Wednesday, November 22, 2006
SCIRI, Sunni Accordance Front clash in parliament
Politics
Sectarian tensions that are pushing Iraq to the brink of civil war erupted in Parliament yesterday when two prominent figures from Shiite and Sunni Arab parties traded angry accusations of inciting violence. In an unusually heated exchange in Parliament shown on live television, Jalal Al-Deen Al-Saghir of the Shiite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) clashed with outspoken Sunni Arab politician Adnan Al-Dulaimi.
Saghir complained that Shiites living in two mainly Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad, Adil and Jamiaa, were enduring violence that was driving them to seek the protection of militias and “opening the door to those who want revenge. What has happened will open the gates of hell,” Saghir said. “People will lose faith in this institution (Parliament) and then there will be no choice but to turn to the militias.”
“We all demand militias be disbanded, but where is the serious desire to root out the causes that push people to carry weapons?” Saghir said. “We make speeches, but in practice we find people here in parliament who incite (violence).” Saghir did not identify anyone in the chamber, but his comments sparked an angry reaction from Dulaimi, head of the Sunni Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in Parliament. “Everything Sheikh Jalal (Saghir) says is not true,” Dulaimi said. “Sheikh Jalal is one of the sources of sectarian strife. He shouldn’t talk like this. This is a conspiracy against us.” A furious Dulaimi said he was treated with disrespect “like Iranians and Jews.”
Saghir complained that Shiites living in two mainly Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad, Adil and Jamiaa, were enduring violence that was driving them to seek the protection of militias and “opening the door to those who want revenge. What has happened will open the gates of hell,” Saghir said. “People will lose faith in this institution (Parliament) and then there will be no choice but to turn to the militias.”
“We all demand militias be disbanded, but where is the serious desire to root out the causes that push people to carry weapons?” Saghir said. “We make speeches, but in practice we find people here in parliament who incite (violence).” Saghir did not identify anyone in the chamber, but his comments sparked an angry reaction from Dulaimi, head of the Sunni Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in Parliament. “Everything Sheikh Jalal (Saghir) says is not true,” Dulaimi said. “Sheikh Jalal is one of the sources of sectarian strife. He shouldn’t talk like this. This is a conspiracy against us.” A furious Dulaimi said he was treated with disrespect “like Iranians and Jews.”
