Sunday, September 10, 2006
Sunnis boycott parliament session
Politics
The United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), a strong, mainly Shia political alliance whose most powerful members include the Islamic Dawa Party, led by ex-prime minster Ibrahim al-Jaafari and current prime minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, have submitted a bill for federalism in Iraq. The bill would establish a three-way federal system by setting up a separate autonomous state in the southern region where Shias are dominant.
Two major Sunni blocs, the Iraqi accordance Front and the National Dialogue Front of Saleh al-Mutlaq said they would not take part in Sunday's parliament session unless their own calls for amending the country's constitution were examined. The Iraqi National List of the former secular Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, and the group headed by radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr joined the Sunni parties in boycotting the session.
COMMENT: The Sunnis fear they will lose oil revenue to the oil rich south and north if the country is broken up. The Iraqi National List and other secularists believe in a united Iraq. al-Sadr is interested in a strong federal Shia south, but only if he is in control. Currently he is vying for power against other Shia factions such as SCIRI and its militia, the Badr Corps, in Basra there are the Fadheela Party militias, agents of Iran and outlaw tribes, and in Kerbala there are the followers of cleric Mahmoud al-Hasani. If the bill goes through, it is unlikley to go quickly or smoothly; it has too much opposition, the Shia 'alliance' are too splintered and the steps to voting on it are littered with possible boycotts from otehr political parties and legal wrangles. COMMENT ENDS.
