Doctor Smith Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Leader of Iraq's main Sunni-backed bloc calls on Shiite Prime Minister to respect power-sharing agreement or step down. Middle East Online Only three options for resolving political deadlock BAGHDAD - The leader of Iraq's main Sunni-backed bloc, Iyad Allawi, called on Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday to respect a power-sharing agreement or step down. Allawi, whose Iraqiya bloc has been largely boycotting parliament and the cabinet for the past month, said those were the only options for resolving a political deadlock that has stoked sectarian tensions since the December 18 pullout of US troops. The 66-year-old former premier, whose bloc accuses Maliki of excessive centralisation of power, said the prime minister needed to lead a "truly participatory" government in which ministers from all factions have a say. He said that was what all parties signed up to in a November 2010 agreement reached in the Kurdistan regional capital Arbil that ended months of deadlock after the last parliamentary elections. If Maliki was not prepared to abide by the deal, then either his National Alliance should name a replacement premier who was prepared to or a caretaker administration should be installed to organise fresh elections, Allawi said. Iraqiya, which holds 82 seats in the 325-member parliament, has so far held back from pulling out its nine ministers from the national unity government, although they have been boycotting cabinet meetings. The row with Maliki erupted last month when authorities charged Sunni Arab Vice President and senior Iraqiya leader Tareq al-Hashemi with running a death squad. Maliki also called for Sunni deputy premier Saleh al-Mutlak to be sacked after he called the prime minister a dictator "worse than Saddam Hussein." Hashemi, who denies the charges, has been holed up in the autonomous Kurdish region for the duration of the crisis, and Kurdish officials have so far declined to hand him over to Baghdad. The United Nations and the United States have urged calm but their calls for talks involving all of Iraq's political leaders have so far gone unheeded. Iraqiya won the largest number of seats in the last election but Allawi, a secular Shiite, was outmanoeuvred for the premiership by Maliki, who struck a deal with another faction to expand his power base. http://www.middle-ea...glish/?id=50109 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomeygoat Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Working together!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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