SLC and Iraqiya continue fighting
08/06/2011 18:19 Baghdad, June 8 (AKnews) – State of Law Coalition (SLC), led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and Iraqiya List, led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, continue their exchange of political blows.SLC called on Iraqiya today to be clear and to stay away from vague positions.
Ali al-Shallah, a member of the Coalition told AKnews, "We hope that our brothers in the Iraqiya list will stop their threats and avoid questioning the government and keep away from those who have connection to terrorism or want to damage the national unity of Iraq."
Yesterday, Iraqiya’s leader Allawi said that the list will not withdraw from the political process because it was the first one to begin it back in 2005.
The Iraqi leaders have been locked in a fierce row for several months over key ministerial slots that have remained unfilled since the new cabinet headed by Nuri al-Maliki was sworn in on December 21.
In October 2010, the Iraqi -Kurdistan Region's President, Massoud Barzani, launched an initiative, the Erbil agreement, by which all Iraqi political leaders agreed to form a national-partnership government thus bringing to an end a 9-month political impasse over the country’s three key executive seats of power.
Under the Erbil agreement, Maliki and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani – a Kurd – were to retain their offices for a second term, while al-Iraqiya List leader Ayad Allawi, who secured a narrow majority of votes in the elections, would head a new executive body called the National Council for Strategic Policies (NCSP) as an attempt to maintain balance.
The al-Iraqiya List meanwhile, has repeatedly accused Maliki, whose list only overcame Allawi’s by controversially forming a super-bloc, the National Coalition (NC), with the Sadrist Current following the elections, of not abiding to the terms of the Erbil agreement.
On March 3, with the NCSP still un-formed three months after the Erbil accord was signed, al-Iraqiya leader Allawi, abandoned his claim to the leadership of the council and his list threatened to withdraw from the partnership government, accusing Maliki of monopolizing power and failing to implement all terms of the deal.
This stalemate between the NC and the al-Iraqiya List, came to a head last month in a volley of insults between the two blocs’ leaders, each accusing the other of sabotaging the power-sharing accord.
Meanwhile, Kurdish President Barzani has stepped in once more to bring the political blocs closer together in order to resolve the security ministries issue. In line with Barzani's initiative, a committee made up of 15 representatives from across the Iraqi political spectrum is holding meetings to pave the way for direct talks between Maliki and Allawi.
Several meetings have been held so far between the al-Iraqiya List and the NC under the auspices of the Kurdistan Blocs Coalition (KBC) to resolve the most outstanding problems between them. In one such meeting last Saturday, the al-Iraqiya list suggested retracting its leader's decision to snub the presidency of the NSCP.
The wrangling between the political blocs over the distribution of power, and the stand off between Maliki and Allawi is reminiscent of the nine-month impasse that paralyzed the Iraqi parliament following the inconclusive general elections on March 7 last year.
Both leaders have faced wide-spread criticism, past and present, for prioritizing their own political ambitions over the interests of the Iraqi people.
Reported by Haider Ibrahim
RN/Cu/AKnews
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