Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Sadr bloc threatens to pull out of United Iraqi Alliance
Politics
(RFE/RL) - Representatives aligned with Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened to pull out of the United Iraqi Alliance on September 11, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reported. Al-Sadr spokesman Salah al-Ubaydi told reporters at a press briefing in Al-Najaf that lawmakers were discussing a possible pullout with the cleric because the bloc is not satisfied with the government's performance.
Al-Ubaydi said the government has failed to achieve the minimum requirements in terms of security and public services. He also criticized the United Iraqi Alliance, saying the two major parties in the alliance, Prime Minister al-Maliki's Islamic Al-Da'wah Party and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, are monopolizing power and practicing a "double standard" policy. Al-Ubaydi criticized those parties' decision to join ranks with the leading Kurdish parties in parliament to form the so-called moderates' front, saying the two Shi'ite parties should have consulted all the parties in the alliance before reaching such an agreement.
Labels: Moqtada Al-Sadr, Najaf, Salah al-Ubaydi, United Iraqi Alliance
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, June 20, 2007
Shiite Alliance Working To End Khalq’s Presence
Politics
(Addustour Newspaper) - 20 JUN - The Shiite Alliance announced yesterday that they have decided to work on ending the presence of the Mujahadin Khalq in Iraq through a Parliamentary recommendation. The Alliance List held a meeting at Abd Al Aziz Al Hakim’s office. The meeting was led by Humam Hammoudi. They discussed information regarding Iraqi political entities that participated in a meeting at the Iranian Mujahadin Khalq HQ.
The Alliance believes that this participation was against Iraq’s laws and that it was also in violation of the constitution as it is illegal for this type of participation with a known terrorist group in Iraqi territory. They also discussed many issues including the Alliance’s position in the government as well as changing the Parliament chief.
A statement issued by the Alliance mentioned that they must come to an agreement with the Accord Front and Kurdish Coalition about the new Parliament chief. Additionally, they discussed ministerial changes and confirmed that the new ministers should be qualified and not based on an ethnic sectarian basis. Finally, they discussed the Alliance’s decision to establish a committee to follow the security file, especially as it pertains to the arming of suspected groups by the MNF which may be a danger to Iraqi national security now and in the future.
Labels: Abd Al Aziz Al Hakim, Humam Hammoudi, Mujahadin Khalq, United Iraqi Alliance
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Sadr calls for talks with Sunnis opposed to Maliki's government
Politics
(McClatchy Newspapers) - Both Sunni and Shiite political factions are threatening to withdraw from the already weak government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a prospect that threatens the political accommodations needed to calm Iraq's sectarian warfare. Maliki supporters say the threats are nothing more than the bluster of negotiations and that the prime minister will be able to hold his fragile coalition together.
But Sunni politicians said Tuesday that they're serious about pulling out of parliament over what they say is Maliki's reluctance to share power. Maliki is a Shiite.
Meanwhile, rumors are swirling that loyalists of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also are considering breaking away from the Shiites' United Iraqi Alliance in the legislature, a move that would rob that ruling political bloc of its slim majority. Sadr followers denied that, but they said the cleric has asked them to reach out to rival Sunni groups.
The threat to the Maliki government comes as sectarian violence appears to be on the rise. On five of the last seven days, the number of unidentified bodies found on Baghdad's streets has surpassed 25, a significant increase over previous weeks.
But dissent is coming not only from Sunnis. Sadr, too, was expressing dissatisfaction, which could threaten the government. At issue were Maliki's delay in replacing six Sadrists who walked out of his Cabinet last month to protest the arrests of fighters from Sadr's Mahdi Army and his refusal to set a deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw. Maliki still hasn't named replacements for the six ministers, though an aide said those nominations could come this week.
Now Sadr is calling for talks with Sunnis who are bitterly opposed to the Maliki government, including Harith al-Thari, the head of the Muslim Scholars Association. An aide to Maliki, speaking on condition that his name not be used because of the sensitivity of the topic, said even if Sadr were to withdraw from the United Iraqi Alliance coalition, giving it less than a majority, the prime minister could still triumph in parliament votes.
Kurdish members of parliament would stick with the prime minister on pivotal matters, and his fellow Shiites would be unlikely to bolt.
"The Sadrists would not leave," he said. "There is no other parliamentary bloc they would join." Still Sunni parliament members say the government is reaching a crisis. "It would be unfortunate if we gave Maliki an ultimatum and he either ignored it or was unable to commit to it," said Omar Abdul Sattar, a Sunni member of parliament and a senior member of the Iraqi Islamic Party.
