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Iraq’s PM Maliki Flexes His Muscles In
Diyala Province Again
26.1.2012
By Joel Wing — ekurd.net |
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January 26, 2012
Diyala province in northeastern Iraq is facing its
latest crackdown at the hands of Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki. In December 2011, the provincial
council there voted to turn the governorate into an
autonomous region. The decision led to an immediate
backlash by Shiites within the province and by the
central government. Protests against the move broke
out, militias were reportedly blocking roads, and
Baghdad asserted control over the local security
forces. This was just the latest example of how
Maliki has used his power against those in Diyala
that oppose his agenda.
On January 20, 2012, security forces tried to arrest
two Diyala politicians. One was Mohammed Talal
Jabouri, the deputy governor and a member of the
Iraqi Accordance Front. He was in Jordan at the
time, so he was not detained. The other figure,
Abdul Jabbar Ibrahim Khazraji, was not so lucky, and
was picked up. Khazraji is the head of the
Accordance Front on the provincial council.
Parliamentarian Salim Jabouri who is part of the
list that includes the Accordance Front said that
twenty other members of the party had been arrested
since November 2011 on terrorism charges by Baghdad,
and that nine other politicians from the list have
warrants out for them in Diyala. The latter were
reportedly hiding in Kurdistan as a result. Many
believe that they are wanted by the central
government, because they supported the drive to turn
Diyala into an autonomous region at the end of 2011.
With Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki controlling both
the Interior and Defense Ministries, any prominent
arrest warrants like these draws suspicion that they
are being done for political reasons.
There might also be a move underway to replace the
governor of Diyala. According to the head of the
provincial council Taleb Mohammed Hassan from the
Kurdish Coalition, some want to get rid of Governor
Abdul Nasir al-Muntasirbillah of the Accordance
Front. The governor also supported the drive to turn
Diyala into a region, and had his house burned, and
one of his bodyguards killed as a result. He ended
up fleeing the province, and has not returned since
then. A majority vote by the provincial council
could unseat Muntasirbillah. His Accordance Front
holds the most seats in Diyala with nine, and has an
alliance with the Kurdish Coalition with six seats,
and the Diyala Coalition of the Supreme Islamic
Iraqi Council with two. That coalition might have
frayed, which would make the governor vulnerable,
but with the Accordance Front, the Iraqi National
Project of Deputy Premier Saleh al-Mutlaq, and the
Iraqi National List of Iyad Allawi holding a total
of 18 out of 29 seats, a new Sunni coalition could
emerge to keep him in power.
The problems for the Accordance Front members and
governor started in December 2011, when they, along
with the Kurds voted for federalism. On December 12,
a majority of the Diyala council passed a resolution
to begin the process to make the governorate a
region. This was due to a deal cut between the
Accordance Front and the Kurdish Coalition, that
allegedly involved the former supporting the Kurds
desire to annex the disputed territories within the
province to Kurdistan. This brought an immediate
reaction from local Shiites and Premier Maliki. The
provincial security forces, which are controlled by
the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, appeared to be
working with elements of the Mahdi Army and Badr
Brigade to shut down highways. Shiite crowds also
appeared in the provincial capital Baquba, plus
Muqtadiya, Khalis, and other cities protesting the
decision. During the demonstrations,www.ekurd.net
the provincial council building was sacked. Governor
Muntasirbillah claimed that the security forces and
militias had taken over the province. There were
also stories that the commander of the Iraqi ground
forces, General Ali Ghidan had personally been put
in charge of Diyala. This led to the governor and
Accordance Front members of the provincial council
to flee to Khanaqin and Kurdistan, and the Kurds to
withdraw their support for the regionalism issue.
The drive for federalism in Diyala was portrayed as
a sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Kurds, but
it had much more to do with the relationship between
the center and periphery of the country. Many
provinces, not just Diyala have complained that they
do not get big enough budgets, that their
development plans are hindered by Baghdad, and that
the security forces are under the control of the
central government. These issues were the real
driving forces behind Diyala’s vote.
