Friday, August 03, 2007
Iraqi National List considers withdrawal from government
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - A member in the Iraqi National List (INL) said on Thursday that his bloc is considering withdrawing from the Iraqi government, stressing that the withdrawal, if it happens, will be an outcome of the front's stance, not another bloc’s position. "A withdrawal decision of the (INL) ministers has not been made yet," Osama al-Negefi, an INL MP, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) by telephone.
"We have reservations about the government's performance and we presented a memorandum regarding this three months ago… in which we asked to reform the political process," he said, noting that the withdrawal option is open if demands are not met. The Iraqi National List is a secular bloc and the fourth largest bloc with 25 seats out of the 275-member parliament. The parliamentary bloc has four portfolios within al-Maliki's government.
He stressed that if the bloc withdraws from the government this will be an outcome of their position, not that of the Iraqi Accordance Front. The Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) announced on Wednesday its withdrawal from the government and the resignation of five ministers in addition to Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie. The IAF had 44 seats in the parliament and it is the third largest bloc after the Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) and the Kurdistan Coalition (KC).
"The memorandum presented by the INL has 14 points, and we said that the political process had deviated from its right track and the security file was in the hands of a group belonging to certain parties," al-Negefi said. "The memorandum also included (demands concerning) the participation of some parties not included in the political process, the national reconciliation project and the detainees file," the legislator noted.
MP from the same bloc, Mayson al-Demlougi, said that their demands were ignored by al-Maliki's government, saying "we feel marginalized." She urged the premier to listen carefully to the demands of other blocs, which have reservations about the government's performance, warning of grave consequences if the current government keeps on ignoring blocs' demands.
Head of the INL, Iyad Allawi, described in a televised interview on Wednesday, after the withdrawal of the IAF, the current government as "a sectarian government," considering the withdrawal of the IAF as "a collapse of the political process," highlighting that his front is considering making a similar step.
"We have reservations about the government's performance and we presented a memorandum regarding this three months ago… in which we asked to reform the political process," he said, noting that the withdrawal option is open if demands are not met. The Iraqi National List is a secular bloc and the fourth largest bloc with 25 seats out of the 275-member parliament. The parliamentary bloc has four portfolios within al-Maliki's government.
He stressed that if the bloc withdraws from the government this will be an outcome of their position, not that of the Iraqi Accordance Front. The Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) announced on Wednesday its withdrawal from the government and the resignation of five ministers in addition to Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie. The IAF had 44 seats in the parliament and it is the third largest bloc after the Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) and the Kurdistan Coalition (KC).
"The memorandum presented by the INL has 14 points, and we said that the political process had deviated from its right track and the security file was in the hands of a group belonging to certain parties," al-Negefi said. "The memorandum also included (demands concerning) the participation of some parties not included in the political process, the national reconciliation project and the detainees file," the legislator noted.
MP from the same bloc, Mayson al-Demlougi, said that their demands were ignored by al-Maliki's government, saying "we feel marginalized." She urged the premier to listen carefully to the demands of other blocs, which have reservations about the government's performance, warning of grave consequences if the current government keeps on ignoring blocs' demands.
Head of the INL, Iyad Allawi, described in a televised interview on Wednesday, after the withdrawal of the IAF, the current government as "a sectarian government," considering the withdrawal of the IAF as "a collapse of the political process," highlighting that his front is considering making a similar step.
Labels: Iraqi Accordance Front, Iraqi National List, Iyad Allawi, Osama al-Negefi