But Sunni politicians said Tuesday that they're serious about pulling out of parliament over what they say is Maliki's reluctance to share power. Maliki is a Shiite.
Meanwhile, rumors are swirling that loyalists of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also are considering breaking away from the Shiites' United Iraqi Alliance in the legislature, a move that would rob that ruling political bloc of its slim majority. Sadr followers denied that, but they said the cleric has asked them to reach out to rival Sunni groups.
The threat to the Maliki government comes as sectarian violence appears to be on the rise. On five of the last seven days, the number of unidentified bodies found on Baghdad's streets has surpassed 25, a significant increase over previous weeks.
But dissent is coming not only from Sunnis. Sadr, too, was expressing dissatisfaction, which could threaten the government. At issue were Maliki's delay in replacing six Sadrists who walked out of his Cabinet last month to protest the arrests of fighters from Sadr's Mahdi Army and his refusal to set a deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw. Maliki still hasn't named replacements for the six ministers, though an aide said those nominations could come this week.
Now Sadr is calling for talks with Sunnis who are bitterly opposed to the Maliki government, including Harith al-Thari, the head of the Muslim Scholars Association. An aide to Maliki, speaking on condition that his name not be used because of the sensitivity of the topic, said even if Sadr were to withdraw from the United Iraqi Alliance coalition, giving it less than a majority, the prime minister could still triumph in parliament votes.
Kurdish members of parliament would stick with the prime minister on pivotal matters, and his fellow Shiites would be unlikely to bolt.
"The Sadrists would not leave," he said. "There is no other parliamentary bloc they would join." Still Sunni parliament members say the government is reaching a crisis. "It would be unfortunate if we gave Maliki an ultimatum and he either ignored it or was unable to commit to it," said Omar Abdul Sattar, a Sunni member of parliament and a senior member of the Iraqi Islamic Party.
Labels: government, Iraq, Iraqi Islamic Party, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Muslim Scholars Association, politics, United Iraqi Alliance
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Parliament bombing update
Security, Politics
(AP) - A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Iraqi parliament cafeteria Thursday, killing at least eight people — including three lawmakers — and wounding dozens in a stunning assault in the heart of the heavily fortified, U.S.-protected Green Zone. A news video camera captured the moment of the blast — a flash and an orange ball of fire causing a startled Muslim imam who was being interviewed to duck, and then the smoky, dust-filled aftermath of confusion and shouting. The video was shot by Alhurra, a U.S. government-funded Arab-language channel.
The blast came hours after a suicide truck bomb exploded on a major bridge in Baghdad, collapsing the steel structure and sending cars tumbling into the Tigris River, police and witnesses said. At least 10 people were killed.
The parliament bombing was believed to be the deadliest attack in the Green Zone, the enclave that houses
Iraq's leadership as well as the U.S. Embassy, and is secured by American and Iraqi checkpoints. Security officials at parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, said they believed the bomber was a bodyguard of a Sunni member of parliament who was not among the dead. They would not name the member of parliament.
The officials also said two satchel bombs were found near the cafeteria. A U.S. bomb squad took the explosives away and detonated them without incident.
President Bush strongly condemned the attack, saying: "My message to the Iraqi government is `We stand with you.'Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told The Associated Press that eight people were killed in the attack, which witness accounts indicated was carried out by a suicide bomber.
Iraqi officials said the bomber struck the cafeteria while several lawmakers were eating lunch, and at least three of them — two Sunnis and a Shiite — were killed. State television said 30 people were wounded. "We don't know at this point who it was. We do know in the past that suicide vests have been used predominantly by al-Qaida," Caldwell said. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh suggested that those behind the attack might work in the building. "There are some groups that work in politics during the day and do things other than politics at night," he told Alhurra.
The Alhurra video showed what appeared to be the moments just after the attack: A smoky hallway, with people screaming for help. One man was slumped over, covered in dust, motionless. A woman kneeled over what appeared to be a wounded or dead man near a table. Then the camera focused on a bloody severed leg. TV cameras and videotapes belonging to a crew sending footage to Western networks were confiscated and apparently handed over to U.S. authorities. After the blast, security guards sealed the building and no one — including lawmakers — was allowed to enter or leave.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said no Americans were hurt. The bombing came amid the two-month-old security crackdown in Baghdad, which has sought to restore stability in the capital so that the government of Iraq can take key political steps by June 30 or face a withdrawal of American support. "We know that there is a security problem in Baghdad," added Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking at the State Department. "This is still early in the process and I don't think anyone expected that there wouldn't be counter-efforts by terrorists to undermine the security presence."
