Monday, October 08, 2007
Basra police chief steps up to militia challenge
Security
The Iraqi government, along with political forces, are following with concern the situation in Basra province, with the withdrawal of the British military continuing in the forthcoming months until a full withdrawal is implemented. General Abdul Jalil Khalaf, Basra police chief, told Gulf News: "The task is very difficult and conditions are extremely dangerous because each party believes that it represents the law, and each element thinks of himself as a state hero. The city includes tens or even hundreds of militias and I am ready for the task."
Statistics at the University of Basra indicates that there are about 250,000 individuals involved in the armed militias and around 144 militia groups.
There are the militias of the Dawa party headed by Nouri Al Maliki, the Badr Brigades headed by Hadi Al Ameri affiliated to Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, the Mahdi Army of Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr, the Hezbollah movement militia led by Hassan Sari, Hezbollah affiliated to Abdul Kareem Al Muhamadawi, the Fadhila party militias belong to Mohammad Al Yacoubi and other small resistance militias in the south as Imam Ali rebels, Hassan and Hussain rebels and Al Ridha followers.
The oil-rich city consists of 40 to 55 private militia who specialise in oil smuggling to Iran and stealing copper wires from electric grids. Abdul Hadi, an Iraqi army officer in Basra, told Gulf News: "The most dangerous militia is the police and security forces' militias because they have weapons and work in the name of the law. These are groups that consist of between 40 to 90 members who agree to implement kidnapping and blackmail operations or condone gang activities for major financial commissions."
Basra, especially Faw and Majnoon Islands, includes the richest oil fields in the region as well as bunches of palm orchards which yield the best types of dates in the world.
Fadhil Al Jamaly, an economic researcher, told Gulf News: "The issue of oil is the essence of conflict between armed militias, whether these are affiliated to political parties or smuggling gangs. I believe fighting will break out between the outlaw armed groups because of the weakness of state security forces and also the penetration of these militias in these forces, besides seizing land and dates palms is no less important than oil for the armed groups."
Recently, the dispute settlement body in Basra reported that armed militias affiliated to political parties, gangs and powerful individuals seized thousands of houses and real estate.
Statistics at the University of Basra indicates that there are about 250,000 individuals involved in the armed militias and around 144 militia groups.
There are the militias of the Dawa party headed by Nouri Al Maliki, the Badr Brigades headed by Hadi Al Ameri affiliated to Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, the Mahdi Army of Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr, the Hezbollah movement militia led by Hassan Sari, Hezbollah affiliated to Abdul Kareem Al Muhamadawi, the Fadhila party militias belong to Mohammad Al Yacoubi and other small resistance militias in the south as Imam Ali rebels, Hassan and Hussain rebels and Al Ridha followers.
The oil-rich city consists of 40 to 55 private militia who specialise in oil smuggling to Iran and stealing copper wires from electric grids. Abdul Hadi, an Iraqi army officer in Basra, told Gulf News: "The most dangerous militia is the police and security forces' militias because they have weapons and work in the name of the law. These are groups that consist of between 40 to 90 members who agree to implement kidnapping and blackmail operations or condone gang activities for major financial commissions."
Basra, especially Faw and Majnoon Islands, includes the richest oil fields in the region as well as bunches of palm orchards which yield the best types of dates in the world.
Fadhil Al Jamaly, an economic researcher, told Gulf News: "The issue of oil is the essence of conflict between armed militias, whether these are affiliated to political parties or smuggling gangs. I believe fighting will break out between the outlaw armed groups because of the weakness of state security forces and also the penetration of these militias in these forces, besides seizing land and dates palms is no less important than oil for the armed groups."
Recently, the dispute settlement body in Basra reported that armed militias affiliated to political parties, gangs and powerful individuals seized thousands of houses and real estate.
Labels: Al Ridha followers, Badr Brigade, Basra, Dawa party, Fadhila Party, General Abdul Jalil Khalaf, Hassan and Hussain rebels, Hezbollah, Imam Ali rebels, Mahdi Army, militias
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Dawa Party reiterates commitment to UIC
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - The Daawa Party-Iraq has reiterated its commitment to the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC), denying reports that indicate its withdrawal from the bloc. "We continue to support Nouri al-Maliki's government and our main aim is to tackle all pending issues inside the UIC," the leader of the party, Abdul Kareem al-Anzi, said at a press conference held on Wednesday in Baghdad.
He denied reports that indicated its withdrawal from the UIC, but said they will work towards a strong coalition. Al-Anzi said last Sunday that the party may withdraw from the Shiite UIC if efforts to heal the rift within the Shiite alliance fail. The party's MP Abd al-Mousawi said that the Daawa Party had announced its commitment to the unified national government, underlining the importance of the presence of the Fadhila party and the Sadrist bloc in the UIC.
The party holds 13 seats out of the 83-seat UIC. The UIC was composed of several (Shiite) religious and political organizations and parties that entered the first legislative elections in Iraq to be held after foreign troops entered the country and unseated the regime in April 2003. The UIC now has 83 seats, after two members on the Risalyoon list, an offshoot of the Sadrist bloc, quit in solidarity. The step was preceded by the withdrawal of the Islamic Fadhila (Virtue) Party, which had 15 seats in March 2007.
He denied reports that indicated its withdrawal from the UIC, but said they will work towards a strong coalition. Al-Anzi said last Sunday that the party may withdraw from the Shiite UIC if efforts to heal the rift within the Shiite alliance fail. The party's MP Abd al-Mousawi said that the Daawa Party had announced its commitment to the unified national government, underlining the importance of the presence of the Fadhila party and the Sadrist bloc in the UIC.
The party holds 13 seats out of the 83-seat UIC. The UIC was composed of several (Shiite) religious and political organizations and parties that entered the first legislative elections in Iraq to be held after foreign troops entered the country and unseated the regime in April 2003. The UIC now has 83 seats, after two members on the Risalyoon list, an offshoot of the Sadrist bloc, quit in solidarity. The step was preceded by the withdrawal of the Islamic Fadhila (Virtue) Party, which had 15 seats in March 2007.
Labels: Abdul Kareem al-Anzi, Dawa party, Fadhela party, Risalyoon list, Sadrist bloc, Unified Iraqi Coalition
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Quartet alliance want Fadhela Party
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - A member of parliament from the Islamic Fadhlia (Virtue) party said on Monday that senior Iraqi officials have voiced “desire” for the party to enter the four-way alliance, while some Shiite officials are trying to convince the party to return to the Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC). “The Quartet coalition has a desire for us to join, but we have not received an official invitation in this regard so far,” Basem Sharief told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The Islamic Daawa Party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), and the two main Kurdish parties formed a four-way alliance in mid-August that they claim aims at backing the current Iraqi government following the withdrawal of some political blocs from the cabinet.
Regarding the withdrawal of the Sadrist bloc and the Fadhila party of the UIC, the parliamentarian said “The two have the desire to continue negotiations to agree on a project that serves the national interest.” The spokesman for the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement announced on Saturday the withdrawal of the Sadrist parliamentary bloc from the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition. Six months ago, the Shiite Fadhila (Virtue) party, which holds 15 seats in the parliament, withdrew from the UIC.
The Islamic Daawa Party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), and the two main Kurdish parties formed a four-way alliance in mid-August that they claim aims at backing the current Iraqi government following the withdrawal of some political blocs from the cabinet.
Regarding the withdrawal of the Sadrist bloc and the Fadhila party of the UIC, the parliamentarian said “The two have the desire to continue negotiations to agree on a project that serves the national interest.” The spokesman for the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement announced on Saturday the withdrawal of the Sadrist parliamentary bloc from the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition. Six months ago, the Shiite Fadhila (Virtue) party, which holds 15 seats in the parliament, withdrew from the UIC.
Labels: Basem Sharief, Dawa party, Fadhila Party, Kurdistan Coalition, SIIC, UIC
Monday, September 17, 2007
Dawa Party may withdraw from UIC
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - The Daawa Party-Iraq Organization may withdraw from the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) if efforts to heal the rift within the Shiite alliance fail, the leader of the party, Abdul Kareem al-Anzy, said on Sunday. The decision comes less than 24 hours after the defection of the Sadrist bloc from the UIC, the largest parliamentary bloc in the Iraqi parliament.
In statements to the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), al-Anzi said that his party, which holds 13 seats in the 275-member parliament, will make every effort to "mend the rift within the coalition." "If our attempts prove unsuccessful, we will seriously consider forming an alliance with the Sadr movement, al-Fadila Party, and others," al-Anzi added.
Al-Anzi held Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki responsible for the subsequent withdrawal of the coalition's components, claiming that divisions have reached the Islamic Daawa party, led by al-Maliki, and described the Sadrist bloc's defection as a "strike to the core." "Al-Maliki made a strategic mistake when he joined the four-way alliance without consulting his coalition," al-Anzi noted.
The Islamic Daawa Party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), and the two main Kurdish parties formed a four-way alliance in mid-August that they said aims at backing the current Iraqi government following the withdrawal of some political blocs from the cabinet.