After December’s fireworks, Maliki appeared to offer
a concession to the Accordance Front. In January, he
and the Diyala Operations Command, which is in
charge of security promised that they would protect
seven members of the party if they returned to
Baquba. That led some to come back on January 20.
The rest continue to stay in Khanaqin or Kurdistan,
because they still do not feel safe enough. Maliki
has often used a carrot and stick approach with his
opponents. After threatening the Accordance Front
members with the security forces, protests, and
militiamen, he then offered them the chance to
return to their jobs under his benevolent
protection.
Diyala has seen this tactic by the prime minister
several times before. Before and after the January
2009 provincial elections, Maliki used the security
forces under the guise of an anti-insurgent
operation to crack the alliance between the Sons of
Iraq and the Accordance Front. During the 2005 vote,
the Sunnis had largely boycotted, leaving the
province under the control of Shiite and Kurdish
parties. Maliki did not want the Sunni parties to
assume power, so he had the army and police round up
Sons of Iraq and Accordance Front members, while
offering jobs to any Sons member who would leave
their unit and work directly for Baghdad, again
showing the divide and conquer technique. During the
March 2010 parliamentary balloting, arrest warrants
were issued for three members of the provincial
council who were running as candidates for Maliki’s
rival Iraqi National Movement. Then during the
summer of that year, the central government moved in
to try to disarm the Sons of Iraq, again leading to
a wave of arrests across the province, while at the
same time offering employment to others. Seen in
this context, the recent events in Diyala are
nothing new. Whenever the province has displeased
Maliki he has swiftly used the security forces to
detain those he disagrees with, and then he quickly
offers concessions to try to split his opponents. It
also shows how the army and police have been used by
Maliki to achieve his political goals. His control
over them has only increased since the 2010
elections as he is now the acing Defense and
Interior Minister.
At the end of 2011, Diyala was one of many provinces
that were calling for federalism. Baghdad’s control
over money, development, and the security forces
made many in the governorate frustrated. Maliki’s
dispute with the Iraqi National Movement after the
2010 election, and the arrest of hundreds of alleged
Baathists also played a role. Maliki acted swiftly,
joining with local Shiite groups to not only protest
the autonomy drive in the streets, but sent in the
security forces to intimidate and arrest politicians
as well. That effectively cowed the Accordance Front
politicians who were pushing the matter, and made
the Kurdish Coalition back away from their initial
support. It will probably take several more weeks
for Diyala to return completely to normal, and have
all the members of the provincial council back in
Baquba. The recent turn of events will be a stark
reminder that Prime Minister Maliki’s call for a
strong government does not just mean for authority
to remain with the center, but with him, and that he
will not hesitate to use the security forces to
achieve those goals.
SOURCES:
Ismael, Qader, “Iraqiya members flee arrest
warrants,” AK News, 1/14/12
Mohammed, Bryar, “Iraqiya deputies return to Baquba
for sessions,” AK News, 1/20/12
- “Iraqiya refuse to attend sessions in Baquba, fear
for security,” AK News, 1/10/12
- “Parties trying to replace Diyala governor,” AK
News, 1/17/12
Morse, Dan, “Iraqi security forces raid homes of
Sunni politicians,” Washington Post, 1/20/12
Sly, Liz, “Iraq political crisis erupts as last U.S.
troops leave,” Washington Post, 12/17/11
Sowell, Kirk, “Inside Iraqi Politics No. 30,” 1/3/12
Joel Wing, with an MA in International Relations,
Joel Wing has been researching and writing about
Iraq since 2002. His acclaimed blog, Musings on
Iraq, is currently listed by the New York Times and
the World Politics Review. In addition, Mr. Wing’s
work has been cited by the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, the Guardian and the
Washington Independent. You may visit his Blog
Musings On Iraq at musingsoniraq.blogspot.com
Copyright © 2012 ekurd.net
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