Iraq VP tells Maliki to respect power-sharing deal

[E. 1999]

ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) - The Iraqiya bloc sent a "positive signal" by ending its parliament boycott, and its eventual return to the cabinet depends on how Iraq's premier responds, the country's fugitive vice president told AFP.

Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni, is accused of financing a death squad to target policemen, judges and officials and has been hiding out in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region since December.

The accusations against Hashemi, which he has strongly denied, came amid a wider conflict between the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, of which he is a member, and the Shiite-led government.

Iraqiya began a boycott of parliament and the cabinet in December to protest what it charged was Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's centralisation of power, and it has since called for Maliki to respect a power-sharing deal or quit.

Iraqiya's MPs returned to parliament on Tuesday, somewhat easing the crisis, but the bloc has not yet decided to return its ministers to the cabinet.

"The decision was made unanimously and I participated in that even though I am in Kurdistan," Hashemi said of Iraqiya's return to parliament, in an interview this week at his residence in Arbil, the capital of Kurdistan.

Asked about the end of Iraqiya's cabinet boycott, he said: "This depends on Maliki and State of Law (Maliki's list)," and "how they will react to this positive signal from the Iraqiya list."

"We are not a part of the crisis; we are a part of the solution, and we are looking to put an urgent end ... to the current crisis."

Hashemi also discussed his defence in the case against him and his associates, but did not directly address the charges themselves.

"It is my right to defend my reputation and honour and defend the innocence of my guards and employees," he said.

Hashemi's guards, including 16 the interior ministry claimed were training for assassinations with silenced rifles and pistols, and some members of his office staff, have been detained in recent weeks.

He said that if he cannot obtain justice from the Iraqi judiciary, "it is my right to go to the international judiciary."

Hashemi said he continues to enjoy support from Kurdish president Massud Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, also a Kurd, and dismissed as "psychological warfare" rumours he could be turned over to the central government.

"I am here in Kurdistan and I am not worried about my future," he said.

"I am among my family and my loved ones in Kurdistan, but if Kurdistan becomes closed to Tareq al-Hashemi, God's land is vast."

Asked about comments by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that drew a furious response from Baghdad, Hashemi termed the Turkish premier's remarks "legitimate."

Erdogan said on January 24 that "Maliki should know that: if you start a conflict in Iraq in the form of sectarian clashes, it will be impossible for us to remain silent."

"I reject foreign interference, even from neighbouring countries, in Iraqi affairs," Hashemi said. But, Erdogan's remarks were "legitimate, because what happened in Iraq will affect sooner or later in the Turkish internal affairs."

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/12805684/iraq-vp-tells-maliki-to-respect-power-sharing-deal/

[tamiflyer]

ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) - The Iraqiya bloc sent a "positive signal" by ending its parliament boycott, and its eventual return to the cabinet depends on how Iraq's premier responds, the country's fugitive vice president told AFP.

Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni, is accused of financing a death squad to target policemen, judges and officials and has been hiding out in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region since December.

The accusations against Hashemi, which he has strongly denied, came amid a wider conflict between the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, of which he is a member, and the Shiite-led government.

Iraqiya began a boycott of parliament and the cabinet in December to protest what it charged was Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's centralisation of power, and it has since called for Maliki to respect a power-sharing deal or quit.

Iraqiya's MPs returned to parliament on Tuesday, somewhat easing the crisis, but the bloc has not yet decided to return its ministers to the cabinet.

"The decision was made unanimously and I participated in that even though I am in Kurdistan," Hashemi said of Iraqiya's return to parliament, in an interview this week at his residence in Arbil, the capital of Kurdistan.

Asked about the end of Iraqiya's cabinet boycott, he said: "This depends on Maliki and State of Law (Maliki's list)," and "how they will react to this positive signal from the Iraqiya list."

"We are not a part of the crisis; we are a part of the solution, and we are looking to put an urgent end ... to the current crisis."

Hashemi also discussed his defence in the case against him and his associates, but did not directly address the charges themselves.

"It is my right to defend my reputation and honour and defend the innocence of my guards and employees," he said.

Hashemi's guards, including 16 the interior ministry claimed were training for assassinations with silenced rifles and pistols, and some members of his office staff, have been detained in recent weeks.

He said that if he cannot obtain justice from the Iraqi judiciary, "it is my right to go to the international judiciary."

Hashemi said he continues to enjoy support from Kurdish president Massud Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, also a Kurd, and dismissed as "psychological warfare" rumours he could be turned over to the central government.

"I am here in Kurdistan and I am not worried about my future," he said.

"I am among my family and my loved ones in Kurdistan, but if Kurdistan becomes closed to Tareq al-Hashemi, God's land is vast."

Asked about comments by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that drew a furious response from Baghdad, Hashemi termed the Turkish premier's remarks "legitimate."

Erdogan said on January 24 that "Maliki should know that: if you start a conflict in Iraq in the form of sectarian clashes, it will be impossible for us to remain silent."

"I reject foreign interference, even from neighbouring countries, in Iraqi affairs," Hashemi said. But, Erdogan's remarks were "legitimate, because what happened in Iraq will affect sooner or later in the Turkish internal affairs."

http://nz.news.yahoo...r-sharing-deal/

This is what I found on Erdogan's remarks:

Armenians angry at Erdogan's remarks.

YEREVAN -- Armenia has criticized Turkey's government for suggesting that a giant monument meant to promote reconciliation between the two estranged nations should be dismantled, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

The 30-meter unfinished concrete statue, located in the northeastern Turkish city of Kars just 50 kilometers from the Armenian border, depicts two figures emerging from one human shape and symbolizing the pain of being divided.

Visiting Kars on January 9, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the monument as a "monstrosity" that overshadows a nearby Islamic shrine. He ordered the Kars mayor -- a member of his ruling Justice and Development Party -- to replace it with a park. The statement prompted strong criticism from some opponents of his government.

Commenting on Erdogan's statements, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said that "instead of putting new building blocks on the foundation for normalizing bilateral relations [between Ankara and Yerevan], this kind of statement and actions could only cause damage."

"The international community has not forgotten the most recent statements of this kind, and a new one is being added to them. One can only express regrets," Nalbandian told journalists.

Nalbandian also repeated the official Armenian policy that the onus is on Turkey to kick-start a rapprochement between the two countries that brought them closer to establishing diplomatic relations and reopening their border more than a year ago. He said Ankara has "reverted to the language of preconditions."

Nalbandian was referring to the Erdogan government's refusal to ratify the Turkish-Armenian normalization protocols signed in October 2009 before there is a resolution of the conflict over the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

http://www.turaltay.com/thread474.html