In statements to the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), al-Anzi said that his party, which holds 13 seats in the 275-member parliament, will make every effort to "mend the rift within the coalition." "If our attempts prove unsuccessful, we will seriously consider forming an alliance with the Sadr movement, al-Fadila Party, and others," al-Anzi added.
Al-Anzi held Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki responsible for the subsequent withdrawal of the coalition's components, claiming that divisions have reached the Islamic Daawa party, led by al-Maliki, and described the Sadrist bloc's defection as a "strike to the core." "Al-Maliki made a strategic mistake when he joined the four-way alliance without consulting his coalition," al-Anzi noted.
The Islamic Daawa Party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), and the two main Kurdish parties formed a four-way alliance in mid-August that they said aims at backing the current Iraqi government following the withdrawal of some political blocs from the cabinet.
Labels: Abdul Kareem al-Anzy, alliance, Dawa party, Fadhela party, Sadr bloc, United Iraqi Coalition
Monday, September 03, 2007
Dawa and SIIC party officials in assassination attempts
Security, Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - An official of the Shiite Dawa, or call, Party survived an attempt on his life in al-Iskandariya district on Sunday while a member of the Shiite Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) was separately wounded in an assault, police said. "Hussein Hassan al-Tamimi, the director of Dawa Party in al-Iskandariya, (50 km) north of Hilla, escaped an assassination attempt by an explosive device near his home in the residential compound of Hittin," a security source in Babel, who requested not to have his name mentioned, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Tamimi, who is an officer in the Iraqi army in the rank of captain, survived the attack unscathed but his house was damaged, the source added. Meanwhile, the same source added, Muhammad Hussein al-Khafaji, a member of Shiite leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakeem's SIIC, was attacked with clubs by a group of people. Khafaji was wounded and rushed to hospital, he said. The source did not give further details about the two incidents.
SIIC and Dawa Party offices in different Iraqi provinces came under attacks by unidentified gunmen in the aftermath of last week's bloody incidents in Karbala in which scores were killed and hundreds others wounded. Earlier in Babel on Sunday Brig. Abbas al-Juburi, the commander of the special Scorpion Force, survived an attempt on his life when three gunmen in a civilian vehicle showered his house with bullets, killing one civilian inside.
"Gunmen attacked Juburi's house in al-Karama neighborhood in central Hilla on Sunday morning and escaped, but 30 minutes later the house security guards chased the culprits' vehicle and managed to arrest them," a security source told VOI. "Arms and ammunition in the gunmen's possession were seized," he added.
The U.S.-funded Scorpion Force comprises more than 850 soldiers in five companies, two of them specialized in aerial landings. The contingent, whose commander Col. Sallam al-Maamouri was assassinated last year by an explosive device planted in his office, is assigned to raid gunmen hideouts, not only in Hilla but also in all Iraqi provinces.
The special force has taken part in operations to eliminate the extremist Jund al-Samaa, or Soldiers of Heaven, movement and settling the recent incidents in Karbala during the holy Shiite rituals of a pilgrimage called al-Ziyara al-Shaabaniya, or the mid-Shaaban visit, to celebrate the birth anniversary of the Messiah-like Imam al-Mahdi, the 12th holiest figure for Shiite Muslims.
Tamimi, who is an officer in the Iraqi army in the rank of captain, survived the attack unscathed but his house was damaged, the source added. Meanwhile, the same source added, Muhammad Hussein al-Khafaji, a member of Shiite leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakeem's SIIC, was attacked with clubs by a group of people. Khafaji was wounded and rushed to hospital, he said. The source did not give further details about the two incidents.
SIIC and Dawa Party offices in different Iraqi provinces came under attacks by unidentified gunmen in the aftermath of last week's bloody incidents in Karbala in which scores were killed and hundreds others wounded. Earlier in Babel on Sunday Brig. Abbas al-Juburi, the commander of the special Scorpion Force, survived an attempt on his life when three gunmen in a civilian vehicle showered his house with bullets, killing one civilian inside.
"Gunmen attacked Juburi's house in al-Karama neighborhood in central Hilla on Sunday morning and escaped, but 30 minutes later the house security guards chased the culprits' vehicle and managed to arrest them," a security source told VOI. "Arms and ammunition in the gunmen's possession were seized," he added.
The U.S.-funded Scorpion Force comprises more than 850 soldiers in five companies, two of them specialized in aerial landings. The contingent, whose commander Col. Sallam al-Maamouri was assassinated last year by an explosive device planted in his office, is assigned to raid gunmen hideouts, not only in Hilla but also in all Iraqi provinces.
The special force has taken part in operations to eliminate the extremist Jund al-Samaa, or Soldiers of Heaven, movement and settling the recent incidents in Karbala during the holy Shiite rituals of a pilgrimage called al-Ziyara al-Shaabaniya, or the mid-Shaaban visit, to celebrate the birth anniversary of the Messiah-like Imam al-Mahdi, the 12th holiest figure for Shiite Muslims.
Labels: Brig. Abbas al-Juburi, Dawa party, Hussein Hassan al-Tamimi, Iskandariyah, Jund al-Samaa, Muhammad Hussein al-Khafaji, Scorpion Force, SIIC
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Iraq dismayed by Ahmadinejad's comments
Region
(Al-Sharqiyah television) - Two parliamentarians told Al-Sharqiyah television in August 28 interviews that they are dismayed by Iranian President Ahmadinejad's comments that Iran is ready to fill a power vacuum in Iraq. Ahmadinejad told reporters in Tehran on August 28: "I truly declare that the political power of the occupiers is on the decline, and the region will witness the emergence of a big power. We are ready to help restore security in the region through collective cooperation with our regional friends and Saudi Arabia," IRNA reported the same day.
Hasan al-Sunayd, a parliamentarian aligned with the Islamic Al-Da'wah Party, told Al-Sharqiyah that Iraq should not be used as a playground to settle scores between the United States and Iran. "Iraqi forces should achieve the required standard to fill the security vacuum.... We do not want Iranian or Saudi forces or any Arab, Islamic, or international forces to replace the U.S. forces. Iraqi forces will fill the security vacuum," he said.
Parliamentarian Usamah al-Nujayfi, a representative of the Iraqis List, told Al-Sharqiyah that he is convinced Iran began interfering in Iraq four years ago "and has infiltrated power circles and has a lot of leverage over the political and social situation in Iraq." He said Ahmadinejad's remarks are tantamount to an admission that Iran is interfering in Iraq.
Labels: Dawa party, Hasan al-Sunayd, Iran, Iraq, Iraqi List, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Usamah al-Nujayfi
Friday, August 17, 2007
Four major political parties sign agreement to revive Iraqi political process as Sunni party leader warns of setting up "counter coalitions"
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - A leading figure from the Sunni Islamic Party expressed on Thursday reservation over a new Kurdish-Shiite alliance that announced earlier today in Baghdad, warning of setting up what he described as "counter coalitions." "We, the Islamic Party, express our reservation on the new alliance and we see that it is too early to confirm whether it will work out or not," Omar Abdul Sattar told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) by telephone.
The politician said "yesterday (Wednesday) we had a meeting with the two Kurdish parties (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and Kurdistan Democratic Party) to discuss the political situation and the possible means to rescue the country from the current impasse and we told them the time is premature to form such an alliance."
The leading figure whose party is a main component of the Sunni Accordance Front said "We were in need of many steps to take and more common visions to share before we could reach the compromise of a six-way alliance that would also include (former Iraqi PM) Allawi's Iraqi National List and the Islamic party, but the differences caused the alliance to be announced by four components only."
"The new alliance may lead to the formation of new counter-coalitions, which I expect will cause more deterioration in the country," said Abdul Sattar noting that "we could not correct a mistake by committing another one." Abdul Sattar, who declined to reply to a question by VOI as to whether the new alliance was meant to declare a parliamentary majority's government if Accordance ministers who quit the cabinet refused to return, commented "it is a step towards prolonging the life of al-Maliki's government."
The politician said "yesterday (Wednesday) we had a meeting with the two Kurdish parties (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and Kurdistan Democratic Party) to discuss the political situation and the possible means to rescue the country from the current impasse and we told them the time is premature to form such an alliance."
The leading figure whose party is a main component of the Sunni Accordance Front said "We were in need of many steps to take and more common visions to share before we could reach the compromise of a six-way alliance that would also include (former Iraqi PM) Allawi's Iraqi National List and the Islamic party, but the differences caused the alliance to be announced by four components only."
"The new alliance may lead to the formation of new counter-coalitions, which I expect will cause more deterioration in the country," said Abdul Sattar noting that "we could not correct a mistake by committing another one." Abdul Sattar, who declined to reply to a question by VOI as to whether the new alliance was meant to declare a parliamentary majority's government if Accordance ministers who quit the cabinet refused to return, commented "it is a step towards prolonging the life of al-Maliki's government."
Four major Iraqi political parties signed on Thursday an agreement, aired by al-Iraqiya satellite television, to revive the political process in Iraq. The agreement was signed by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Islamic Daawa party and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC). The four parties were represented by President Jalal Talabani, President of Kurdistan region Massoud Barazani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi.
