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Iraq Sunni bloc threatens revolt
2.2.2006
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Iraq's main Sunni Arab
alliance has threatened to start a campaign of civil
disobedience if concerns about attacks on its
community are not addressed.
The Iraqi Accord Front called for Interior Minister
Bayan Jabr to resign, the disbanding of militias and
the release of all Iraqi detainees.
The demands came as the governing Shia and Kurdish
alliances discussed the formation of a coalition
government.
Negotiations began after the results of December's
election were announced.
The Shia-led United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) took 128 of
the 275 seats in the new Council of Representatives
- 10 short of an outright majority.
The Kurdistan Alliance (KA) won 53 seats and the
Iraqi Accord Front 44.
Coalition
Wednesday's talks were attended by Iraqi Prime
Minister Ibrahim Jaafari and Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim of
the UIA; and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and
Kurdistan Regional President Massoud Barzani of the
KA.
"This invitation was to strengthen the national
unity and achieve peace... for all Iraqis," Mr Hakim
said.
The two alliances spent much of the day discussing
who would control the key ministries in the new
government.
The Kurds want one of their leaders to be president
and, after the meeting, Mr Talabani said the KA had
agreed to nominate him once again for the
largely-ceremonial post.
The Shia parties want the premiership and the
interior and defence portfolios, as they will
control Iraq's security forces.
Mr Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council for the
Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said he wants his
deputy, Mr Abdel Mahdi, to be prime minister.
Mr Abdel Mahdi narrowly lost out to his UIA-colleague
and Islamic Daawa Party leader, Mr Jaafari, after
elections for the Transitional Period last January.
Mr Jaafari wishes to be re-appointed, but his
transitional government has been widely criticised
for poor performance and discrimination against
Iraq's Sunni Arabs.
Demands
Speaking at a press conference, Tariq al-Hashimi,
the secretary-general of the Sunni Iraqi Islamic
Party, said all political parties would be called
upon to declare civil disobedience throughout Iraq
if the following demands were not met:
-Deployment of the Iraqi army to protect the
citizens of Baghdad
-Dismissal of the interior minister and his senior
aides
-Suspension of the tasks of the Interior Ministry
security units, "which target innocent people on the
pretext of pursuing terrorists"
-Disbanding of militias
-End of "random" arrest campaigns
-Release of all prisoners at prisons run by the
Iraqi government
-Release of all prisoners in the prisons run by
multi-national forces, "especially women"
-Publication of the findings of the investigation
conducted into the Jadiriya detention facility,
where 170 prisoners, some showing signs of apparent
torture, were found by US troops in November.
Mr Hashimi said the government and the US-led
coalition would have a chance to respond to their
demands, but that they should not take a long time.
www.bbc.co.uk
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