Monday, August 06, 2007
Maliki rejects Accordance Front resignations
Politics
(Al Jazeera) - Iraqi leaders are to hold a crisis summit this week to find ways to heal sectarian splits in the national unity government. A senior Western diplomat said the talks were a "moment of truth" for Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, after he refused to accept the resignation of six Sunni members of his cabinet and agreed to hear their concerns.
The prime minister met Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, a Kurd, and Adel Abdel Mehdi, the Shia vice-president, on Sunday to discuss the resignations. Tareq al-Hashemi, who is Iraq's other vice-president and the senior Sunni Arab in the government, was not present. Al-Hashemi has been a regular critic of al-Maliki's alleged sectarian bias, but his Kurdish and Shia colleagues vowed to hold inclusive talks in the coming days.
On Wednesday, the National Concord Front, Iraq's main Sunni political bloc, said it was withdrawing its five ministers and deputy prime minister from the government coalition, dealing a blow to the government's claims to represent all Iraqis. After Sunday's meeting, al-Maliki said: "We agreed on making efforts in order to get the Concord Front back and to tackle what we are able to tackle, but not everything that they have demanded."
Abdel Mehdi said: "The prime minister's position is that he has refused to accept the resignations. This is a good thing and the door is open to discuss this topic." Salim al-Jibouri, a senior member of parliament from the front, said the ministers would still quit, despite al-Maliki's decision not to accept their resignations. He said: "We are insisting on our position. For us, the matter does not end with Maliki accepting or rejecting the resignations.
The prime minister met Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, a Kurd, and Adel Abdel Mehdi, the Shia vice-president, on Sunday to discuss the resignations. Tareq al-Hashemi, who is Iraq's other vice-president and the senior Sunni Arab in the government, was not present. Al-Hashemi has been a regular critic of al-Maliki's alleged sectarian bias, but his Kurdish and Shia colleagues vowed to hold inclusive talks in the coming days.
On Wednesday, the National Concord Front, Iraq's main Sunni political bloc, said it was withdrawing its five ministers and deputy prime minister from the government coalition, dealing a blow to the government's claims to represent all Iraqis. After Sunday's meeting, al-Maliki said: "We agreed on making efforts in order to get the Concord Front back and to tackle what we are able to tackle, but not everything that they have demanded."
Abdel Mehdi said: "The prime minister's position is that he has refused to accept the resignations. This is a good thing and the door is open to discuss this topic." Salim al-Jibouri, a senior member of parliament from the front, said the ministers would still quit, despite al-Maliki's decision not to accept their resignations. He said: "We are insisting on our position. For us, the matter does not end with Maliki accepting or rejecting the resignations.
"We are talking about a programme. The issue is if he accepts or refuses to accept our programme." The programme refers to the front's lists of demands that include disbanding Shia fighters and giving the bloc a bigger say in security matters. Saleem Abdullah, a spokesman for the front, said: "At the moment, we have no intention of changing our position on the resignations. It is not necessary for us to be a part of the government." However, Abdulllah also said "the door to dialogue is open, even if we are outside the government".
Labels: Adel Abdel Mahdi, Iraqi Accordance Front, Jalal Talabani, Nouri Al-Maliki, Saleem Abdullah, Salim al-Juburi, Tawafuq Front
Friday, August 03, 2007
Concern grows among Iraqi politicians following IAF withdrawal
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - Iraqi politicians demonstrated their concerns about the implications of the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front's (IAF) withdrawal from the government for the future of the Iraqi political process. Stressing the Iraqi political process's need for reform, MP Maisoon al-Damlouji from the Iraqi National Slate told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), "The political process, which is based on a sectarian quota system, is about to fall. We have to handle the situation before reaching the point of no return."
Urging Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to listen to the IAF's demands, al-Damlouji said that constructive dialogue at the current time is necessary for discussing all unresolved issues. "The IAF, the National Slate, the Sadrist movement, al-Fadila Party and the National Dialogue Front (NDF) are equally dissatisfied with the current situation… The Iraqi prime minister must listen to what we are saying before it is too late," al-Damlouji indicated.
The mostly secular Iraqi National Slate, led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, holds 24 seats in the Iraqi parliament. Khalaf al-Alian, a leading IAF member, described the current Iraqi political process as a "failure" and indicated that the departure of his front, along with the Sadrist movement, from the government is a clear sign that al-Maliki's government is becoming increasingly unpopular in the Iraqi street. According to al-Alian, al-Maliki has two choices: to form a government of independent technocrats or to step down in favor of a more qualified person.
