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While it is laudable that Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr has extended a ceasefire his militia was observing, he must do much more.
Over the past six months his Mahdi Army ceased operations in Iraq, allegedly allowing the more militant factions in the army to be weeded out so it can present a more moderate image to Iraqis, especially the Sunnis.
The Iraq government and the US have welcomed Al Sadr's extension of the ceasefire for a further six months. There is evidence that much of the past violence, including the frequent retaliatory strikes from both sides, fell dramatically during that time.
Such conciliatory gestures are to be welcomed in the hope that it is a positive move towards a permanent cessation of hostilities. Claims by the Iraq government and the US military that inroads are also being made upon Al Qaida, which has been acting almost with impunity in recent years, will do much to assuage the fears of ordinary Iraqis.
However, Al Sadr's ceasefire extension, while good, is not good enough. It is completely wrong for a private army to operate inside a country with a legitimately elected government.
Democracy has been introduced and is now accepted in Iraq so the way to address political problems or misunderstandings is through debate and the ballot box, not bullets and bombs.
If Al Sadr is really serous about his desire to see an end to hostilities in Iraq, then he must come out of the shadows into the limelight and discuss pertinent issues with the government and those other sections of society with whom he has discord.
Setting aside guns for a brief period merely underlines the fact that, at any given moment, arms can be taken up again. And that is a threat under which no one can live.
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