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Iraq's Maliki urges Sunni Arab bloc to
rejoin government
28.1.2008
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January
28, 2008
Baghdad, -- Iraq's prime minister urged
ministers from the main Sunni Arab bloc on Saturday
to return to their vacant government posts,
suggesting he would soon form a new cabinet if they
refused.
The Accordance Front quit Nuri al-Maliki's national
unity government in August, leaving the Shi'ite-led
administration comprised almost solely of Shi'ites
and Kurds. The move underscored the deep divisions
among Iraq's leaders.
But after parliament voted this month to allow
members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to return to
government jobs,www.ekurd.net
a Sunni Arab demand,
Accordance Front officials have said the bloc was
ready to return to the cabinet.
In an interview broadcast on Iraq's al-Furat
television station late on Saturday, Maliki
indicated time was running out.
He said the presidency council had given him two
weeks to entice the Front and other parties that
quit his cabinet, such as the Iraqi National List of
former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi, to
return. The council comprises the country's
president and two vice presidents. |
Iraqi Prime minister Jawad Nuri al-Maliki |
"Political talks are continuous. We wish that the
other blocs, not only the Accordance Front, but the
Iraqi List, will rejoin the government," Maliki said
in the interview.
"I was given two weeks to find a solution. A week
remains. The final solution is either the ministers
of the Accordance Front and the Iraqi List return or
(we) form a new government."
Maliki has regularly floated the idea of creating a
new cabinet that he has said should be comprised of
technocrats.
His current administration, weakened by the walkouts
and infighting between political blocs who treat
ministries as personal fiefdoms, has made little
progress in improving the lives of ordinary Iraqis
despite better security.
The withdrawal by the Accordance Front hurt efforts
to draw the minority Sunni Arab sect, which was
dominant under Saddam, closer into the political
process.
The Front had said it would not return until a list
of demands were met, including greater Sunni
representation in the government and the release of
mainly Sunni Arab security detainees, though it has
appeared more flexible in recent weeks. Parliament
is debating a bill to free thousands of prisoners.
Reuters
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