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Iraq to call new parliament into session
on March 12-
6.3.2006
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BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Iraq's president said Monday that he would call the
country's new parliament into session for the first
time on March 12, staring the clock on a 60-day
period during which the legislature must elect a new
head of state and sign off on a prime minister and
Cabinet.
The constitution requires parliament to hold its
first meeting no later than four weeks after the
vote was certified, which occurred Feb. 12, nearly
two months after the election was held.
"We will call today for holding the meeting on the
12th of this month because it is the last day that
the constitution allows us to hold the meeting of
the new parliament," President Jalal Talabani told
reporters.
Iraq is in the midst of a political crisis, with its
many parties deeply divided over the main Shiite
bloc's decision to name Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari
to a new term.
A coalition of Sunni, Kurdish and some secular
politicians began a drive last week to block al-Jaafari
from continuing as head of government. |
Iraqi
President : Jalal Talabani
Photo: Reuters |
Meanwhile in Baghdad Sunday, Sunni Arab and Kurdish
politicians increased pressure on Shiite Prime
Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to abandon his bid for a
new term, while leaders of Iraq's Shiite majority
struggled to overcome growing internal divisions.
Despite the squabbling, there were reports the new
parliament would be called into session for the
first time as early as the end of the week, starting
the clock on a 60-day period during which it would
have to elect a president and approve a prime
minister and Cabinet.
The struggle to form a broad-based governing
coalition acceptable to all the country's main
groups has been further hampered by the surge in
sectarian conflict.
Targeted sectarian violence killed at least five
people Sunday. Three men died in a gunfight at a
Sunni mosque in Baghdad and two relatives of a top
Sunni cleric were slain in a drive-by shooting.
Sunnis accused deaths squads allied to the interim
government, allegations denied by the
Shiite-dominated Interior Ministry.
U.N. envoy to Iraq Ashraf Jehangir Qazi expressed
serious concern Sunday about human rights in the
country, citing reports of excessive use of force,
illegal detention centers and disappearances — many
of them the responsibility of insurgents.
The political turmoil has left a dangerous
leadership vacuum as Iraq's armed forces, backed by
the U.S. military, battle to contain sectarian
violence that has pushed Iraq toward civil war.
The Pentagon's top general said Sunday he did not
think a full-blown civil conflict would break out,
although he acknowledged "anything can happen."
"I do not believe it has deep roots. I do not
believe that they're on the verge of civil war,"
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
A day earlier, the commander of the U.S. military's
Central Command, Gen. John Abizaid, said sectarian
divisiveness had been worsened by the bombing of a
revered Shiite shrine in Samarra last month and was
a threat to Iraq's stability.
During a meeting with Iraqi leaders Saturday,
Abizaid urged them to resolve the differences
stalling the formation of a government.
"The shrine bombing exposed a lot of sectarian
fissures that have been apparent for a while, but it
was the first time I've seen it move in a direction
that was unhelpful to the political process,"
Abizaid said afterward.
The U.S. government sees a government with
participation across Iraq's communities as a key
step toward improving security and weakening support
for insurgents, which would allow Washington and its
allies to lower troop numbers.
Under the constitution, the Shiites' United Iraqi
Alliance, the largest bloc in parliament, has the
first crack at forming a government and chose al-Jaafari
as its nominee for prime minister.
But the Alliance has too few seats to act alone. And
it is facing a drive by Sunni, Kurdish and some
secular parties that want to prevent al-Jaafari from
continuing at the end of the government, favoring
instead current Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi.
Abdul-Mahdi lost in the Shiite caucus by one vote to
al-Jaafari, who won with the support of radical
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Abdul-Mahdi is backed by
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, a powerful Shiite leader who is
frequently at odds politically with al-Sadr. Both
have strong militias behind them.
Underlining the divisions within the Alliance, some
Shiite leaders are troubled by al-Jaafari's ties to
the radical and openly anti-American al-Sadr.
The Sunni Arab minority, meanwhile, blames al-Jaafari
for the Shiite militiamen who attacked Sunni mosques
and clerics after the Feb. 22 bombing of the shrine
in Samarra. More than 500 people died in the
violence that followed, according to police and
hospitals.
Khalaf al-Olayan, a leader of the main Sunni bloc in
parliament, said Iraq has gone from "bad to worse"
under al-Jaafari.
"Al-Jaafari's government failed to solve the chaos
that followed the Samarra explosions and did not
take any measures to solve the security crisis that
could have pushed the country into civil war," he
said in comments posted on the Web site of the Iraqi
Accordance Front, a Sunni group.
Kurds are angry because they believe al-Jaafari is
holding up resolution of their claims to control of
the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
"If al-Jaafari tries to form a government, he will
not get any kind of cooperation," said Mahmoud
Othman, a leading figure in the Kurdish bloc.
President Jalal Talabani, also a Kurd, was one of
the first to publicly initiate the dump-Jaafari
movement, calling for a candidate who could build
consensus.
Two lawmakers from al-Jaafari's Dawa Party hinted
Saturday that they got an endorsement for their
leader during a meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani,
Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric.
But a senior al-Sistani aide, speaking on condition
of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the
dispute, said Sunday that the spiritual leader
indirectly suggested al-Jaafari step aside.
Sectarian attacks remained a problem.
Gunmen stormed a Sunni mosque in west Baghdad early
Sunday, killing three people in a 25-minute
gunbattle. Witnesses said U.S. helicopters hovered
above the exchange of fire and U.S. troops forces
moved in to stop the fighting and remove casualties.
Iraqi police and mosque officials said commandos
from the Interior Ministry staged the attack.
Later, the office of one of the country's top Sunni
leaders said one of his nephews and a cousin were
killed by gunmen in another part of west Baghdad.
The Interior Ministry denied involvement in either
attack.
Sunni and Shiite clerics jointly appealed for an end
to the violence and called for Muslim unity and the
protection of religious sites.
"Extinguish the flames of the sectarian treachery.
Every drop of blood shed is a waste," said the
statement by followers of al-Sadr and members of the
Sunni Endowment, a government agency responsible for
Sunni mosques and shrines.
AP
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