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Iraq: Kurds, Shi'a Lash Out At
National-Unity Project
8.6.2007
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June
8, 2007
Attempts by Sunni Arab leaders and former Prime
Minister Iyad Allawi to reorganize the Iraqi
political landscape received a bitter response from
the country's Shi'ite and Kurdish leaderships this
week.
After months of back-room talks and promises by
Allawi supporters to establish a new alliance -- and
with it a national-salvation government, the Kurds
and Shi'a went on the defensive in an effort to
maintain their hold on power.
The Kurdistan Alliance issued a statement on June 4
on behalf of its leading parties, the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic
Party, saying it was astonished at reports that the
Islamic Party and Allawi's Iraqi National Accord (a
constiuent of the Iraqiyah List) established a new
political front on April 29 that includes "Saddam
[Hussein's] thugs and hangmen who are staunch
traitors of the Kurdish nation and are chauvinist
figures standing against the aspirations" of Kurds
and Arabs.
April meeting in Cairo organized at the behest of
the Egyptian government to bring together
representatives from the Iraqi Islamic Party,
Allawi's Iraqi National Accord, and smaller Iraqi
parties with former Ba'athists from the Hussein
regime.
The Kurdish Reproof
The Kurdistan Alliance contended the front was
formed through the assistance and urging of foreign
intelligence services. The alliance implied in its
statement that the Islamic Party had been duped by
Iraq's Sunni Arab neighbors.
"How does this stance relate to previous calls for
independence and rejection of foreign intervention
in Iraq's affairs?" the statement said. "Isn't this
an exercise of odious sectarianism and chauvinism,
when they ignore the majority Shi'a and Kurdish
forces?"
The Kurds also asked why the Sunnis would cooperate
with "representatives of the traitors, ...the racist
and chauvinist Turani people," in a reference to
Turkey.
The Islamic Party issued a rebuttal on June 5
denying that a front was announced on April 29.
"What took place were talks among Iraqi parties and
forces at the Council of Representatives on the
principles and policies related to the formation of
an Iraqi political front," the party contended. The
party added that it was surprised by the Kurdish
reaction, which came more than a month after the
meeting, and questioned the timing of the Kurdish
statement.
It also criticized the Kurds for the tone of their
statement, saying: "They had better turn a new leaf
with all their Iraqi brothers."
The party said that although it was concerned about
the state of affairs in Iraq, it would not conspire,
but rather "work under the umbrella of the law in
broad daylight. We have nothing to hide...and our
plan is open to all Iraqis," the party asserted.
As for its plan, the party said: "We are working to
establish a broad alliance in the parliament based
on national unity and rejecting sectarian and ethnic
positions."
Shi'a Parties Object
It claimed the Shi'a-led United Iraqi Alliance (UIA)
and the Kurdistan Coalition, as well as Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani
were aware of the Islamic Party's efforts.
The Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), led by Abd
al-Aziz al-Hakim, said in a statement posted to its
website that it was also "astonished" at the
announcement because the front was formed by "names
and forces that have been participating in the
government" since the fall of the Hussein regime. It
denounced calls to reinstate "Saddamists" and their
supporters from the former "regime of oppression"
into state institutions.
"While we exert feverish efforts to activate the
issue of participation and give it tangible and
genuine dimensions, ...we find out that the parties
that participate in the government and support...the
establishment of a national-unity government have
made unilateral decisions in a secret document" on
matters of interest to all Iraqis," the SIIC
statement declared.
The SIIC called on parties to distinguish between
the forces that "stood against the former regime and
those that supported it," adding that national
reconciliation should be tackled pragmatically.
The Kurdistan Islamic Union, which apparently
attended the Cairo meeting, issued a statement
saying that although it took part in the meeting, it
did not endorse or join the front, nor had it
followed any of the front's activities. The union,
in an apparent attempt to save face, said it opposed
"any attempt directed against the political process
and conducted outside the framework of the
parliament and the constitution."
No Place For Foreigners
Al-Maliki also weighed in, saying that any
interference by Iraq's neighbors would meet a swift
reaction. During a speech to a conference of
military commanders on June 6, he cautioned that
regional Arab states were supporting terrorists and
trying to destabilize Iraq.
The prime minister called on commanders to retaliate
with an iron fist.
"There will never be any room for plots that are
hatched in this or that Arab capital," he said.
Al-Maliki contended that states that back terrorists
in Iraq believe a weak Iraq "is an opportunity for
their survival in the region, an opportunity that
allows certain states to emerge on the regional
scene."
He called on Iraqis to reject sectarianism and urged
them to move toward unity and equality. The prime
minister also criticized Iraqi politicians who
support Arab interference in Iraq, without
identifying the parties by name.
'Arab Identity'
Meanwhile, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, who
heads the Iraqi Islamic Party, wrapped up a
three-day visit to Cairo by claiming Iraq's "Arab
identity" is in danger. The Sunni Arab community, as
well as secular and nationalist Shi'ite Iraqis,
believe their Arab compatriots are increasingly
falling under Iran's influence. At the same time,
the view Kurds as an entity unto themselves, given
their political and ethnic status.
Al-Hashimi said in a statement following a meeting
with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on June 6 that
regional Arab leaders should help protect endangered
Arab identity by opening embassies in Baghdad. The
vice president said Mubarak gave a "favorable
response" to his request.
Allawi has long claimed to have the support of
regional Arab states for his national-salvation
government, and with the apparent support of the
Iraqi Accordance Front, can now claim to have at
least 69 seats out of the 275 in parliament.
Should he gain the support of the nationalist
Shi'ite party, Al-Fadilah -- which pulled out of the
UIA in March -- the new front would have 84 seats.
If supporters of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr join
the front, the front would have about 30 additional
seats, or 114 total.
By contrast, the UIA and the Kurds would be left
with 138 parliamentary seats. It's unclear which way
the other 23 seats would align, but the salvation
front could gain 19 additional seats through the
support of the National Dialogue Front (11 seats),
the National Reconciliation and Liberation Bloc
(five), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (three),
bringing the front's bloc to 125.
According to the Iraqi Constitution, parliament can
withdraw its confidence in the prime minister
through an absolute majority vote, or 138 ballots.
It remains unclear to what degree Kurdish and
Shi'ite leaders would be willing to compromise on a
restructuring of the national-unity government.
Despite their rhetoric, both groups recognize the
need to end sectarianism and allow for greater Sunni
Arab participation in the political process. But the
level and shape of that participation remains under
dispute.
Until all sides can overcome their distrust of one
another, it will be difficult to achieve real and
lasting progress and resolve key outstanding
constitutional issues. In the end, the issues must
be decided by Iraqis, as more foreign interference
-- on any side -- is a recipe for continued
violence. For now, it appears it will be up to
individual Iraqis to take the lead in bringing all
three parties together.
rferl org
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