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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Allawi to join coalition government if clerics stay out of politix |
| 2005-03-28 |
| Iraq's parliament seemed far from a deal on a coalition government, as the country's ethnic and religious factions continued to bicker. A vote on Tuesday would be held to decide the three-man presidency council that would appoint the prime minister even if political parties cannot agree on the rest of the government, said Shia negotiators. The election-winning Kurds and Shias have been locked in coalition talks since late February. Their task has been made more complicated by both sides' desire to include Sunnis and the Kurdish wish to temper Islamist influence in the Shia bloc by including members of outgoing prime minister Iyad Allawi's alliance. Allawi's top aide, Ibrahim al-Janabi, claimed that Allawi has said he would join a new governing coalition, if clerics stayed out of politics. Allawi put his demands in a letter delivered over 10 days ago to Shia and Kurdish political blocs, said Janabi, adding that the political parties had not replied yet. Kurds and Shias are also feuding over the post of oil minister, which both sides see as a jewel in the government's crown. "Kurdish negotiators requested the oil minister be appointed by them and we think oil is important and it should be part of the United Iraqi Alliance coalition," said UIA member Saad Jawad. Security officials opened fire on a crowd of protesters killing one and the top UN envoy in Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, met top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, details of the meeting were not released. At the same time, insurgents attacked a police patrol with a roadside bomb in Basra, injuring one civilian, Lt Col Karim Ali Al-Zaydi said. They also damaged an oil pipeline in northern Iraq, halting exports to Turkey. The US military statement said an unmanned aerial vehicle crashed near Balad. A senior Kurdish official survived an assassination attempt in Kirkuk, said witnesses and the official. Najat Hassan Karim, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said one of his guards was injured when a roadside bomb targeting his convoy exploded. Congregants gathered at the Virgin Mary Church to celebrate Easter. They wished all factions in their country well and vowed lasting fraternity to Iraq. Foreign fighters who have entered Iraq in recent months are making up a growing percentage of insurgents battling US troops and the country's fledgling security force, Gen John Abizaid said on Sunday. US officials in Iraq have voiced reservations over some of the names put forward to lead the defence and interior ministries in the next government, a member of the winning Shia alliance said on Sunday. "The American side has stayed away from the forming of the new government, but it has reservations over candidates that have contact or are in some way being influenced by certain neighbouring countries like Syria and Iran," said Fawaz al-Jarba, a Sunni member of the Shia-dominated UIA. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |