Friday, March 16, 2007
Spokesman denies SCIRI wanted to replace al-Maliki with al-Mahdi
Politics
(Al-Sharq al-Awsat) Rida Jawad Taqiy, the official in charge of political relations in the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution [in Iraq, SCIRI], led by Abd-al-Aziz al-Hakim, has expressed the belief that "Iraq is now moving in the right direction, but it is facing many obstacles, first of which is the security issue. The current Iraqi Government is implementing a comprehensive plan to control security in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, since the situation has become very tense, and deterioration is at its peak."
In an interview with Al-Sharq al-Awsat in London, Taqiy denied that "the SCIRI has considered nominating Adil Abd-al-Mahdi for the post of prime minister, instead of Nuri al-Maliki." He noted that "all our efforts are now focused on supporting this government, which enjoys great popular support."
The leading member of the SCIRI admitted that there are "other obstacles besides the security issue; namely, the economic issue. There are also plans to tackle the economic issue. By this, I mean the economic issue, in its services and investment parts, as well as the reconstruction in Iraq. These two issues are linked to the political process, its development, and integration."
We told Taqiy that there are numerous objections by many political forces about the achievements he mentioned, especially with regard to rigging the elections and questioning their fairness. Also, the government is not a national unity government. The parties that participate in this government say that it is a Shi'i government. The most recent of these parties was the Iraqi List, which has threatened to withdraw from the government.
In an interview with Al-Sharq al-Awsat in London, Taqiy denied that "the SCIRI has considered nominating Adil Abd-al-Mahdi for the post of prime minister, instead of Nuri al-Maliki." He noted that "all our efforts are now focused on supporting this government, which enjoys great popular support."
The leading member of the SCIRI admitted that there are "other obstacles besides the security issue; namely, the economic issue. There are also plans to tackle the economic issue. By this, I mean the economic issue, in its services and investment parts, as well as the reconstruction in Iraq. These two issues are linked to the political process, its development, and integration."
We told Taqiy that there are numerous objections by many political forces about the achievements he mentioned, especially with regard to rigging the elections and questioning their fairness. Also, the government is not a national unity government. The parties that participate in this government say that it is a Shi'i government. The most recent of these parties was the Iraqi List, which has threatened to withdraw from the government.
There are also many objections to the constitution, and there are demands to re-draft many of its paragraphs. In response to us, Taqiy said: "The elections won the recognition of the United Nations and the organizations that participated in the elections as observers. However, the elections were not perfect under an Iraqi situation, in which people had not been accustomed to any democratic experience over the past decades."
He added: "Concerning the national unity government, a national unity government, which includes the blocs that won and those that did not win in the elections, was formed for the first time in Iraq. By democratic standards, these [defeated] blocs do not have the right to participate in the government. However, all political forces, including the UIC, insisted on the participation of these blocs.
He added: "Concerning the national unity government, a national unity government, which includes the blocs that won and those that did not win in the elections, was formed for the first time in Iraq. By democratic standards, these [defeated] blocs do not have the right to participate in the government. However, all political forces, including the UIC, insisted on the participation of these blocs.
Labels: Rida Jawad Taqiy, SCIRI, Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Seized weapons caches appear on black market
Security
(Azzaman) The Ministry of Interior has launched an inquiry into how the weapons its forces capture during military operations find their way to black market again. A ministry source, refusing to be named, said the investigation was started following reports that Iraqi police officers resell the illegal weapons they seize. The source said initial findings point to covert links between gunmen and militia groups with ministry police forces. He said several officers have already been detained but declined to give further details.
COMMENT: The Iraqi security forces have for a long time been infiltrated by militia groups such as the Badr Corps (linked to the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq) and al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. It isn't hard for these groups to redirect the seized weapons to the black market. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Badr Corps, Iraqi Army, Mahdi Army, Ministry of Interior, Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq
