| The legislation was presented to parliament last year by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shia, and President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. | The legislation was presented to parliament last year by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shia, and President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. |
| Much of the Sunni insurgency is thought to be centred on dismissed military men from the Baathist regime. | Much of the Sunni insurgency is thought to be centred on dismissed military men from the Baathist regime. |