President Talabani refused to use the word “quartet” or “moderates’ bloc,” noting that they had signed an initiative to revive the political process. “We cannot call it a bloc, but rather an agreement between four parties committed to former agreements for reviving the political process,” Talabani said in a press conference attended by Nouri al-Maliki, Barazani and Abdul Mahdi.
“We tried to made contact with the Iraqi Islamic Party in an attempt to involve it in the agreement, but it said that the circumstances were not appropriate,” he added. “The bloc consists of four parties now but it is open for all parties to take part in it,” Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said. “We will try to revive the stagnant political process; we will not accept it to be hampered. The agreement is not a replacement of the political blocs, the door is open for all to participate,” the premier explained.
President Talabani refused to use the word “quartet” or “moderates’ bloc,” noting that they had signed an initiative to revive the political process. “We cannot call it a bloc, but rather an agreement between four parties committed to former agreements for reviving the political process,” Talabani said in a press conference attended by Nouri al-Maliki, Barazani and Abdul Mahdi.
“We tried to made contact with the Iraqi Islamic Party in an attempt to involve it in the agreement, but it said that the circumstances were not appropriate,” he added. “The bloc consists of four parties now but it is open for all parties to take part in it,” Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said. “We will try to revive the stagnant political process; we will not accept it to be hampered. The agreement is not a replacement of the political blocs, the door is open for all to participate,” the premier explained.
Labels: Dawa party, Iraqi Islamic Party, KDP, Omar Abdul Sattar, PUK, SIIC
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Jaafari to declare formation of new political front
Politics
(Al-Hayat) - Former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'fari is set to declare the formation of a new political front that will challenge Prime Minister al-Maliki's position, the London-based "Al-Hayat" reported on August 7. Sources told the daily that the front, which will reportedly be called the National Reform Grouping, will push to replace the parliamentary system with a presidential-parliamentary system similar to the French system, giving greater power to the presidency.
According to "Al-Hayat," al-Ja'fari has refused to acknowledge the results of the Al-Da'wah Party conference in May that elected al-Maliki secretary-general of the party. Since that time, al-Ja'fari has been working to distance his wing of the Al-Da'wah Party from al-Maliki's. Al-Ja'fari's new front will seek to contest upcoming governorate elections separately from the Al-Da'wah Party, the United Iraqi Alliance, and the soon-to-be-announced Moderates Front.
Al-Ja'fari claims that several other parties will be joining his grouping, including the Iraqi Islamic Party, representatives of the Al-Sadr trend, the National Congress Party, Al-Fadilah Party, the Union of Iraq's Turkomans Party, the Turkoman Democratic Party, and the National Democratic Movement. He also boasts of support from Sunni, Shi'ite, and Kurdish tribes and veteran secular political forces, as well as neighboring states, the sources said.
Labels: Dawa party, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Moderates Front, National Reform Grouping, Nouri Al-Maliki, United Iraqi Alliance
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Kurdistan Region Would Like Allawi’s Bloc To Join The “Four Party” Front
Politics
(Azzaman Newspaper) - 7 AUG - The Kurdistan region’s President, and KDP leader, Massoud Barzani, met (recently) with Ayad Allawi and they discussed the recent developments in the Iraqi political process, especially, the crisis which confronts the Al Maliki government, since the Accord Front decided to withdraw from this government.
Sources close to the Kurdistan President’s office said, “Barzani discussed the subject of Allawi joining the ‘four party front’.” [He was referring to the new political front which includes the KDP, PUK, SICI, and Dawa parties.] Fouad Hussein, spokesman for the Kurdistan region’s government, said, “The two sides (Allawi and Barzani) discussed the forming of this ‘fourth front’… which will remain open to fronts from all sides of the political process.”
The sources continued, “Kurdistan’s regional command (group) is working to (convince) Allawi to join this ‘fourth front’.” The ‘fourth front’, which is also known as “The Moderate Front”, is a new political bloc which is ‘supposed to’ include: the two main Kurdish parties (KDP and PUK) plus the SICI and Dawa Parties. This (new) Front is open to accepting other groups, into the Front, if those groups believe in the political process.
Yesterday, an Iraqi List source announced: former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, the leader of the Iraqi List, has ‘requested’ his List’s five Ministers (in Maliki’s Cabinet) to boycott the meetings of the Ministers’ Council… (This boycott is called for) as a condemnation of the ‘workings of this government’ (the Al Maliki Administration) which Allawi described as “sectarian”.
In related news, on Saturday, US President George Bush phoned (Kurdistan’s) President Barzani…they (the two men) shared their points of view regarding the current situation in Iraq. Barzani confirmed, to Bush, that he (Barzani) is working with Iraq’s leader in order to bring out of its current crisis. Barzani was expected to go to Baghdad, on Sunday, in order to participate in a meeting of ‘top-level’ political leaders.
Sources close to the Kurdistan President’s office said, “Barzani discussed the subject of Allawi joining the ‘four party front’.” [He was referring to the new political front which includes the KDP, PUK, SICI, and Dawa parties.] Fouad Hussein, spokesman for the Kurdistan region’s government, said, “The two sides (Allawi and Barzani) discussed the forming of this ‘fourth front’… which will remain open to fronts from all sides of the political process.”
The sources continued, “Kurdistan’s regional command (group) is working to (convince) Allawi to join this ‘fourth front’.” The ‘fourth front’, which is also known as “The Moderate Front”, is a new political bloc which is ‘supposed to’ include: the two main Kurdish parties (KDP and PUK) plus the SICI and Dawa Parties. This (new) Front is open to accepting other groups, into the Front, if those groups believe in the political process.
Yesterday, an Iraqi List source announced: former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, the leader of the Iraqi List, has ‘requested’ his List’s five Ministers (in Maliki’s Cabinet) to boycott the meetings of the Ministers’ Council… (This boycott is called for) as a condemnation of the ‘workings of this government’ (the Al Maliki Administration) which Allawi described as “sectarian”.
In related news, on Saturday, US President George Bush phoned (Kurdistan’s) President Barzani…they (the two men) shared their points of view regarding the current situation in Iraq. Barzani confirmed, to Bush, that he (Barzani) is working with Iraq’s leader in order to bring out of its current crisis. Barzani was expected to go to Baghdad, on Sunday, in order to participate in a meeting of ‘top-level’ political leaders.
Labels: Ayad Allawi, Dawa party, Four party front, Iraqi Accord Front, KDP, Massoud Barzani, PUK, SICI, The Moderate Front
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Diyala police dept. run by SIIC
Security, Politics
(IPS) - Militia from the Shia organisation Badr have taken over the police force in Diyala province north of Baghdad, residents say. The government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is believed to have backed such infiltration, and this has reportedly led to clashes with U.S. military leaders. The Daily Telegraph in London has reported that Maliki and General David Petraeus, U.S. commander of the multi-national force in Iraq, have clashed over moves by the U.S. general to arm some Sunni groups.
Sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims has grown amidst Iraqi government policies seen as supportive of Shias. Maliki is from the Dawa Party backed by Shia Iran. In Baquba, 50km northeast of the capital, and capital of Diyala, residents say the Shia Badr Organisation, the armed wing of the politically dominant Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), has been dominant in the province since the early months of the occupation. The Badr Organisation managed to fill leadership positions in city and province, while Sunni Iraqis remained largely unrepresented.
In this set-up, many sectarian killings have been carried out by the Badr Organisation, often under cover of the local police, residents told IPS. The SIIC and the Dawa Party of the Prime Minister are politically affiliated. Maliki is secretary-general of the Dawa Party, and spent time in exile in Iran after leading insurgent groups against former president Saddam Hussein. Maliki came to be Prime Minister after political pressure from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former British foreign secretary Jack Straw forced former Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, also from the al-Dawa Party, to resign.
Residents of this violence-plagued city told IPS that it is common for Iraqi police and army forces, most of whom are militiamen with the Badr Organisation, to raid homes of Sunnis during the night, and take away men who are later found dead in the street. As a result, groups have begun to set up blocks to prevent police patrols from entering their districts at night. There have been several clashes in these districts between residents and people wearing police uniforms attempting to enter. "All the attacks on the Iraqi police and army have been a reaction to the sectarian orientation of the police and Iraqi army," Ali Juma'a, a retired Iraqi army officer told IPS. "They (Badr Organisation affiliated Iraqi police) targeted the officers of the previous Iraq army, military pilots who took part in the Iraq-Iran war, members of the Ba'ath party (of Saddam Hussein) and others."
"Police vehicles are often accompanied by civilian cars," a resident said, declining to give his name. "These cars are driven by civilians who are new to the city, we never saw them here in the past." Many residents say they have seen such cars at the police headquarters in Diyala. The IPS correspondent saw one such car near an Iraqi Army checkpoint – the car like others that residents describe, was a 1993-94 Toyota super saloon. In the back seat were two blindfolded civilians with their hands tied behind their backs.
Day after day, trust in the Iraqi government and its security forces diminishes. This is in the face of increasing popular support for the Iraqi resistance. Local support for the resistance, particularly in Sunni areas, has risen as resistance groups began to protect residents from Badr Organisation death squads. The death squads are notorious for using checkpoints to look at identity cards of drivers, who are then disappeared if they are of the 'wrong' sect.
The chief commander of police is from Khirnabat village whose residents are all Shia. The commander was nominated by the SIIC. "Coalition forces received complaints about the checkpoint at Jamhoriya Bridge (in the centre of Baquba, 100 metres from the police headquarters), and later they found a prison in the villages Khirnabat and Huwaider (also a Shia village) and freed all the Sunni prisoners," local resident Hadi Hassan told IPS. IPS spoke with a Sunni man named Ammar al-Samaraee who had been arrested at the checkpoint and sent to Huwaider village. His father is a well-known figure in the community and managed to have Ammar released after paying 15,000 dollars in ransom. Ammar suffered a broken shoulder and bruises up and down his body.
A Sunni man held prisoner inside the central prison for Diyala province spoke with IPS on condition of anonymity. "There were more than 250 prisoners with me in the prison and all of them were Sunni except one man named Hussein, who was Shia, and was charged with killing his nephew." Shia men who were imprisoned would often be freed by a Shia clerk at the prison, he said. "The entire Iraqi police department for Diyala province is run and controlled by the SIIC and not by the government," the former prisoner added. "And 95 percent of the staff are Shia."
Labels: Badr Corps, Baqouba, Dawa party, Diyala, Iraqi Police Force, SIIC
Monday, August 06, 2007
Top Dawa party member - no oil law under occupation
Oil
(United Press International) - A top member of the Iraqi prime minister's party says a law governing oil reserves should be delayed until occupation forces leave the country. Ali al-Adeeb, a senior member of the Dawa Party and a member of Iraq's Parliament, also said the Iraq National Oil Co. should take the lead in developing and managing Iraq's discovered but undeveloped oil, the Al Sabah newspaper reports.
This could cause a serious and vital rift between Dawa's coalition partner, the Kurdish Alliance. The coalition is already facing internal strife as well as threats from parties that have withdrawn. The Kurds oppose INOC's role without some competition with private companies, and this disagreement is one of the reasons the oil law has been stuck in negotiations for more than a year.
"The government must have a list of the oil wells that are going to be exploited," Adeeb said. He also voiced opposition to contracts that give any non-INOC company ownership of the oil. The Bush administration has been pushing for the oil law as a measure that would lead to reconciliation. Maliki has backed the call, to no avail. "Timing discussions and decisions on the oil law while the multi-national forces still exist in Iraq is a huge mistake," Adeeb said.
This could cause a serious and vital rift between Dawa's coalition partner, the Kurdish Alliance. The coalition is already facing internal strife as well as threats from parties that have withdrawn. The Kurds oppose INOC's role without some competition with private companies, and this disagreement is one of the reasons the oil law has been stuck in negotiations for more than a year.
"The government must have a list of the oil wells that are going to be exploited," Adeeb said. He also voiced opposition to contracts that give any non-INOC company ownership of the oil. The Bush administration has been pushing for the oil law as a measure that would lead to reconciliation. Maliki has backed the call, to no avail. "Timing discussions and decisions on the oil law while the multi-national forces still exist in Iraq is a huge mistake," Adeeb said.
Labels: Ali al-Adeeb, Dawa party, draft oil law, INOC, Iraq National Oil Co.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Islamic Group of Kurdistan suggest Sunnis participate in political alliance
Politics
(Kurdish Globe) - The head of the Islamic Group of Kurdistan (IGK) asks that Sunnis participate in any alliance among Kurds and Shiites. Ali Bapir, head of the IGK, said that the Council of Political Parties of Kurdistan does not agree that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) should establish a moderate alliance only with the Shiites.
The reason, according to Bapir, is that "the Shiites' situation is not good and other parties may be suspect of this alliance." The Council of Political Parties of Kurdistan consists of six members, but it still doesn't contain any Turkmen or Kaldo-Assyrian parties. A member of Kurdistan Parliament, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that due to internal problems, the Turkmen and Kaldo-Assyrians have failed to elect their representatives for the council.
Dr. Fuad Hussein, head of Kurdistan Region's Presidency Office, stated that there is a plan to invite the Iraqi Islamic Party in case any new alliance is established. Meanwhile, Mohammed Faraj, a member of the political bureau of Kurdistan Islamic Union, whose party is a member of the Council of Political Parties, showed his unawareness about the content of the plan and said that they haven't seen the project yet.
A few months ago, Massoud Barzani, regional president of Kurdistan, headed a delegation to Baghdad, where he met with some parties that participate in the Iraqi government alongside Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi President. According to Hussein, the history of the issue dates back to that series of meetings and that has resumed.
"For the purpose of establishing this alliance, until now negotiations have been made with the Supreme Council of the Iraqi Revolution, Da'wa Party," Dr. Hussein said. "There are efforts to negotiate with the Islamic Party of Iraq." Stating that these plans have yet to be implemented, Dr. Hussein refuted that the former Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari's recent visit to Kurdistan was for that purpose. Jaafari, who is head of the Da'wa Party, visited Kurdistan Region in mid-July and met the political leadership of the region.
During his post as the Prime Minster of Iraq, Ibrahim Jaafari was accused of hindering the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which is about normalizing the situations in Kirkuk and other Arabized areas of the country and organizing a referendum at the end of this year. Allegedly, this very reason made the Kurds turn their backs on Jaffari.
Kurds attach a great importance to Article 140, since they hope the oil-rich city of Kirkuk again becomes part of Kurdistan Region. The referendum would be to decide whether people of Kirkuk are willing to be part of Kurdistan or not.
The reason, according to Bapir, is that "the Shiites' situation is not good and other parties may be suspect of this alliance." The Council of Political Parties of Kurdistan consists of six members, but it still doesn't contain any Turkmen or Kaldo-Assyrian parties. A member of Kurdistan Parliament, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that due to internal problems, the Turkmen and Kaldo-Assyrians have failed to elect their representatives for the council.
Dr. Fuad Hussein, head of Kurdistan Region's Presidency Office, stated that there is a plan to invite the Iraqi Islamic Party in case any new alliance is established. Meanwhile, Mohammed Faraj, a member of the political bureau of Kurdistan Islamic Union, whose party is a member of the Council of Political Parties, showed his unawareness about the content of the plan and said that they haven't seen the project yet.
A few months ago, Massoud Barzani, regional president of Kurdistan, headed a delegation to Baghdad, where he met with some parties that participate in the Iraqi government alongside Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi President. According to Hussein, the history of the issue dates back to that series of meetings and that has resumed.
"For the purpose of establishing this alliance, until now negotiations have been made with the Supreme Council of the Iraqi Revolution, Da'wa Party," Dr. Hussein said. "There are efforts to negotiate with the Islamic Party of Iraq." Stating that these plans have yet to be implemented, Dr. Hussein refuted that the former Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari's recent visit to Kurdistan was for that purpose. Jaafari, who is head of the Da'wa Party, visited Kurdistan Region in mid-July and met the political leadership of the region.
During his post as the Prime Minster of Iraq, Ibrahim Jaafari was accused of hindering the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which is about normalizing the situations in Kirkuk and other Arabized areas of the country and organizing a referendum at the end of this year. Allegedly, this very reason made the Kurds turn their backs on Jaffari.
Kurds attach a great importance to Article 140, since they hope the oil-rich city of Kirkuk again becomes part of Kurdistan Region. The referendum would be to decide whether people of Kirkuk are willing to be part of Kurdistan or not.
Labels: Ali Bapir, Council of Political Parties of Kurdistan, Dawa party, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, IGK, Islamic Group of Kurdistan, Kaldo-Assyrians, KDP, PUK, Shiite Turkmen
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Dawa party asks Accordance Front to reconsider resignation
Politics
(AP) - The Iraqi prime minister's party asked the country's largest Sunni Arab bloc Thursday to reconsider its withdrawal from government, in a last-ditch effort to restore Iraq's national unity government. All six Cabinet ministers from the Iraqi Accordance Front quit Nouri al-Maliki's regime a day earlier to protest what they called the prime minister's failure to respond to a set of demands.
Among them were the release of security detainees not charged with specific crimes, the disbanding of militias and the participation of all groups represented in the government in dealing with security issues. Their resignation left only two Sunnis in the 40-member Cabinet, undermining efforts to pull together rival factions and pass reconciliation laws the U.S. considers benchmarks toward healing the country's deep war wounds.
Al-Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party issued a statement Thursday calling on the Accordance Front to "reconsider its decision." "The party expresses its concern and regret about this setback for Iraqi politics, an action taken before exploring any dialogue," the statement said. "We need to stand side by side as a national unity government and set aside all differences and cooperate, in order to answer the challenges our people are suffering," it said.
But an Accordance Front lawmaker, reacting to the Dawa statement, said Thursday that the bloc would reconsider its withdrawal only if promised "the priority of real partnership." "If we were assured by tangible and concrete promises of real change ... and the priority of real partnership, we would reconsider our stance," Salim Abdullah, a Sunni parliament member, told The Associated Press. But he added that he was not optimistic such assurances would come from al-Maliki.
