Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Iraqi List Suggests Political Commission To Run The Country
Politics
(Azzaman Newspaper) - 13 AUG - The Iraqi National List has suggested forming a political commission that will include all the parties in the government in order to run the country. They pointed out that this commission will not take the place of the leaders. The list has denied reports about its withdrawal from the political process or of it trying to destabilize the Al Maliki government.
Iraqi List Parliament member, Izzat Al Shabandar, announced yesterday that there is now a project to form a political commission from the main political entities. This commission will look like a front, but this front will not take the place of the leader. It will just say to him, do not be autocratic with political decisions which are connected with the present and the future of the country. Al Shabandar also said that the Al Maliki government can not continue under these circumstances.
He added, “Al Maliki will not continue with this government; it is impossible and we do not care who takes his place as long as the next leader is chosen is a nationalist and is away from sectarianism and religion. The Communist Party, which is part of the Iraqi List, announced that it has created a project to save the country from the recent crisis. The Communist Party Central Committee Secretary and a Parliament member, Hamid Majid Moussa, confirmed that negotiations between his party and other political powers are continuing to solve the crisis.
Iraqi List leader, Ayad Allawi, has told his list’s ministers to continue with their duties, but do not attend the cabinet meetings as a first step before their withdrawal. The Sadr Movement confirmed that their movement is still in the political process. The Movement also confirmed that Ahmed Al Sharifi does not represent the Movement or the political council. Ahmed Al Massoudi (Sadr Movement) has denied what Al Sharifi announced during his press conference Saturday, that there will be changes in the Sadr Movement.
Iraqi List Parliament member, Izzat Al Shabandar, announced yesterday that there is now a project to form a political commission from the main political entities. This commission will look like a front, but this front will not take the place of the leader. It will just say to him, do not be autocratic with political decisions which are connected with the present and the future of the country. Al Shabandar also said that the Al Maliki government can not continue under these circumstances.
He added, “Al Maliki will not continue with this government; it is impossible and we do not care who takes his place as long as the next leader is chosen is a nationalist and is away from sectarianism and religion. The Communist Party, which is part of the Iraqi List, announced that it has created a project to save the country from the recent crisis. The Communist Party Central Committee Secretary and a Parliament member, Hamid Majid Moussa, confirmed that negotiations between his party and other political powers are continuing to solve the crisis.
Iraqi List leader, Ayad Allawi, has told his list’s ministers to continue with their duties, but do not attend the cabinet meetings as a first step before their withdrawal. The Sadr Movement confirmed that their movement is still in the political process. The Movement also confirmed that Ahmed Al Sharifi does not represent the Movement or the political council. Ahmed Al Massoudi (Sadr Movement) has denied what Al Sharifi announced during his press conference Saturday, that there will be changes in the Sadr Movement.
Labels: Ahmed Al Massoudi, Ahmed Al Sharifi, Hamid Majid Moussa, Iraqi Communist Party, Iraqi National List, Iyad Allawi, Izzat Al Shabandar, political commission, Sadr movement
Monday, August 06, 2007
New chairman for Kirkuk committee
Government
(RFE/RL) - The cabinet has appointed a new chairman of the committee charged with carrying out the implementation of constitutional Article 140, Iraqi media reported on August 2. The article calls for normalization measures to be taken with regard to Kirkuk. Ra'id Fahmi, minister of science and technology, will oversee the committee. Fahmi is a senior member in the Iraqi Communist Party and was active in the Iraqi opposition prior to the fall of the Hussein regime. He advocates using oil revenues for investment and to boost infrastructure development.
Labels: Article 140, Iraqi Communist Party, Kirkuk, Ra'id Fahmi
Friday, April 13, 2007
Mass events nationwide celebrate Iraqi Communist Party anniversary
Politics
(PWW) - Some 10,000 Baghdad residents packed a sports stadium March 31 to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the Iraqi Communist Party. It was the first mass event in Baghdad in years by any secular democratic group. Similar events took place around the country. In Basra, Iraq's second largest city, 2,000 overflowed a cultural center for a celebration featuring music, poetry and dance.
