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Iraq summit to focus on powersharing
5.8.2007
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August 5, 2007
Baghdad, -- A planned summit of Iraq's
political leaders will be "the moment of truth" for
chances of a powersharing deal between Iraq's
bitterly divided sects, a Western diplomat said on
Saturday.
The pullout of the main Sunni bloc this week left
Iraq's government a national unity coalition in name
only at a time when it is under pressure from
Washington to pass key laws and reach agreement on
sharing power.
"This is the moment of truth for how they may handle
this problem," the diplomat, speaking on condition
of anonymity, told journalists at a briefing in
Baghdad's Green Zone, which is home to the
government and the U.S. and British embassies.
"This is not just a tiff. It is a very, very serious
situation," he said.
The planned summit, a date for which has not yet
been announced, will bring together President Jalal
Talabani, a Kurd, Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki,
Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, Shi'ite Vice
President Adel Abdul Mahdi and maybe Masoud Barzani,
president of Iraq's Kurdistan region.
The diplomat described the summit as "very, very
important" and said Iraqi officials were working
hard on an agenda that could effectively agree a
powersharing deal and pave the way for swift passage
of the laws through parliament.
The infighting has paralyzed the government, with no
agreement on laws to distribute oil revenues fairly,
allow former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party
back into the civil service and set a date for
provincial elections.
CRUCIAL LAWS
Iraq's parliament went on recess this week for
August after delaying its summer break to deal with
the laws, which Washington views as crucial to
reconciling Sunnis and Shi'ites and easing raging
sectarian violence.
"In the next few days, if this leadership council
does adopt the agenda, I can see the Council of
Representatives coming back in September and moving
very quickly on the legislation, because a deal will
have been struck," the diplomat said.
Despite Maliki's inability to work ministers from
the Sunni Accordance Front and his failure to
deliver on any of the key legislation sought by
Washington, the United States still sees the Shi'ite
Islamist as the best man for the job.
Washington did not believe "there is somebody who
can do it better," the diplomat said, while
acknowledging that Maliki's 15-month-old government
had not performed well.
"These are tough issues. Whoever is there is going
to deal with the same agenda. Now is not the time
for a change in government," he said, noting reports
that some members within Maliki's own party,
including former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari,
were seeking to unseat him.
U.S. President George W. Bush can ill-afford a
change in government now, with Democrats in Congress
pressing for a troop pullout in the absence of any
demonstrable political progress in Iraq. Maliki's
government took more than four months to form.
Reuters
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