Washington has been pushing al-Maliki's government to pass key laws - among them, measures to share national oil revenues and incorporate some ousted Baathists into mainstream politics. But the Sunni ministers' resignation from the Cabinet - not the parliament - foreshadowed even greater difficulty in building consensus when lawmakers return after a monthlong summer recess.
The Accordance Front has 44 of parliament's 275 seats, and those politicians will continue in the legislature. The withdrawal of its six Cabinet ministers from the 14-month-old government is the second such action by a faction of al-Maliki's coalition. Five Cabinet ministers loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr quit the government in April to protest al-Maliki's refusal to announce a timetable for the pullout of U.S. forces from Iraq.
Among them were the release of security detainees not charged with specific crimes, the disbanding of militias and the participation of all groups represented in the government in dealing with security issues. Their resignation left only two Sunnis in the 40-member Cabinet, undermining efforts to pull together rival factions and pass reconciliation laws the U.S. considers benchmarks toward healing the country's deep war wounds.
Al-Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party issued a statement Thursday calling on the Accordance Front to "reconsider its decision." "The party expresses its concern and regret about this setback for Iraqi politics, an action taken before exploring any dialogue," the statement said. "We need to stand side by side as a national unity government and set aside all differences and cooperate, in order to answer the challenges our people are suffering," it said.
But an Accordance Front lawmaker, reacting to the Dawa statement, said Thursday that the bloc would reconsider its withdrawal only if promised "the priority of real partnership." "If we were assured by tangible and concrete promises of real change ... and the priority of real partnership, we would reconsider our stance," Salim Abdullah, a Sunni parliament member, told The Associated Press. But he added that he was not optimistic such assurances would come from al-Maliki.
Washington has been pushing al-Maliki's government to pass key laws - among them, measures to share national oil revenues and incorporate some ousted Baathists into mainstream politics. But the Sunni ministers' resignation from the Cabinet - not the parliament - foreshadowed even greater difficulty in building consensus when lawmakers return after a monthlong summer recess.
The Accordance Front has 44 of parliament's 275 seats, and those politicians will continue in the legislature. The withdrawal of its six Cabinet ministers from the 14-month-old government is the second such action by a faction of al-Maliki's coalition. Five Cabinet ministers loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr quit the government in April to protest al-Maliki's refusal to announce a timetable for the pullout of U.S. forces from Iraq.
Labels: Dawa party, Iraqi Accordance Front, Nouri Al-Maliki, Tawafuq Front
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Iraq's Interior Ministry - "a federation of oligarchs"
Government
(Los Angeles Times) - Iraq's Ministry of Interior — the balkanized command center for the nation's police and mirror of the deadly factions that have caused the government here to grind nearly to a halt. The very language that Americans use to describe government — ministries, departments, agencies — belies the reality here of militias that kill under cover of police uniform and remain above the law.
Until recently, one or two Interior Ministry police officers were assassinated each week while arriving or leaving the building, probably by fellow officers, senior police officials say. That killing has been reduced, but Western diplomats still describe the Interior Ministry building as a "federation of oligarchs." Those who work in the building liken departments to hostile countries. Survival depends on keeping abreast of shifting factional alliances and turf.
On the second floor is Gen. Mahdi Gharrawi, a former national police commander. Last year, U.S. and Iraqi troops found 1,400 prisoners, mostly Sunnis, at a base he controlled in east Baghdad. Many showed signs of torture. The interior minister blocked an arrest warrant against the general this year, senior Iraqi officials confirmed.
The third- and fifth-floor administrative departments are the domain of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party, a Shiite group. The sixth, home to border enforcement and the major crimes unit, belongs to the Badr Organization militia. Its leader, Deputy Minister Ahmed Khafaji, is lauded by some Western officials as an efficient administrator and suspected by others of running secret prisons.
The seventh floor is intelligence, where the Badr Organization and armed Kurdish groups struggle for control. The ninth floor is shared by the department's inspector general and general counsel, religious Shiites. Their offices have been at the center of efforts to purge the department's remaining Sunni employees. The counsel's predecessor, a Sunni, was killed a year ago."They have some bad things on the ninth," says the colonel, a Sunni who, like other ministry officials, spoke on condition of anonymity to guard against retaliation.
The ministry's computer department is on the 10th floor. Two employees were arrested there in February on suspicion of smuggling in explosives, according to police and U.S. military officials. Some Iraqi and U.S. officials say the workers intended to store bombs there. Others say they were plotting to attack the U.S. advisors stationed directly above them on the top floor.
The factionalization of the ministry began quickly after Saddam Hussein's fall. As with most Iraqi government departments, deputy ministers were appointed to represent each of the country's main political parties. Deputies then distributed jobs among party stalwarts. The initial winners were the Kurdish Democratic Party and the two Shiite parties, Dawa and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which sponsors the Badr Organization. The Kurdish party is one of two factions that control Iraq's northern provinces.
Sadr's Al Mahdi militia started late in the patronage game but has made significant inroads, particularly among the guard force that surrounds the ministry compound.Parties representing the Sunni minority, which controlled Iraq in Hussein's day, have been almost entirely purged from the ministry in the last two years. Three of the ministry's longest-serving Sunni generals have been killed in the last year.
Interior Minister Jawad Bolani, a Shiite leader who took office last summer, has attempted to repair the ministry's reputation. He has removed the leaders of eight of nine national police brigades and 17 of 27 police battalions, which have been accused of killings and mass kidnappings. But change has come slowly. "There is a lot of pressure, there is influence from everywhere, from everyone: political parties, religious groups, the government itself, from familial and tribal influences," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, who supervised the U.S. advisors to the national police until last month. "It would be very difficult for anybody to operate as a leader in this environment, and the Iraqis do," Pittard said.
No floor has posed more of a challenge than the seventh, which houses the intelligence division. In theory, the intelligence office should be key to tracking and combating the insurgents who bomb Iraq's streets and marketplaces and attack U.S. soldiers. Instead, the division has been hobbled by a power struggle between two of America's nominal allies in Iraq, the Kurds and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. The fight came to a head earlier this year with a death threat against the Kurdish deputy minister in charge of intelligence, Hussein Ali Kamal.
The Kurdish leader, who controls the eastern wing of the floor, was battling for control of the intelligence apparatus with his deputy, a Badr militia commander who dominates the western side. Several months ago, U.S. advisors warned Kamal that his life was in danger, most probably from the Badr militia, and advised him to stay in the Green Zone, away from the ministry building in east Baghdad. He stayed out of the ministry for several weeks. The Shiite deputy, Basheer Wandi, better known as Engineer Ahmed, was appointed in the spring of 2005. Around the same time, Shiite militias began aggressive efforts to target and kill Sunnis in Baghdad, often using police cover to detain Sunnis in secret prisons and carry out assassinations.
Kamal, the Kurdish deputy minister, says he believes the ministry has started reining in Shiite militias but knows suspect figures still operate openly in the ministry, including Gen. Gharrawi on the second floor. Even the remaining Sunni members of the police force respect Bolani for trying to rein in the ministry. But they know he depends on a web of fragile political alliances and wonder whether any political figure can undo the effects of several years of recruiting hard-line militia members to the ministry. "Even if they brought the prophet Muhammad or Jesus, they couldn't control them," said a senior ministry official. "They have an agenda. They follow their parties."
Labels: Ahmed Khafaji, Badr Corps, Basheer Wandi, Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, Dawa party, Engineer Ahmed, Gen. Mahdi Gharrawi, Hussein Ali Kamal, Jawad Bolani, KDP, Mahdi Army, Ministry of Interior, SIIC
Al-Jaafari leads internal revolt against Maliki
Politics
(AP) - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faces a revolt within his party by factions that want him out as Iraqi leader, according to officials in his office and the political party he leads. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, al-Maliki's predecessor, leads the challenge and already has approached leaders of the country's two main Kurdish parties, parliament's two Sunni Arab blocs and lawmakers loyal to powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Al-Jaafari's campaign, the officials said, was based on his concerns that al-Maliki's policies had led Iraq into turmoil because the prime minister was doing too little to promote national reconciliation. The former prime minister also has approached Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shiite cleric, proposing a "national salvation" government to replace the al-Maliki coalition. The Iranian-born al-Sistani refused to endorse the proposal, the officials said.
"Al-Jaafari is proposing a national and nonsectarian political plan to save the nation," said Faleh al-Fayadh, a Dawa party lawmaker familiar with the former prime minister's contacts. Other officials, however, said al-Jaafari had only an outside chance of replacing or ousting al-Maliki. But they said the challenge could undermine al-Maliki and further entangle efforts at meeting important legislative benchmarks sought by Washington. They spoke of the sensitive political wrangling only on condition of anonymity.
The officials would not give details of the rift between al-Maliki and al-Jaafari, saying only that it began two months ago when a Dawa party congress voted to replace al-Jaafari with al-Maliki as its leader. Al-Jaafari and other senior Dawa members are questioning the legality of that vote and the former prime minister has since boycotted all official party functions, said al-Fayadh.