One of the dead lawmakers was Mohammed Awad, a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front, said party leader Saleh al-Mutlaq. A female Sunni lawmaker from the same list was wounded, he said. Another was Taha al-Liheibi, of the Sunni Accordance Front, said Mohammed Abu Bakr, who heads the legislature's media department. A third dead legislator was Niamah al-Mayahi, a member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance bloc, said Saleh al-Aujaili, a fellow member. Asif Hussein Muhammad, an MP from the Islamic Union of Kurdistan, was also killed in the blast. Abu Bakr and other lawmakers said they saw the suspected bomber's body amid the ghastly scene. "I saw two legs in the middle of the cafeteria and none of those killed or wounded lost their legs — which means they must be the legs of the suicide attacker," he said.
Earlier in the day, security officials used dogs to check people entering the building in a rare precaution — apparently concerned that an attack might take place. A security scanner for pedestrians at the entrance to the Green Zone near the parliament building was not working Thursday, Abu Bakr said. People were searched only by hand and had to pass through metal detectors, he said.
The brazen bombing was the clearest evidence yet that militants can penetrate even the most secure locations. Masses of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers are on the streets in the ninth week of a security crackdown in the capital and security measures inside the Green Zone have been significantly hardened.
The U.S. military reported April 1 that two suicide vests were found in the Green Zone, also home to the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government. A rocket attack last month killed two Americans, a soldier and a contractor. A few days earlier, a rocket landed within 100 yards of a building where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was holding a news conference. No one was hurt.
Khalaf al-Ilyan, one of the three leaders of the Iraqi Accordance Front, which holds 44 seats, said the attack was "aimed at everyone — all parties — our parliament in general being a symbol and a representative of all segments of Iraqi society." Al-Ilyan, who is in Jordan recovering from knee surgery, said the blast also "underlines the failure of the government's security plan. The plan is 100 percent a failure. It's a complete flop. The explosion means that instability and lack of security has reached the Green Zone, which the government boasts is heavily fortified," he said.
Hadi al-Amiri, head of the parliament's security and defense committee, said the blast shook the building just after legislators ended their main meeting, and broke into smaller committees. He said Iraqi forces are in charge of security in the building, and that explosives could have been smuggled in amid restaurant supplies.
Attacks in the Green Zone are rare. The worst previous known assault occurred Oct. 14, 2004, when a blast at a market and a popular cafe killed six people — the first bombing in the sprawling region. On Nov. 25, 2004, a mortar attack inside the zone killed four employees of a British security firm and wounded at least 12. On Jan. 29, 2005, insurgents hit the U.S. Embassy compound with a rocket, killing two Americans — a civilian and a sailor — on the eve of landmark elections. Four other Americans were wounded.
The blast came hours after a suicide truck bomb exploded on a major bridge in Baghdad, collapsing the steel structure and sending cars tumbling into the Tigris River, police and witnesses said. At least 10 people were killed.
The parliament bombing was believed to be the deadliest attack in the Green Zone, the enclave that houses
Iraq's leadership as well as the U.S. Embassy, and is secured by American and Iraqi checkpoints. Security officials at parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, said they believed the bomber was a bodyguard of a Sunni member of parliament who was not among the dead. They would not name the member of parliament.
The officials also said two satchel bombs were found near the cafeteria. A U.S. bomb squad took the explosives away and detonated them without incident.
President Bush strongly condemned the attack, saying: "My message to the Iraqi government is `We stand with you.'Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told The Associated Press that eight people were killed in the attack, which witness accounts indicated was carried out by a suicide bomber.
Iraqi officials said the bomber struck the cafeteria while several lawmakers were eating lunch, and at least three of them — two Sunnis and a Shiite — were killed. State television said 30 people were wounded. "We don't know at this point who it was. We do know in the past that suicide vests have been used predominantly by al-Qaida," Caldwell said. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh suggested that those behind the attack might work in the building. "There are some groups that work in politics during the day and do things other than politics at night," he told Alhurra.