Meanwhile, MP Ali al-Alaq from the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC), the largest parliamentary bloc with 111 seats, told VOI that the IAF's decision does not necessarily indicate retrogression in the political process, which he is said is "working fine."
Displaying pessimism about the future of the Iraqi political process, Hadi Aliwa, a political analyst, held the Iraqi government and parliamentary blocs responsible for the "failure" to reach political consensus. "Each bloc is working on its own. Several regional and international factors, the most important of which is the U.S. occupation, are affecting the political process," Aliwa explained.
The mostly secular Iraqi National Slate, led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, holds 24 seats in the Iraqi parliament. Khalaf al-Alian, a leading IAF member, described the current Iraqi political process as a "failure" and indicated that the departure of his front, along with the Sadrist movement, from the government is a clear sign that al-Maliki's government is becoming increasingly unpopular in the Iraqi street. According to al-Alian, al-Maliki has two choices: to form a government of independent technocrats or to step down in favor of a more qualified person.
Meanwhile, MP Ali al-Alaq from the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC), the largest parliamentary bloc with 111 seats, told VOI that the IAF's decision does not necessarily indicate retrogression in the political process, which he is said is "working fine."
Displaying pessimism about the future of the Iraqi political process, Hadi Aliwa, a political analyst, held the Iraqi government and parliamentary blocs responsible for the "failure" to reach political consensus. "Each bloc is working on its own. Several regional and international factors, the most important of which is the U.S. occupation, are affecting the political process," Aliwa explained.
Labels: Fadhela party, Iraqi Accordance Front, Iraqi National Slate, Maisoon al-Damlouji, National Dialogue Front, Sadrist bloc, Tawafuq Front, Unified Iraqi Coalition
IAF spokesman accuses Maliki of running a 'non-inclusive' govt
Politics
(RFE/RL) - Iraqi Accordance Front spokesman Salim al-Juburi told Al-Jazeera television in an August 2 interview that the Sunni-led bloc's withdrawal from the Iraqi cabinet sent a clear message to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on the importance of inclusion. "The front is an important factor [in the political landscape] that cannot be ignored, and what is significant about its withdrawal is that it stripped the al-Maliki government of its status as a national-unity government," al-Juburi said.
"What matters is that the government failed in creating a partnership [with Sunni Arabs], and this is a lesson that all future governments must understand," he added. The Accordance Front has long accused al-Maliki of keeping its members out of the decision-making process. Al-Juburi accused the U.S. administration of trying to make the Iraqi political process appear successful at any cost, regardless of the level of actual Sunni Arab participation. Al-Juburi told Al-Jazeera that the front's members in parliament will remain on the job, adding that the front believes it can use the parliamentarians to pressure the government to follow through with needed reforms.
Labels: Iraqi Accordance Front, Iraqi government, Nouri Al-Maliki, Salim al-Juburi, Tawafuq Front
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
Monday, July 09, 2007
Talabani says solution reached to end Sunni political boycott
Politics
(Voices of Iraq article) - Iraqi President Jalal al-Talabani said on Sunday that solutions were reached to end the Sunni Accordance boycott of the parliament and cabinet in a meeting attended by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Talabani and his two deputies.
"Solutions to end the Tawafuq (Accordance) Front's boycott were reached in today's meeting and these solutions will become effective in the next two or three days," Talabani told a news conference following the meeting. The Iraqi president added, "the proposed solutions were meant to end Tawafuk's parliamentary and cabinet boycott." Tabalani did not give further details of the solutions.
The Sunni Tawafuq Front, holding 44 seats out of the total of 275 in the Iraqi parliament, boycotted sessions of parliament and cabinet following a move by other parliamentary blocs to give House Speaker Mahmuod al-Mashhadani, a Tawafuq member, a long vacation and to demand a replacement.
Further, the Sunni front also protested an arrest warrant issued against its member, culture minister Assad al-Hashemi, on alleged charges of being behind the murder of two of the sons of the National Party member Mithal al-Alousi in 2004.
"Solutions to end the Tawafuq (Accordance) Front's boycott were reached in today's meeting and these solutions will become effective in the next two or three days," Talabani told a news conference following the meeting. The Iraqi president added, "the proposed solutions were meant to end Tawafuk's parliamentary and cabinet boycott." Tabalani did not give further details of the solutions.