The usually secretive Dawa, which is made up of two factions, has 25 of parliament's 275 seats but draws its strength from being a key faction of a large Shiite alliance. Ali al-Dabbagh, the government's spokesman, declined to comment on the rift between al-Maliki and al-Jaafari, arguing that it was a matter for the Dawa to deal with. "There should be no objections for a figure like al-Jaafari to try and put together a new political bloc provided that this will be of service to the political process," he said.
Al-Jaafari's own record in office was not any better than al-Maliki's has been so far, but al-Jaafari was widely perceived as an open-minded Islamist who is at total ease dealing with his American backers. To the Sunni Arabs he is courting now, the officials said, al-Jaafari was proposing a change in Iraq's sectarian, power-sharing formula. He wants the president's job, now held by Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, to be given to a Sunni Arab to achieve a better balance between Iraq's ethnic and religious factions and to improve ties with Arab nations.
To win the support of the Kurds, al-Jaafari is pledging the implementation of a clause in the constitution that provides for a referendum before the end of 2007 on the fate of Kirkuk, an oil-rich city in northern Iraq that the Kurds want to annex. To compensate them for the loss of the presidency, al-Jaafari is proposing that they fill the post of parliament speaker, now occupied by a Sunni Arab.
Al-Jaafari's bid to topple al-Maliki runs counter to ongoing negotiations to form what is being billed an "alliance of the moderates" that would include the country's four largest Shiite and Kurdish parties and independent Shiites. It excludes hardline Shiites and Sunni Arabs. It also comes at a time when al-Maliki is facing a threat by the largest Sunni Arab bloc to pull its ministers from his coalition unless he meets a long list of demands, which include overtures to minority Sunni Arabs, political inclusion and commitment to human rights.
Al-Jaafari's campaign, the officials said, was based on his concerns that al-Maliki's policies had led Iraq into turmoil because the prime minister was doing too little to promote national reconciliation. The former prime minister also has approached Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shiite cleric, proposing a "national salvation" government to replace the al-Maliki coalition. The Iranian-born al-Sistani refused to endorse the proposal, the officials said.
"Al-Jaafari is proposing a national and nonsectarian political plan to save the nation," said Faleh al-Fayadh, a Dawa party lawmaker familiar with the former prime minister's contacts. Other officials, however, said al-Jaafari had only an outside chance of replacing or ousting al-Maliki. But they said the challenge could undermine al-Maliki and further entangle efforts at meeting important legislative benchmarks sought by Washington. They spoke of the sensitive political wrangling only on condition of anonymity.
The officials would not give details of the rift between al-Maliki and al-Jaafari, saying only that it began two months ago when a Dawa party congress voted to replace al-Jaafari with al-Maliki as its leader. Al-Jaafari and other senior Dawa members are questioning the legality of that vote and the former prime minister has since boycotted all official party functions, said al-Fayadh.
The usually secretive Dawa, which is made up of two factions, has 25 of parliament's 275 seats but draws its strength from being a key faction of a large Shiite alliance. Ali al-Dabbagh, the government's spokesman, declined to comment on the rift between al-Maliki and al-Jaafari, arguing that it was a matter for the Dawa to deal with. "There should be no objections for a figure like al-Jaafari to try and put together a new political bloc provided that this will be of service to the political process," he said.
Al-Jaafari's own record in office was not any better than al-Maliki's has been so far, but al-Jaafari was widely perceived as an open-minded Islamist who is at total ease dealing with his American backers. To the Sunni Arabs he is courting now, the officials said, al-Jaafari was proposing a change in Iraq's sectarian, power-sharing formula. He wants the president's job, now held by Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, to be given to a Sunni Arab to achieve a better balance between Iraq's ethnic and religious factions and to improve ties with Arab nations.
To win the support of the Kurds, al-Jaafari is pledging the implementation of a clause in the constitution that provides for a referendum before the end of 2007 on the fate of Kirkuk, an oil-rich city in northern Iraq that the Kurds want to annex. To compensate them for the loss of the presidency, al-Jaafari is proposing that they fill the post of parliament speaker, now occupied by a Sunni Arab.
Al-Jaafari's bid to topple al-Maliki runs counter to ongoing negotiations to form what is being billed an "alliance of the moderates" that would include the country's four largest Shiite and Kurdish parties and independent Shiites. It excludes hardline Shiites and Sunni Arabs. It also comes at a time when al-Maliki is facing a threat by the largest Sunni Arab bloc to pull its ministers from his coalition unless he meets a long list of demands, which include overtures to minority Sunni Arabs, political inclusion and commitment to human rights.
Labels: al Sadr, Article 140, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Dawa party, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Kirkuk, Kurdish Coalition, Nouri Al-Maliki
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Al-Sadr reaches out to the public
Politics
(New York Times) - After months of lying low, the anti-American Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has re-emerged with a shrewd strategy that reaches out to Iraqis on the street while distancing himself from the increasingly unpopular government. Mr. Sadr and his political allies have largely disengaged from government, contributing to the political paralysis noted in a White House report last week. That outsider status has enhanced Mr. Sadr’s appeal to Iraqis, who consider politics less and less relevant to their daily lives.
Mr. Sadr has been working tirelessly to build support at the grass-roots level, opening storefront offices across Baghdad and southern Iraq that dispense services that are not being provided by the government. In this he seems to be following the model established by Hezbollah, the radical Lebanese Shiite group, as well as Hamas in Gaza, with entwined social and military wings that serve as a parallel government.
He has also extended the reach of his militia, the Mahdi Army, one of the armed groups that the White House report acknowledged remain entrenched in Iraq. The militia has effectively taken over vast swaths of the capital and is fighting government troops in several southern provinces. Although the militia sometimes uses brutal tactics, including death squads, many vulnerable Shiites are grateful for the protection it affords.
At the same time, the Mahdi Army is not entirely under Mr. Sadr’s control, and he publicly denounces the most notorious killers fighting in his name. That frees him to extend an olive branch to Sunni Arabs and Christians, while championing the Shiite identity of his political base. On May 25, in his first public Friday Prayer in months, he explicitly forbade sectarian attacks. “It is prohibited to spill the blood of Sunnis and Iraqi Christians,” he told Shiites in a much publicized sermon. “They are our brothers, either in religion or in the homeland.”
Now that the leadership is in poor repute, Mr. Sadr has shifted once again. The six ministers in the cabinet and 30 lawmakers in Parliament allied to him have been boycotting sessions. They returned Tuesday, but it is not clear they will stay long. The mainstream political parties in Iraq realize that Mr. Sadr is growing more influential, but appear to be flummoxed over how to deal with him. They see him as unpredictable and manipulative, but too politically and militarily important to ignore.
“He’s powerful,” said Jaber Habeeb, an independent Shiite member of Parliament and political science professor at Baghdad University. “This is a fact you have to accept, even if you don’t like it.” The latest stance by the more conventional political parties is to keep him at arm’s length. The two major Shiite parties, Dawa and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, along with the two Kurdish parties, have been negotiating to form a new moderate coalition.
Mr. Sadr’s political leaders were told he was welcome to join, but the invitation came belatedly, after the other groups had all but completed their discussions. Mr. Sadr’s lieutenants announced that he had no interest in joining. Experts in Shiite politics believe that efforts to isolate Mr. Sadr are bound to fail.
“Sadr holds the political center in Iraq,” said Joost Hiltermann, the director of the International Crisis Group’s office in Amman, Jordan. “They are nationalist, they want to hold the country together and they are the only political organization that has popular support among the Shias. If you try to exclude him from any alliance, well, it’s a nutty idea, it’s unwise.”
The mainstream parties talk about Mr. Sadr carefully. Some never mention his followers or the Mahdi militia by name, but speak elliptically of “armed groups.” Others acknowledge his position but are reserved on the challenge he poses.
Mr. Sadr has been working tirelessly to build support at the grass-roots level, opening storefront offices across Baghdad and southern Iraq that dispense services that are not being provided by the government. In this he seems to be following the model established by Hezbollah, the radical Lebanese Shiite group, as well as Hamas in Gaza, with entwined social and military wings that serve as a parallel government.
He has also extended the reach of his militia, the Mahdi Army, one of the armed groups that the White House report acknowledged remain entrenched in Iraq. The militia has effectively taken over vast swaths of the capital and is fighting government troops in several southern provinces. Although the militia sometimes uses brutal tactics, including death squads, many vulnerable Shiites are grateful for the protection it affords.
At the same time, the Mahdi Army is not entirely under Mr. Sadr’s control, and he publicly denounces the most notorious killers fighting in his name. That frees him to extend an olive branch to Sunni Arabs and Christians, while championing the Shiite identity of his political base. On May 25, in his first public Friday Prayer in months, he explicitly forbade sectarian attacks. “It is prohibited to spill the blood of Sunnis and Iraqi Christians,” he told Shiites in a much publicized sermon. “They are our brothers, either in religion or in the homeland.”
