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Subject Of Contention
Al-Ja'fari was nominated by the Shi'ite coalition --
which is largely made up of religious parties --
after defeating Vice President Adil Abd al-Mahdi by
just one vote on February 12. Al-Ja'fari is reported
to have won the vote only with the support of
radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
This relationship between al-Ja'fari and al-Sadr has
become increasingly controversial over the past
days.
Many Sunni leaders accuse al-Sadr's militia, the
Imam Al-Mahdi Army, of organizing reprisal attacks
on their community following the Samarra mosque
bombing. Al-Sadr, whose camp denies such charges,
has called publicly for calm.
At the same time, many Kurds say they have run out
of patience for what they say is steady support from
al-Ja'fari for religious groups and their militant
wings. They say that is at the expense of the
secular groups -- like the Kurdish parties -- that
now cooperate in his government.
Increasing Sectarian
Tension
Kurdish political analyst Jabar Qadir, based in
Holland, told RFE/RL that the Kurds worry the
religious parties are trying to promote a more
central role for religious law in Iraqi society. Al-Ja'fari
himself is a top leader of one of the largest
Shi'ite religious parties.
"People are thinking that it was maybe a mistake
that the Kurds agreed to have a coalition with al-Ja'fari
[in the current government] because of [the
religious parties' tendency] to use religion in the
political and social life of Iraq and in the
departments of the government," Qadir said. "I think
for the Kurdish list and the Kurdish community,
these are not considered to be good points."
Among other things, Kurdish leaders also fault al-Ja'fari
for slowness to address their demand to include the
Kurdish oil-rich city of Kirkuk and other areas
within the Kurdish autonomous region (Kurdistan).
If the Shi'ite coalition now refuses the demand to
drop al-Ja'fari, efforts to form a new government
could be delayed by weeks more of political
jockeying.
So far, al-Ja'fari is showing defiance. An aide,
Haidar al-Ibadi, said on March 2 that "there are
some elements who have personal differences with Mr.
al-Ja'fari. The [United Iraqi] Alliance is still
sticking to its candidate."
But the parties seeking to force out al-Ja'fari say
they are ready to form a single bloc to try to form
a government without the support of the United Iraqi
Alliance if necessary. It remains to be seen if they
could unify sufficiently to do so.
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