The Sunni Tawafuq Front, holding 44 seats out of the total of 275 in the Iraqi parliament, boycotted sessions of parliament and cabinet following a move by other parliamentary blocs to give House Speaker Mahmuod al-Mashhadani, a Tawafuq member, a long vacation and to demand a replacement.
Further, the Sunni front also protested an arrest warrant issued against its member, culture minister Assad al-Hashemi, on alleged charges of being behind the murder of two of the sons of the National Party member Mithal al-Alousi in 2004.
Labels: Assad al-Hashemi, Iraqi Accordance Front, Jalal Talabani, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, Nouri Al-Maliki, Tawafuq Front
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Iraqi Accord Front may withdraw from political process
Politics
(al-Melaf) - The largest Sunni bloc in Parliament may intend to withdraw from the political process, al-Melaf reports in Arabic. The news agency cites an "informed source" inside the Tawafuq Front who reportedly said that the outstanding arrest warrants for Tawafuq MPs have led the bloc to plan its withdrawal announcement.
Arrest warrants have previously been issued against a number of Tawafuq deputies. Members of parliament cannot be prosecuted unless the chamber lifts the status of immunity.
A number of members of the bloc left Iraq weeks ago without filing requests for official travel or leave with the office of the president of the Parliament, according to al-Melaf. During raids by US and Iraqi forces on homes of Tawafuq parliamentarians, weapons and documents were found linking Front members with elements of militant groups, and also to the prior regime, according to US claims. Tawafuq MPs have denied these allegations.
The Tawafuq Front has refused to discuss the lifting of the diplomatic immunity of a number of parliamentarians. Adnan al-Dulaimi, the president of the bloc has said that the arrest of parliamentarians is a threat to the political process, al-Melaf writes. The Tawafuq Front, a coalition of Sunni parties, is under intense pressure, both from the Iraqi government and US forces, but also from many Iraqi Sunni Arabs who view their participation in the political process under the aegis of the US occupation as illegitimate.
Tawafuq is the largest Sunni-based political bloc in the Parliament, representing 44 seats in the legislature. A Tawafuq withdrawal from the political process could deliver a serious blow to the Iraqi regime. Tawafuq has remained in the opposition in Parliament, but its participation in the body has provided lent legitimation to the Iraqi regime by providing Sunni representation in the process. Absent the Tawafuq presence in Parliament, this claim of Iraqi Sunni Arab representation in the political process would be harder to sustain.
"Tawafuq" is an Arabic word that has been translated different ways: It has appeared in media reports glossed as "Accord," "Concordance," "Accordance" or even "Consensus."
Arrest warrants have previously been issued against a number of Tawafuq deputies. Members of parliament cannot be prosecuted unless the chamber lifts the status of immunity.
A number of members of the bloc left Iraq weeks ago without filing requests for official travel or leave with the office of the president of the Parliament, according to al-Melaf. During raids by US and Iraqi forces on homes of Tawafuq parliamentarians, weapons and documents were found linking Front members with elements of militant groups, and also to the prior regime, according to US claims. Tawafuq MPs have denied these allegations.
The Tawafuq Front has refused to discuss the lifting of the diplomatic immunity of a number of parliamentarians. Adnan al-Dulaimi, the president of the bloc has said that the arrest of parliamentarians is a threat to the political process, al-Melaf writes. The Tawafuq Front, a coalition of Sunni parties, is under intense pressure, both from the Iraqi government and US forces, but also from many Iraqi Sunni Arabs who view their participation in the political process under the aegis of the US occupation as illegitimate.
Tawafuq is the largest Sunni-based political bloc in the Parliament, representing 44 seats in the legislature. A Tawafuq withdrawal from the political process could deliver a serious blow to the Iraqi regime. Tawafuq has remained in the opposition in Parliament, but its participation in the body has provided lent legitimation to the Iraqi regime by providing Sunni representation in the process. Absent the Tawafuq presence in Parliament, this claim of Iraqi Sunni Arab representation in the political process would be harder to sustain.
"Tawafuq" is an Arabic word that has been translated different ways: It has appeared in media reports glossed as "Accord," "Concordance," "Accordance" or even "Consensus."
Labels: Adnan Dulaimi, Iraqi Accord Front, Tawafuq Front
