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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iraq Urges 'Free' Syria Elections under Arab-U.N. Supervision
2012-02-29
[An Nahar] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party....
on Tuesday called for "change" and "free elections" in Syria, which has been rocked by violent festivities between government forces and rebels.

"Iraq backs change in Syria," Maliki told Saudi newspaper Okaz in an as-yet unpublished interview, excerpts of which were released by his office in a statement.

"Change is necessary. The situation will not be stable without change."

Maliki did not elaborate on what kind of change he wished to see, but said Syrians "must receive more freedom, and form a national unity government as a first step, and free elections should be held under Arab and U.N. supervision."

He added that "a national council must be chosen which will write a new constitution," according to the excerpted quotes.

Iraq has shied away from imposing punitive measures against Syria as Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
's regime has carried out a bloody crackdown over the past 11 months on an uprising against his rule in which rights groups say 7,600 people have been killed.

Assad is a member of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, while the majority of Syrians, and of his opponents, are Sunni Mohammedans.

Iraq, by contrast, is governed by majority Shiite Mohammedans, but has a substantial Sunni Arab minority.

Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
said on Friday it would not invite the Syrian government or opposition to an Arab summit to be held in the Iraqi capital in late March, after an Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
request that Damascus
...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
not attend.

Arab League member states voted in November to suspend Syria's participation in the vaporous Arab League because of the violence.
Posted by:Fred

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