The Alhurra video showed what appeared to be the moments just after the attack: A smoky hallway, with people screaming for help. One man was slumped over, covered in dust, motionless. A woman kneeled over what appeared to be a wounded or dead man near a table. Then the camera focused on a bloody severed leg. TV cameras and videotapes belonging to a crew sending footage to Western networks were confiscated and apparently handed over to U.S. authorities. After the blast, security guards sealed the building and no one — including lawmakers — was allowed to enter or leave.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said no Americans were hurt. The bombing came amid the two-month-old security crackdown in Baghdad, which has sought to restore stability in the capital so that the government of Iraq can take key political steps by June 30 or face a withdrawal of American support. "We know that there is a security problem in Baghdad," added Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking at the State Department. "This is still early in the process and I don't think anyone expected that there wouldn't be counter-efforts by terrorists to undermine the security presence."
One of the dead lawmakers was Mohammed Awad, a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front, said party leader Saleh al-Mutlaq. A female Sunni lawmaker from the same list was wounded, he said. Another was Taha al-Liheibi, of the Sunni Accordance Front, said Mohammed Abu Bakr, who heads the legislature's media department. A third dead legislator was Niamah al-Mayahi, a member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance bloc, said Saleh al-Aujaili, a fellow member. Asif Hussein Muhammad, an MP from the Islamic Union of Kurdistan, was also killed in the blast. Abu Bakr and other lawmakers said they saw the suspected bomber's body amid the ghastly scene. "I saw two legs in the middle of the cafeteria and none of those killed or wounded lost their legs — which means they must be the legs of the suicide attacker," he said.
Earlier in the day, security officials used dogs to check people entering the building in a rare precaution — apparently concerned that an attack might take place. A security scanner for pedestrians at the entrance to the Green Zone near the parliament building was not working Thursday, Abu Bakr said. People were searched only by hand and had to pass through metal detectors, he said.
The brazen bombing was the clearest evidence yet that militants can penetrate even the most secure locations. Masses of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers are on the streets in the ninth week of a security crackdown in the capital and security measures inside the Green Zone have been significantly hardened.
The U.S. military reported April 1 that two suicide vests were found in the Green Zone, also home to the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government. A rocket attack last month killed two Americans, a soldier and a contractor. A few days earlier, a rocket landed within 100 yards of a building where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was holding a news conference. No one was hurt.
Khalaf al-Ilyan, one of the three leaders of the Iraqi Accordance Front, which holds 44 seats, said the attack was "aimed at everyone — all parties — our parliament in general being a symbol and a representative of all segments of Iraqi society." Al-Ilyan, who is in Jordan recovering from knee surgery, said the blast also "underlines the failure of the government's security plan. The plan is 100 percent a failure. It's a complete flop. The explosion means that instability and lack of security has reached the Green Zone, which the government boasts is heavily fortified," he said.
Hadi al-Amiri, head of the parliament's security and defense committee, said the blast shook the building just after legislators ended their main meeting, and broke into smaller committees. He said Iraqi forces are in charge of security in the building, and that explosives could have been smuggled in amid restaurant supplies.
Attacks in the Green Zone are rare. The worst previous known assault occurred Oct. 14, 2004, when a blast at a market and a popular cafe killed six people — the first bombing in the sprawling region. On Nov. 25, 2004, a mortar attack inside the zone killed four employees of a British security firm and wounded at least 12. On Jan. 29, 2005, insurgents hit the U.S. Embassy compound with a rocket, killing two Americans — a civilian and a sailor — on the eve of landmark elections. Four other Americans were wounded.
Labels: Ali Al Dabbagh, Iraq's parliament, Khalaf al-Ilyan, Mohammed Awad, National Dialogue Front, Niamah al-Mayahi, satchel bombs, suicide bomber, Taha al-Liheibi, United Iraqi Alliance
Monday, March 12, 2007
Al-Fadilah party to create new bloc from UIC members
Politics
(Al Arabiya) An Iraqi MP from the Shi'i Al-Fadilah [Virtue] Party, which recently pulled out of the largest parliamentary bloc United Iraqi Coalition (UIC), has told Al-Arabiya TV his party may want to set up a new bloc by poaching UIC member parties. He further suggested that his party was "non-sectarian", was seeking "to diversify" and would approve of mixed Shi'i-Sunni alliances.
In a broadcast on 9 March, Al-Juburi said "If we think of establishing such a bloc, we will start by contacting parties within the UIC and this is why I call on my brothers in the UIC to understand our position." Al-Juburi said his party aimed "to diversify the choices and make parliamentary life more dynamic". He added: "We believe that diversifying the Shi'i, Sunni, and Kurdish options is a healthy operation and serves the national project. Alliances might take place at times between the Shi'is and the Sunnis."
Concerning reports that the Al-Fadilah party was seeking to join Iyad Allawi's newly formed Iraqi National Front, Al-Juburi said: "No agreement, dialogue, or discussions were held on the formation of such a bloc." He added that Al-Fadilah would continue to back Al-Maliki's government.
Labels: Dr Nadim al-Juburi, Fadhela party, United Iraqi Alliance
Kurds express interest in joining Allawi's Iraqi National Front
Politics
(Al Hayat) Iraqi Kurds are considering abandoning their alliance with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shia-dominated coalition and instead forming a new coalition, the Iraqi National Front (INF), led by former prime minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqi List and recently including the Shia Fadhila Party. Prominent Kurdish leader Mahmud Uthman told news agencies that the Kurds were interested "if it is confirmed that the coalition that Iyad Allawi is trying to form can bring together diverse parties capable of bringing about change in Iraq." The article also noted that there was speculation that the new coalition was being supported by the United States, as U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Allawi together visited Kurdistan recently just as Fadhila was withdrawing from the United Iraqi Alliance.
The same article also reports on a separate incident of special note regarding Iran. Kurdish authorities have declared martial law in the border area around Najwin and closed the border with Iran due to the infiltration of Iraqi territory by members of the terrorist Ansar al-Sunna Army (jaish ansar al-sunna). The article notes that members of the Kurdish border patrol have reported repeated attacks from Sunni terrorists coming from Iranian territory.
ThreatsWatch has reported on the formation of this new coaltion twice in the past two weeks. While I downplayed the significance of Fadhila's actions in these previous reports because of its limited influence outside its base in Basra, the potential addition of the Kurds is much more important. The Kurdish parties have been Maliki's only reliable non-Shia partners, and the defection of both Fadhila and the Kurds would deprive the government of its majority in parliament. This is all still somewhat speculative since the Kurds seem to be conditioning their inclusion on Allawi forming the rest of the coalition first, but an Allawi-led Sunni-Kurd-Fadhila coalition would force the prime minister to make radical changes in order to maintain any kind of governing coalition at all.
The association of Khalilzad with the formation of this new coalition, whether accurate or not, could have a negative affect on U.S. relations with the Maliki government if Maliki comes to believe that the U.S. is conspiring against him. There are potential positives that come from this news, but for the U.S. to be associated with attempts to form a new ruling coalition will backlash by reinforcing rampant accusations that the Iraqi government is an American puppet. This is even more true because Allawi was once funded by the CIA.
The same article also reports on a separate incident of special note regarding Iran. Kurdish authorities have declared martial law in the border area around Najwin and closed the border with Iran due to the infiltration of Iraqi territory by members of the terrorist Ansar al-Sunna Army (jaish ansar al-sunna). The article notes that members of the Kurdish border patrol have reported repeated attacks from Sunni terrorists coming from Iranian territory.
ThreatsWatch has reported on the formation of this new coaltion twice in the past two weeks. While I downplayed the significance of Fadhila's actions in these previous reports because of its limited influence outside its base in Basra, the potential addition of the Kurds is much more important. The Kurdish parties have been Maliki's only reliable non-Shia partners, and the defection of both Fadhila and the Kurds would deprive the government of its majority in parliament. This is all still somewhat speculative since the Kurds seem to be conditioning their inclusion on Allawi forming the rest of the coalition first, but an Allawi-led Sunni-Kurd-Fadhila coalition would force the prime minister to make radical changes in order to maintain any kind of governing coalition at all.
The association of Khalilzad with the formation of this new coalition, whether accurate or not, could have a negative affect on U.S. relations with the Maliki government if Maliki comes to believe that the U.S. is conspiring against him. There are potential positives that come from this news, but for the U.S. to be associated with attempts to form a new ruling coalition will backlash by reinforcing rampant accusations that the Iraqi government is an American puppet. This is even more true because Allawi was once funded by the CIA.
Labels: al-Maliki, Fadhela party, Iran, Iraqi National Front, Iyad Allawi, Kurds, Mahmud Uthman, UIA, United Iraqi Alliance
Friday, March 09, 2007
Arab League remarks infuriate UIA
Politics, Middle East,
(AP) Iraq's Shiite leaders expressed anger yesterday at criticism levelled against them by the top Arab League official, warning that such remarks could overshadow this weekend's regional conference to ease the security crisis in Iraq. Last weekend, Arab League's Secretary-General Amr Mousa suggested that Arab governments may take their recommendations on quelling the bloodshed in Iraq to the UN Security Council.
Such a move would be widely interpreted as a failure of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's government. In a statement yesterday, the United Iraqi Alliance, the major Shiite bloc in parliament, said Mousa's comments amounted to "flagrant interference in Iraq's internal affairs" and "ignored the march of the Iraqi people to build a free and democratic state."
"At the same time we hope that the regional conference due to be held in Baghdad in March 10 will not be shadowed by such stands" and will not have a "negative impact" on efforts to resolve the Iraq crisis, the statement said. During a press conference yesterday, the Shiite Deputy Speaker of parliament, Khalid Al Attiyah, also denounced Mousa's comments, saying they could provoke "sedition and disputes among Iraqi people."
"We hope that the Arab League will not be part of any dispute or quarrel inside Iraq that might encourage some parties to take some Arab countries to their sides to accomplish their political desires," Al Attiyah said. Mousa's comments were made in Cairo, Egypt during a meeting of Arab foreign ministers to discuss participation in the Baghdad conference.
(AP) Iraq's Shiite leaders expressed anger yesterday at criticism levelled against them by the top Arab League official, warning that such remarks could overshadow this weekend's regional conference to ease the security crisis in Iraq. Last weekend, Arab League's Secretary-General Amr Mousa suggested that Arab governments may take their recommendations on quelling the bloodshed in Iraq to the UN Security Council.
Such a move would be widely interpreted as a failure of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's government. In a statement yesterday, the United Iraqi Alliance, the major Shiite bloc in parliament, said Mousa's comments amounted to "flagrant interference in Iraq's internal affairs" and "ignored the march of the Iraqi people to build a free and democratic state."
"At the same time we hope that the regional conference due to be held in Baghdad in March 10 will not be shadowed by such stands" and will not have a "negative impact" on efforts to resolve the Iraq crisis, the statement said. During a press conference yesterday, the Shiite Deputy Speaker of parliament, Khalid Al Attiyah, also denounced Mousa's comments, saying they could provoke "sedition and disputes among Iraqi people."
"We hope that the Arab League will not be part of any dispute or quarrel inside Iraq that might encourage some parties to take some Arab countries to their sides to accomplish their political desires," Al Attiyah said. Mousa's comments were made in Cairo, Egypt during a meeting of Arab foreign ministers to discuss participation in the Baghdad conference.
Labels: Amr Mousa, Arab League, Khalid Al Attiyah, United Iraqi Alliance, UNSC
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Fadhila party pulls out of United Iraqi Alliance
Politics
(AFP) Iraq’s Fadhila Party pulled its 15 lawmakers out of the main Shia parliamentary bloc on Wednesday, accusing its allies of sectarianism and calling for leaders to work together for peace. Announcing its decision in a statement, the Shia Islamist group said the division of Iraq’s parties into opposing blocs based on religion had worsened relations between Sunnis and Shias.
‘The first step on the course of Iraq’s salvation is through disbanding these blocs and stopping the formation of sectarian-based blocs, as it has led to the division of the Iraqi people,’ said Fadhila deputy Nadeem Jabari. ‘Fadhila is leaving the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) and will continue to operate in parliament as an independent party,’ he added, reading the statement.
The exclusively Shia UIA is the biggest single bloc in Iraq’s parliament and, until Fadhila’s decision, controlled 128 votes in the 275-seat chamber. In addition to Prime Minster Nuri Al Maliki’s Dawa Party, it also represents MPs loyal to the radical clerics Moqtada Al Sadr and Abdel Aziz Hakim, who leads the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).
‘The first step on the course of Iraq’s salvation is through disbanding these blocs and stopping the formation of sectarian-based blocs, as it has led to the division of the Iraqi people,’ said Fadhila deputy Nadeem Jabari. ‘Fadhila is leaving the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) and will continue to operate in parliament as an independent party,’ he added, reading the statement.
The exclusively Shia UIA is the biggest single bloc in Iraq’s parliament and, until Fadhila’s decision, controlled 128 votes in the 275-seat chamber. In addition to Prime Minster Nuri Al Maliki’s Dawa Party, it also represents MPs loyal to the radical clerics Moqtada Al Sadr and Abdel Aziz Hakim, who leads the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).
Labels: Fadhela party, Nadeem Jabari, United Iraqi Alliance