Now that the leadership is in poor repute, Mr. Sadr has shifted once again. The six ministers in the cabinet and 30 lawmakers in Parliament allied to him have been boycotting sessions. They returned Tuesday, but it is not clear they will stay long. The mainstream political parties in Iraq realize that Mr. Sadr is growing more influential, but appear to be flummoxed over how to deal with him. They see him as unpredictable and manipulative, but too politically and militarily important to ignore.
“He’s powerful,” said Jaber Habeeb, an independent Shiite member of Parliament and political science professor at Baghdad University. “This is a fact you have to accept, even if you don’t like it.” The latest stance by the more conventional political parties is to keep him at arm’s length. The two major Shiite parties, Dawa and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, along with the two Kurdish parties, have been negotiating to form a new moderate coalition.
Mr. Sadr’s political leaders were told he was welcome to join, but the invitation came belatedly, after the other groups had all but completed their discussions. Mr. Sadr’s lieutenants announced that he had no interest in joining. Experts in Shiite politics believe that efforts to isolate Mr. Sadr are bound to fail.
“Sadr holds the political center in Iraq,” said Joost Hiltermann, the director of the International Crisis Group’s office in Amman, Jordan. “They are nationalist, they want to hold the country together and they are the only political organization that has popular support among the Shias. If you try to exclude him from any alliance, well, it’s a nutty idea, it’s unwise.”
The mainstream parties talk about Mr. Sadr carefully. Some never mention his followers or the Mahdi militia by name, but speak elliptically of “armed groups.” Others acknowledge his position but are reserved on the challenge he poses.
“Moktada Sadr is one of the political leaders of this country,” Adel Abdul-Mahdi, one of Iraq’s two vice presidents, said in a recent interview. “We disagree on some things, we have differences. We have to work to solve our differences.” Rahman al-Mussawi, 38, says he is proud that he still has Sunni Arab neighbors on his block, even though Sunni insurgents most likely killed his three younger brothers. A picture of them hangs in his living room.
The Sadrists exhibit a quiet confidence, and are pulling ever more supporters into their ranks. “The Sadr movement cannot be marginalized; it is the popular base,” said Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, the chief spokesman and a senior strategist for Mr. Sadr’s movement in Najaf. “We will not be affected by efforts to push us to one side because we are the people. We feel the people’s day-to-day sufferings.”
A number of working-class Shiites reflected that sentiment in conversations about the Mahdi militia and Mr. Sadr. Their relatives and neighbors work both for the Sadr offices and for the militia, blurring the line between social programs and paramilitary activity.
Mr. Sadr’s offices are accessible storefronts that dispense a little bit of everything: food, money, clothes, medicine and information. From just one office in Baghdad and one in Najaf in 2003, the Sadr operation has ballooned. It now has full-service offices in most provinces and nine in Baghdad, as well as several additional storefront centers. In some neighborhoods, the militiamen come around once a month to charge a nominal fee — about 5,000 Iraqi dinars, or $4 — for protection. In others, they control the fuel supply, and in some, where sectarian killings have gone on, they control the real estate market for empty houses.
The Mahdi militia is deeply involved in that sectarian killing. In a vicious campaign in the Amil neighborhood in western Baghdad, once a mixed working-class neighborhood of Shiites and Sunni Arabs, it has driven out many Sunnis and isolated others in a few enclaves.
Young men, said by residents to be part of the Mahdi militia, check every car coming into the Shiite section of the neighborhood. And many mornings, the bodies of several Sunni Arabs are dumped in a brick-strewn lot near the neighborhood’s entrance. Local Shiites routinely claim that the bodies are of foreign terrorists.
However, each community insists that it is the victim of the other. A sniper in the Sunni Arab area shoots at Shiites lined up to buy at a gasoline station that straddles the two communities. That, in turn, is used to justify retaliatory attacks on Sunni Arabs.
Among Shiites, the militia is viewed as their best form of protection from Sunni Arab insurgents. “This is the Mahdi Army standing in our streets,” said Rahman al-Mussawi, 38, a community leader who says he is proud that he still has Sunni Arab neighbors on his block, even though Sunni insurgents almost certainly killed his three younger brothers. They disappeared along a deadly stretch of road south of Baghdad where Shiites have been victims of Sunni extremists.
Mr. Mussawi gestured to the end of the block, where young Mahdi guards in T-shirts checked cars entering the neighborhood: “The Americans chase them away. If the Americans just would leave, then the neighborhood would be quiet.” The Mahdi Army’s darker side is rarely discussed in Shiite neighborhoods. In Amil, some people fiercely reject any suggestion that the group runs death squads. Others might admit to some problems, but dismiss them as the excesses of a few bad apples.
The Sadrists exhibit a quiet confidence, and are pulling ever more supporters into their ranks. “The Sadr movement cannot be marginalized; it is the popular base,” said Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, the chief spokesman and a senior strategist for Mr. Sadr’s movement in Najaf. “We will not be affected by efforts to push us to one side because we are the people. We feel the people’s day-to-day sufferings.”
A number of working-class Shiites reflected that sentiment in conversations about the Mahdi militia and Mr. Sadr. Their relatives and neighbors work both for the Sadr offices and for the militia, blurring the line between social programs and paramilitary activity.
Mr. Sadr’s offices are accessible storefronts that dispense a little bit of everything: food, money, clothes, medicine and information. From just one office in Baghdad and one in Najaf in 2003, the Sadr operation has ballooned. It now has full-service offices in most provinces and nine in Baghdad, as well as several additional storefront centers. In some neighborhoods, the militiamen come around once a month to charge a nominal fee — about 5,000 Iraqi dinars, or $4 — for protection. In others, they control the fuel supply, and in some, where sectarian killings have gone on, they control the real estate market for empty houses.
The Mahdi militia is deeply involved in that sectarian killing. In a vicious campaign in the Amil neighborhood in western Baghdad, once a mixed working-class neighborhood of Shiites and Sunni Arabs, it has driven out many Sunnis and isolated others in a few enclaves.
Young men, said by residents to be part of the Mahdi militia, check every car coming into the Shiite section of the neighborhood. And many mornings, the bodies of several Sunni Arabs are dumped in a brick-strewn lot near the neighborhood’s entrance. Local Shiites routinely claim that the bodies are of foreign terrorists.
However, each community insists that it is the victim of the other. A sniper in the Sunni Arab area shoots at Shiites lined up to buy at a gasoline station that straddles the two communities. That, in turn, is used to justify retaliatory attacks on Sunni Arabs.
Among Shiites, the militia is viewed as their best form of protection from Sunni Arab insurgents. “This is the Mahdi Army standing in our streets,” said Rahman al-Mussawi, 38, a community leader who says he is proud that he still has Sunni Arab neighbors on his block, even though Sunni insurgents almost certainly killed his three younger brothers. They disappeared along a deadly stretch of road south of Baghdad where Shiites have been victims of Sunni extremists.
Mr. Mussawi gestured to the end of the block, where young Mahdi guards in T-shirts checked cars entering the neighborhood: “The Americans chase them away. If the Americans just would leave, then the neighborhood would be quiet.” The Mahdi Army’s darker side is rarely discussed in Shiite neighborhoods. In Amil, some people fiercely reject any suggestion that the group runs death squads. Others might admit to some problems, but dismiss them as the excesses of a few bad apples.
Labels: Adel Abdul Mahdi, Amil, Dawa party, Hezbollah, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, SIIC, Sunni insurgents
Monday, July 02, 2007
Sadr Movement Rejects New Political Entity
Politics
(Al Mashriq Newspaper) - 1 JUL - The Sadr Movement has rejected the new political front project that consists of SICI, Dawa Party, PUK, and the KDP. The Sadr Movement Parliament chief, Nassar Al Rubaie said, “This alliance will fail due to the objection of many entities and Parliament members. The current Iraqi situation is not the right time for marginalization. This marginalization will damage the political process. These alliances are based on narrow and private interests. There are old alliances that should be respected by others. These new alliances intend to divide the old alliances and start new alliances by marginalizing others.”
Labels: Dawa party, KDP, Nassar Al Rubaie, new political front, PUK, Sadr movement, SICI
Friday, June 29, 2007
Shia politicians doubt Maliki's support base in an already splintered coalition
Politics
(Gulf News) - Shiite politicians have been doubting the Iraqi prime minister's support base among the Shiite political parties and whether the Shiite bloc will eventually topple him. Information released by an official in Moqtada Al Sadr's faction, revealed that Nouri Al Maliki poses a threat to the group. Haidar Hussain, a leader in Al Sadr's military wing, the Mahdi Army, told Gulf News: "We are certain that all American and British military campaigns are conducted with Al Maliki's knowledge and support.
"We thought the opposite, that is why leader Moqtada Al Sadr sent him a letter advising him to step down as long as he cannot stand against America's dominance on security and military resolutions in Iraq." Gazi Al Darraji, an Iraqi analyst, told Gulf News: "Since the kidnapping of five Britons from the Iraqi Finance Ministry a month ago, the relationship between Al Maliki and Al Sadr is not well because the kidnapping is considered a serious blow to Al Maliki's power."
