Baghdad ? During an address in which he described the changes in Iraqi security as “remarkable” and pronounced the country “revived,” Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Sunday announced his latest push for an amnesty program for insurgents, a plan that he said would allow Iraq to move past sectarian warfare.

At a news conference near his office in the Green Zone, Maliki sketched a broad outline of what the amnesty could entail. He insisted that people found guilty of murder or other acts of terrorism would not be pardoned but said the amnesty would cover many of the “misguided” people who cooperated with insurgent groups but had not committed “major” crimes. “All those people will be released,” he said.

“This is a step for bringing back the unity of the Iraqi people,” Maliki said.

More than 25,000 people are in U.S. custody in Iraq, and tens of thousands more are in Iraqi detention centers. Maliki declined to estimate how many would be released if his plan is implemented. He said he has asked the U.S. military for a report within two weeks on the prison population and candidates for release, although it is not clear whether Maliki has the authority to force the Americans to release certain detainees if there is a disagreement.