The throng, including many families, children and youth, was mobilized on three days' notice due to security precautions. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who heads one of the main Kurdish parties, and Speaker of Parliament Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, of the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front, sent representatives who read greetings. Representatives of a wide spectrum of political parties and civil society organizations also participated. Well-known poets and singers performed, including the head of the Iraqi Writers Union.
The huge turnouts in Baghdad and elsewhere point to a "change of mood among the people, especially the young, towards the Islamic parties," spokesman Salam Ali said. "People are just fed up" with sectarianism and violence. "The Communist Party appeals to people because it is not tainted with corruption and does not have blood on its hands from sectarian killings. People are seeing the party as hope, as a potential alternative, something different."
Slogans for the celebrations emphasized demands for social and economic improvements, women's rights, sovereignty and ending the occupation. They called on the people to fight for their rights, against sectarianism, for national reconciliation and unity. A reporter for the Arab-language newspaper Al-Hayat noted that the big, youthful turnout and culture-rich program in Basra, in southern Iraq, was in sharp contrast to the repressive environment imposed by Islamic parties there. It indicated that young people have "had it" with social and cultural suppression like the smashing of stores selling CDs and movies.
Celebrations also took place in Najaf, Karbala, Nasiriya, Diwaniya, Omarah, Nineveh and Wasit provinces and elsewhere. At least 1,000 turned out in Alqosh, in the northern Nineveh plain near Mosul, a predominantly Christian Chaldean and Assyrian area.
Both the democratic and nationalist trends were weakened by the U.S. occupation's fanning of sectarian division. "Once the American presence is out or weakens, the old political map will come into play -- these big political groups will gradually come back," he said. "This is the real Iraqi political scene. All the nonsense of 'Shia vs. Sunni' doesn't hold much ground."
The ICP sees national reconciliation and unity as necessary to ending foreign occupation and regaining political and economic sovereignty. Sadr draws support from among the poorest and most marginalized people of the countryside and Baghdad's Sadr City. In the Iraqi Communists' view, this underscores the fact that security and sovereignty require immediate economic and social measures to meet the needs of the people including the most downtrodden.
The throng, including many families, children and youth, was mobilized on three days' notice due to security precautions. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who heads one of the main Kurdish parties, and Speaker of Parliament Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, of the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front, sent representatives who read greetings. Representatives of a wide spectrum of political parties and civil society organizations also participated. Well-known poets and singers performed, including the head of the Iraqi Writers Union.
The huge turnouts in Baghdad and elsewhere point to a "change of mood among the people, especially the young, towards the Islamic parties," spokesman Salam Ali said. "People are just fed up" with sectarianism and violence. "The Communist Party appeals to people because it is not tainted with corruption and does not have blood on its hands from sectarian killings. People are seeing the party as hope, as a potential alternative, something different."
Slogans for the celebrations emphasized demands for social and economic improvements, women's rights, sovereignty and ending the occupation. They called on the people to fight for their rights, against sectarianism, for national reconciliation and unity. A reporter for the Arab-language newspaper Al-Hayat noted that the big, youthful turnout and culture-rich program in Basra, in southern Iraq, was in sharp contrast to the repressive environment imposed by Islamic parties there. It indicated that young people have "had it" with social and cultural suppression like the smashing of stores selling CDs and movies.
Celebrations also took place in Najaf, Karbala, Nasiriya, Diwaniya, Omarah, Nineveh and Wasit provinces and elsewhere. At least 1,000 turned out in Alqosh, in the northern Nineveh plain near Mosul, a predominantly Christian Chaldean and Assyrian area.
Both the democratic and nationalist trends were weakened by the U.S. occupation's fanning of sectarian division. "Once the American presence is out or weakens, the old political map will come into play -- these big political groups will gradually come back," he said. "This is the real Iraqi political scene. All the nonsense of 'Shia vs. Sunni' doesn't hold much ground."
The ICP sees national reconciliation and unity as necessary to ending foreign occupation and regaining political and economic sovereignty. Sadr draws support from among the poorest and most marginalized people of the countryside and Baghdad's Sadr City. In the Iraqi Communists' view, this underscores the fact that security and sovereignty require immediate economic and social measures to meet the needs of the people including the most downtrodden.
Labels: ICP, Iraqi Communist Party, Jalal Talabani, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani
