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BAGHDAD, March 4 (AFP) - 12h58 - Iraq's Shiites
leaders looked to accelerate efforts to form a
national government, one month after the country's
milestone election, with some reports of progress
but no date yet for a first session of parliament.
The Shiite political bloc, the United Iraqi Alliance
(UIA), with 140 seats in the new 275-member national
assembly, is bargaining with the second largest
parliament grouping, the Kurdish Alliance, who are
seeking the maximum benefits before they join forces
with the UIA.
"There are almost daily meetings and they are going
to be intensified ," said Hussein Shahrastani, a
senior UIA member and confidante of revered Shiite
spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sitani.
"There is understanding on a number of issues. There
is progress."
Shahrastani said there was hope for a deal within a
few days.
"We will meet again on Saturday and have intensive
discussions over the next week," said Jawad Maliky,
a deputy to the UIA's candidate for prime minister
Ibrahim al-Jaafary.
But the backroom dealing has been complicated by
efforts to bring on board all of Iraq's fractious
ethnic and religious groups.
Fears have been expressed that an agreement will not
be hammered out until the end of March and the
goodwill engendered by the historic election that
saw more than eight million vote despite threats of
bloodshed could be undermined by rebel violence.
The key concern for Shiites and Kurds, with 77
parliament seats, remains bringing on board the
Sunnis, who make up no more than 20 percent
population but ruled Iraq for decades until US
forces ousted Saddam Hussein two years ago.
The Sunni community's decision by and large to
boycott the vote has left the Kurds with a
disproportionate voice in the new parliament and the
Shiites, the country's 15-million strong religious
majority, find themselves trying to appease both
communities.
The Kurds demand that the presidency go to Kurdish
chief Jalal Talabani, but many Shiites fear such a
move will embitter the Sunnis.
UIA member and interim deputy foreign minister Hamid
Bayati underlined the difficulties.
"The most important thing is not to fix it quickly
but rather to make sure that everything is done
properly and everybody has got his right, everybody
is happy and satisfied with what they got, this is
the major thing."
Sharastani agreed, pointing out the fact that the
Sunnis did not speak with one voice.
Kurdish leader Fuad Massoum, a participant in the
talks with the Shiites, said there was no guarantee
of a deal in the next week after the latest formal
round of negotiations Thursday.
"I cannot say the assembly is going to have a
session next week or even in two week's time. All
sides are in a hurry to have the assembly holding
its session soon but the main idea is to reach a
consensus about some main points."
The Kurdish leaders Talabani and Massoud Barzani
presented a united front Thursday as they sought to
extract maximum concessions from the UIA.
"We will throw our lot with the side that agrees to
our demands," Talabani told a press conference with
Barzani in the northern Kurdistan region.
Barzani reiterated Kurdish demands, which include
resolving the status of the northern oil rich city
of Kirkuk and guaranteeing the next government's
commitment to the interim constitution, which
enshrines federalism and a secular spirit.
Jaafari, the Shiite candidate for premier, held
talks with both Talabani and Barzani on Tuesday and
Wednesday in Kurdistan.
Talabani confidante and interim deputy prime
minister Barham Saleh earlier outlined Kurdish
demands over Kirkuk.
Saleh said the Kurds want Kirkuk but made clear the
long-oppressed ethnic group will wait until after a
permanent constitution is ratified at the end of
In the meantime, Saleh said, the Kurds demanded
guarantees the next government would take concrete
steps to correct Saddam's policy of Arabisation that
expelled tens of thousands of Kurds from their
homes.
"We have presented our views. They need to respond
but we will certainly be looking to some very
specific outlines and measures that need to be taken
to normalise the situation in Kirkuk."
The UIA leadership has insisted Kirkuk cannot be a
bargaining chip for joining the next government.
As the political process continued, rebels pursued
their attacks.
Two suicide car bombs outside Iraq's interior
ministry and another near a police station in Baquba
killed six people on Thursday.
The US military announced the death in action of
three more of its soldiers, pushing the total number
killed since the war that ousted Saddam close to the
1,500 mark.
A police chief near Diwaniyah in southern Iraq was
shot dead by gunmen on Friday, said the Polish
military who are assigned to the area.
Last Monday, insurgents carried out their deadliest
attack since the US invasion two years ago, killing
118 people in a suicide car bomb in Hilla.
AFP
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