Monday, May 14, 2007
Al-Maliki agrees to give Sunnis bigger role in security operations
Politics
(AP) -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki agreed to give Sunnis a bigger role in security operations in their areas, lawmakers said Sunday, in a deal that staves off a threatened Sunni walkout that could have toppled the Shiite leader's embattled government. The deal reached with Iraq's Sunni vice president could help assuage long-standing Sunni complaints that Shiite-dominated security forces unfairly target Sunni areas but avoid cracking down on Shiite militias linked to influential politicians.
The lawmakers said the deal was reached in talks last week between al-Maliki and Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who had threatened to withdraw his bloc from the government if Sunni demands were not met. His bloc controls 44 of the 275 parliament seats. Under the terms, al-Hashemi will have an "executive role" in the fight against insurgents in Sunni areas inside and outside the capital of Baghdad, the lawmakers said. Al-Maliki remains the armed forces' commander in chief, they said.
However, the agreement was described by lawmakers as an understanding rather than a formal pact, and similar arrangements have broken down in the past. "The government realized that we were not just making empty threats, so they took us seriously" said Sunni lawmaker Salim Abdullah, a member of al-Hashemi's Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's biggest Sunni political group.
"The ball is now in the government's court," said Abdullah, who confirmed the deal along with a Shiite lawmaker close to al-Maliki. The Shiite spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information to the media. One Sunni Arab politician, Omar Abdul-Sattar, said 11,000 volunteers from Sunni areas west of the capital have been waiting for months to hear news about their applications to join the army.
Reconciliation is a key benchmark the U.S. wants al-Maliki's government to meet at a time of growing congressional opposition to the war. Other benchmarks include a new law to distribute oil revenues equitably among all Iraqis and amendments to the constitution to address Sunni demands.
In the deal with al-Hashemi, al-Maliki also agreed not to stand in the way when judicial authorities release Sunni Arab detainees suspected of having links to insurgent groups, but have not been formally charged. The U.N. says more than 37,000 detainees, most of them believed to be Sunnis, were being held by Iraqi and U.S.-led forces as of March 31.
It also provides for an end to government threats to lift the parliamentary immunity of Sunni lawmakers so they can be questioned about suspected links to insurgent groups. Al-Hashemi had wanted a halt to security raids targeting the homes and offices of Sunni lawmakers and the arrest of their personal security details, but it was unclear if al-Maliki accepted those demands.
The lawmakers said the deal was reached in talks last week between al-Maliki and Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who had threatened to withdraw his bloc from the government if Sunni demands were not met. His bloc controls 44 of the 275 parliament seats. Under the terms, al-Hashemi will have an "executive role" in the fight against insurgents in Sunni areas inside and outside the capital of Baghdad, the lawmakers said. Al-Maliki remains the armed forces' commander in chief, they said.
However, the agreement was described by lawmakers as an understanding rather than a formal pact, and similar arrangements have broken down in the past. "The government realized that we were not just making empty threats, so they took us seriously" said Sunni lawmaker Salim Abdullah, a member of al-Hashemi's Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's biggest Sunni political group.
"The ball is now in the government's court," said Abdullah, who confirmed the deal along with a Shiite lawmaker close to al-Maliki. The Shiite spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information to the media. One Sunni Arab politician, Omar Abdul-Sattar, said 11,000 volunteers from Sunni areas west of the capital have been waiting for months to hear news about their applications to join the army.
Reconciliation is a key benchmark the U.S. wants al-Maliki's government to meet at a time of growing congressional opposition to the war. Other benchmarks include a new law to distribute oil revenues equitably among all Iraqis and amendments to the constitution to address Sunni demands.
In the deal with al-Hashemi, al-Maliki also agreed not to stand in the way when judicial authorities release Sunni Arab detainees suspected of having links to insurgent groups, but have not been formally charged. The U.N. says more than 37,000 detainees, most of them believed to be Sunnis, were being held by Iraqi and U.S.-led forces as of March 31.
It also provides for an end to government threats to lift the parliamentary immunity of Sunni lawmakers so they can be questioned about suspected links to insurgent groups. Al-Hashemi had wanted a halt to security raids targeting the homes and offices of Sunni lawmakers and the arrest of their personal security details, but it was unclear if al-Maliki accepted those demands.
Labels: Iraqi Islamic Party, Nouri Al-Maliki, Salim Abdullah, Tariq al-Hashimi
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Iraqi Islamic Party denies claims it paid woman to make rape allegations
Security, Politics
(McClatchy Newspapers) The case of an Iraqi woman who went on Arabic satellite television last month to charge that three Iraqi policemen raped her continues to roil the country, and government officials are now debating whether to release a video that they say will show the episode was a fabrication. The Shiite Muslim-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki already has called the woman a liar and leaked information to discredit her. Officials have released her name, said she worked as a prostitute in the 1990s and accused her of bigamy.
On Monday, four Iraqi officials said that the woman, who at first was thought to be a Sunni, was a Shiite and that she was detained two days after she made her allegations. Three of the officials said the government has a taped confession from the woman in which she says she was paid by the Iraqi Islamic Party, one of Iraq's most important Sunni organizations, to fabricate the story in an effort to undermine the Baghdad security plan.
None of the officials would speak for attribution because the government is still debating what to do with the video, with some officials voicing concern that releasing it would only inflame sectarian tensions. "The whole thing was orchestrated" to undermine the government, one Iraqi official said. "They paid some broad to mess up our plans ... evil individuals would do such a thing."
The Iraqi Islamic Party denied the accusation. Party spokesman Salim Abdullah told McClatchy Newspapers that the party has evidence implicating high officials in the alleged rape and evidence that proves the woman was sexually assaulted. He added that the party would release the evidence if the criminal case turned into a political fight between the Shiite-led government and Iraq's largest Sunni party.
The debate over the rape charge, which was first aired Feb. 19 on Al-Jazeera satellite television, is a reminder of how difficult it is to separate fact from fiction in a highly charged sectarian atmosphere in which everyone is assumed to be acting only for their own benefit. American officials have declined to say publicly what they know of the case. The woman was treated at an American hospital in the Green Zone, but what that examination showed or even how she came to be in the custody of an American military patrol is not known.
On Monday, four Iraqi officials said that the woman, who at first was thought to be a Sunni, was a Shiite and that she was detained two days after she made her allegations. Three of the officials said the government has a taped confession from the woman in which she says she was paid by the Iraqi Islamic Party, one of Iraq's most important Sunni organizations, to fabricate the story in an effort to undermine the Baghdad security plan.
None of the officials would speak for attribution because the government is still debating what to do with the video, with some officials voicing concern that releasing it would only inflame sectarian tensions. "The whole thing was orchestrated" to undermine the government, one Iraqi official said. "They paid some broad to mess up our plans ... evil individuals would do such a thing."
The Iraqi Islamic Party denied the accusation. Party spokesman Salim Abdullah told McClatchy Newspapers that the party has evidence implicating high officials in the alleged rape and evidence that proves the woman was sexually assaulted. He added that the party would release the evidence if the criminal case turned into a political fight between the Shiite-led government and Iraq's largest Sunni party.
The debate over the rape charge, which was first aired Feb. 19 on Al-Jazeera satellite television, is a reminder of how difficult it is to separate fact from fiction in a highly charged sectarian atmosphere in which everyone is assumed to be acting only for their own benefit. American officials have declined to say publicly what they know of the case. The woman was treated at an American hospital in the Green Zone, but what that examination showed or even how she came to be in the custody of an American military patrol is not known.
Labels: Iraqi Islamic Party, rape case, Salim Abdullah
