 Iraq will plunge deeper into violent turmoil unless Sunnis get powerful positions in the new government, a major Sunni political group has warned. Ahmad Rushdi of the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) insisted it would be unacceptable for Shiites to dominate the government and the nation's security services. If that happened, Sunnis would feel excluded and the country could descend into open sectarian warfare, he said.
| Guess you shoulda turned out the Sunni vote, huh? |
"If there is a Shiite majority in government and security, this will make the situation worse — it will say to the Sunnis 'we have a war on you' and the Sunnis will fight back," he told Gulf News in a telephone interview from Baghdad.
| The Sunnis have been shooting up everything in sight all this while. What's gonna change? |
Dr Rushdi stressed there was still time to avert such an outcome and praised both Shiite and Kurdish blocs for holding talks with the IIP — Iraq's main Sunni political movement. But he declared that action, not words, were needed. "We have heard so many promises yet on the ground, in reality, we don't see much seriously from them," he said.
| "We need an offer before we can reject it." |
A central issue concerns the ethnic mix of Iraqi's police force and National Guard. In many areas, including flashpoint districts such as Baghdad's Haifa Street, recruitment for particular units is dominated by Shiites. This can cause friction when forces move into Sunni neighbourhoods.
| As opposed to when the particular units are dominated by Sunnis, who change sides when the bullets start flying... |
Rushdi revealed his party had already made tough political demands, likely to further complicate the already fraught process of setting up a new government. Attention has focused on lengthy and thus far inconclusive negotiations between Kurds and Shiites. However Rushdi said the IIP had entered into talks with both blocs and insisted Sunnis get control of one third of Iraq's ministries. That would mean Sunni leadership for 33 per cent of government departments, despite Sunni Arabs comprising just 20 per cent of the population. By comparison 60 per cent of the populace are Shiites and 17 per cent Kurds.
| So what's the Arabic word for "no"? |
If ministerial posts and security services reflect these proportions, Shiites would form a majority in both. "We are a heavyweight group and want to be treated as such. If there are to be 30 ministries, we must take 10 of them, including at least two of the more important ones," Rushdi said. The IIP is a peaceful group and there is no suggestion it has encouraged the Sunni-dominated insurgency.
| On the other hand, they haven't done much to stop it, have they? |
However Rushdi promised defiant political steps would be taken if the demands were not met, with Sunnis opposing the new constitution in October's expected referendum. "There are arrangements in place between us and the Shiites and Kurds, so many of the problems will be solved. If they are not, we have a red card when it comes to the referendum and we will use that," he said.
| What's the red card involve? Boycotting the referendum, too? |
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