Karbala, the second holiest city in Iraq, was home to a Shiite religious front opposed to Al Maliki's government. The front figures include Shiite clergymen Mohammad Al Yacoubi, Mahmoud Al Hasani and Mohammad Al Baghdadi, who called for Al Maliki to leave office. The Shiite opposition against the Iraqi prime minister comes along with other pressures on him to quit heading the Iraqi Ministers' council.
Buthaina Al Haydari, an Iraqi political researcher at Baghdad University, told Gulf News: "I believe that Al Maliki tried to please both Americans and Al Sadr, and that is impossible to achieve because two of them are fighting fierce rounds in Najaf, Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah and Al Sadr neighbourhood in Baghdad. Besides, some demands from Washington clashed with Al Maliki's opinions ... especially on the national reconciliation and dissolving of militia."
There are also rumours about differences between Al Maliki and Adel Abdul Mahdi, a member of the Shiite coalition. Discord sprang between the two after Abdul Mahdi hinted in a coalition meeting that Al Maliki's survival may end the unity of the Shiite coalition and it may withdraw the paper of selecting the new Prime Minister.
A source in Dawa Party, which Al Maliki belongs to, told Gulf News: "Abdul Mahdi went to the religious authorities in Najaf and asked them to put pressure on Al Maliki to step out and that is the reason for the discord between them."
"We thought the opposite, that is why leader Moqtada Al Sadr sent him a letter advising him to step down as long as he cannot stand against America's dominance on security and military resolutions in Iraq." Gazi Al Darraji, an Iraqi analyst, told Gulf News: "Since the kidnapping of five Britons from the Iraqi Finance Ministry a month ago, the relationship between Al Maliki and Al Sadr is not well because the kidnapping is considered a serious blow to Al Maliki's power."
Karbala, the second holiest city in Iraq, was home to a Shiite religious front opposed to Al Maliki's government. The front figures include Shiite clergymen Mohammad Al Yacoubi, Mahmoud Al Hasani and Mohammad Al Baghdadi, who called for Al Maliki to leave office. The Shiite opposition against the Iraqi prime minister comes along with other pressures on him to quit heading the Iraqi Ministers' council.
Buthaina Al Haydari, an Iraqi political researcher at Baghdad University, told Gulf News: "I believe that Al Maliki tried to please both Americans and Al Sadr, and that is impossible to achieve because two of them are fighting fierce rounds in Najaf, Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah and Al Sadr neighbourhood in Baghdad. Besides, some demands from Washington clashed with Al Maliki's opinions ... especially on the national reconciliation and dissolving of militia."
There are also rumours about differences between Al Maliki and Adel Abdul Mahdi, a member of the Shiite coalition. Discord sprang between the two after Abdul Mahdi hinted in a coalition meeting that Al Maliki's survival may end the unity of the Shiite coalition and it may withdraw the paper of selecting the new Prime Minister.
A source in Dawa Party, which Al Maliki belongs to, told Gulf News: "Abdul Mahdi went to the religious authorities in Najaf and asked them to put pressure on Al Maliki to step out and that is the reason for the discord between them."
Labels: abduction, Adel Abdul Mahdi, British hostages, Dawa party, Haidar Hussain, Karbala, Mahdi Army, Mahmoud Al Hasani, Mohammad Al Baghdadi, Mohammad Al Yacoubi, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Nouri Al-Maliki
Friday, June 22, 2007
Shake-up planned to strengthen Maliki's power base
Politics
(AP) - Iraq's politicians are trying to stitch together a new majority alliance in parliament that would leave Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in power and freeze out backers of a powerful Shiite cleric who is leading a political standoff, officials said Thursday. The apparent dealmaking comes amid increasing pressure from Washington for Iraqi lawmakers to end their impasses and move ahead with reforms - including a key law on sharing Iraq's oil wealth - considered essential to bring together the country's divided factions and ease the Sunni-Shiite bloodshed.
Iraq's political leadership has been locked in feuds for months with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The disputes have cast doubt on al-Maliki's ability to stay in office. In April, six cabinet ministers loyal to al-Sadr quit the government to protest his refusal to call for a timetable for American troops to leave. Then last week, al-Sadr's 30-member parliament bloc began a boycott after accusing the government of failing to protect an important Shiite shrine in Samarra that was hit again by suspected Sunni bombers linked to al-Qaida.
Lawmakers and aides familiar with the negotiations said the goal is to keep al-Maliki, a Shiite, and possibly reach out to moderate Sunni groups to form a new governing majority in the 275-seat parliament. They also said al-Maliki may try to broaden his circle of close advisers to include President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who holds a mostly ceremonial position, and his two vice presidents. The parliament members and aides spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
Al-Maliki's supporters would like to marginalize both al-Sadr's bloc and a small group of radical Sunnis - which were needed to form a workable majority coalition after elections in 2005. But such a new political alignment could inspire more sectarian violence. So far, the talks have included Iraq's two largest Shiite parties - al-Maliki's Dawa Party and the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq - and the two main Kurdish parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
The Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni Arab group, has been approached to join the bloc, along with independent Shiite legislators. Shiites and Kurds, with the Islamic Party and independent Shiites, should manage a majority. Islamic Party lawmaker Salim Abdullah confirmed attempts to build a new "bloc of moderates," with U.S. approval. He declined to say whether the Islamic Party was approached to join.
Al-Maliki spoke this week of a "comprehensive" makeover in government, chipping away at the sectarian, power-sharing formula that has dictated power-sharing in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003. If formed, the new bloc would command a majority of at least 160 seats, enough to secure the adoption of draft laws on the distribution of Iraq's oil wealth, reinstating junior members of Saddam's Baath party to government jobs and the scheduling of local elections. Also at stake are constitutional amendments demanded by minority Sunni Arabs.
Washington has said its four-month-old security operation in Baghdad was partly an effort to give al-Maliki's government some room to move ahead with political reforms. The crackdown has not significantly eased sectarian violence in the capital, but al-Maliki still has come under sharp criticism for not pushing ahead with the U.S.-backed political changes.
Leaving the Sadrists out of the proposed political shakeup would further diminish parliament's Shiite bloc - the Fadhila party pulled out its 15 lawmakers in March - and could meet opposition from Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country's top Shiite cleric who has been keen on Shiite unity at any price.
Iraq's political leadership has been locked in feuds for months with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The disputes have cast doubt on al-Maliki's ability to stay in office. In April, six cabinet ministers loyal to al-Sadr quit the government to protest his refusal to call for a timetable for American troops to leave. Then last week, al-Sadr's 30-member parliament bloc began a boycott after accusing the government of failing to protect an important Shiite shrine in Samarra that was hit again by suspected Sunni bombers linked to al-Qaida.
Lawmakers and aides familiar with the negotiations said the goal is to keep al-Maliki, a Shiite, and possibly reach out to moderate Sunni groups to form a new governing majority in the 275-seat parliament. They also said al-Maliki may try to broaden his circle of close advisers to include President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who holds a mostly ceremonial position, and his two vice presidents. The parliament members and aides spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
Al-Maliki's supporters would like to marginalize both al-Sadr's bloc and a small group of radical Sunnis - which were needed to form a workable majority coalition after elections in 2005. But such a new political alignment could inspire more sectarian violence. So far, the talks have included Iraq's two largest Shiite parties - al-Maliki's Dawa Party and the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq - and the two main Kurdish parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
The Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni Arab group, has been approached to join the bloc, along with independent Shiite legislators. Shiites and Kurds, with the Islamic Party and independent Shiites, should manage a majority. Islamic Party lawmaker Salim Abdullah confirmed attempts to build a new "bloc of moderates," with U.S. approval. He declined to say whether the Islamic Party was approached to join.
Al-Maliki spoke this week of a "comprehensive" makeover in government, chipping away at the sectarian, power-sharing formula that has dictated power-sharing in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003. If formed, the new bloc would command a majority of at least 160 seats, enough to secure the adoption of draft laws on the distribution of Iraq's oil wealth, reinstating junior members of Saddam's Baath party to government jobs and the scheduling of local elections. Also at stake are constitutional amendments demanded by minority Sunni Arabs.
Washington has said its four-month-old security operation in Baghdad was partly an effort to give al-Maliki's government some room to move ahead with political reforms. The crackdown has not significantly eased sectarian violence in the capital, but al-Maliki still has come under sharp criticism for not pushing ahead with the U.S.-backed political changes.
Leaving the Sadrists out of the proposed political shakeup would further diminish parliament's Shiite bloc - the Fadhila party pulled out its 15 lawmakers in March - and could meet opposition from Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country's top Shiite cleric who has been keen on Shiite unity at any price.
Labels: Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Dawa party, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Nouri Al-Maliki, SICI
Monday, May 14, 2007
Maliki chosen as Secretary-General for Dawa party
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - The Dawa Party chose incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as secretary general, the official al-Iraqiya TV said on Sunday. Maliki was elected to the post and succeeds former secretary general and prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. The Dawa Party, which has 15 seats in the Iraqi parliament, is part of the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC), the largest parliamentary bloc with 113 seats.
Labels: Dawa party, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Nouri Al-Maliki
