|
Iraqi PM wants to go on without Sunnis who
resigned from his government
2.8.2007
|
|
|
|
August 2, 2007
BAGHDAD,-- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
is determined to continue without the Sunni
ministers who resigned from his government on
Wednesday. He said he 'regretted' that the main
Sunni party would no longer form part of the
government, and promised in an official statement to
continue dialogue with 'all political parties.'
Since the
resignation of
Deputy Prime Minister Salam al Zawbaie and the five
ministers who represented the main Sunni bloc, the
Iraqi government led by Nuri al-Maliki has been
anything but a government of national unity. With
the one exception of the independent Sunni defence
minister, the entire government consists of Shiites
and Kurds.
'Major crisis'
Kurdish Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh called
the decision of the Sunni Iraqi Front for Consensus
'the major crisis in the government' and warned of
'far-reaching consequences.'
Mr al-Maliki's response was much more restrained. He
wants to continue with or without his Sunni partner.
Whether his determination will be rewarded with
adequate support from his Shiite and Kurdish allies
remains to be seen. |
Iraqi Prime minister Jawad Nuri al-Maliki |
Continued US support
For the time being, Mr al-Maliki can at least count
on US support. On Wednesday evening his spokesperson
announced that the prime minister had discussed the
'latest developments' with US President George W
Bush. The spokesperson said the president had
assured Mr al-Maliki of his continued support. But
the prime minister's already daunting task of
holding together and governing the divided country
has only become more difficult, if not downright
impossible. The Sunni bloc has threatened more than
once to end its participation in the government or
even boycott the political process. Sunnis believe
they have too little say in the government. They
argue that al-Maliki has adopted a policy based on
his Shiite party's political agenda which fails to
take into account the political demands of his Sunni
partners. When they made another threat last week,
the general expectation was it would end just as on
previous occasions.
'Blackmail'
But the prime minister's fierce reaction was
unexpectedly clear. In an official statement, the
prime minister's spokesperson labelled the Front's
11 demands 'political blackmail.' Mr al-Maliki's
reaction to last week's Sunni demands and the
resignations of the ministers on Wednesday made it
abundantly clear that he has had enough of this
troublesome political partner. Yet, it is unlikely
the prime minister would want to continue with a
government totally devoid of Sunnis. On Wednesday,
one of Mr al-Maliki's fellow party members mentioned
the names of other potential Sunni partners.
Ever since he first took office as prime minister,
Mr al-Maliki has been searching for Sunni allies
outside the political parties claiming to represent
this demographic, and he has succeeded to a
considerable extent. Tribal groups in the western
province of al-Anbar blame the Sunni parties for a
rigid stance that has led to isolation and neglect
of the Sunni territories, which, in turn, has
sparked an extensive presence of fundamentalist
groups such as al-Qaeda. Supported by the Iraqi
government and US troops, the tribes are now engaged
in a successful fight against al-Qaeda in their
province.
This experiment is currently being repeated in two
other Sunni provinces where al-Qaeda and related
groups are active. Mr al-Maliki probably views these
tribes as potentially better partners than the
recalcitrant Sunni Front.
Possible return?
The coming days will show whether the Sunni rift
with the government is really final. One of the key
members of the Iraqi Front for Consensus, Deputy
Prime Minister Tariq al-Hashimi, has left an opening
for negotiations and a possible return to
government. During a press conference on Wednesday,
he said, "We want reforms in this government. If
these reforms are implemented we will not hesitate
to resume our participation in the government."
Mr al-Hashimi will remain at his post and is
expected to lead dialogue with Shiite and Kurd
leaders on the consequences of his front's decision
to leave the government. It is not impossible that
they will shortly reach a compromise and rejoin the
government.
radionetherlands nl
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 