Iraqi PM al-Maliki expresses support for Assad

By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and YASIR GHAZI

Iraqi Leader Backs Syria, With a Nudge From Iran

August 12, 2011

BAGHDAD — As leaders in the Arab world and other countries condemn President Bashar al-Assad’s violent crackdown on demonstrators in Syria, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq has struck a far friendlier tone, urging the protesters not to "sabotage" the state and hosting an official Syrian delegation.

Mr. Maliki’s support for Mr. Assad has illustrated how much Iraq’s position in the Middle East has shifted toward an axis led by Iran. And it has also aggravated the fault line between Iraq’s Shiite majority, whose leaders have accepted Mr. Assad’s account that Al Qaeda is behind the uprising, and the Sunni minority, whose leaders have condemned the Syrian crackdown.

"The unrest in Syria has exacerbated the old sectarian divides in Iraq because the Shiite leaders have grown close to Assad and the Sunnis identify with the people," said Joost Hiltermann, the International Crisis Group’s deputy program director for the Middle East.

He added: "Maliki is very reliant on Iran for his power and Iran is backing Syria all the way. The Iranians and the Syrians were all critical to bringing him to power a year ago and keeping him in power so he finds himself in a difficult position."

Iraq and Syria have not had close relations for years, long before the American invasion. During the sectarian violence here that broke out after the invasion, Iraqi leaders blamed Syria for allowing suicide bombers and other militants to enter the country.

But Syria and Iran have had close ties, a factor in the recalibration of relations between Syria and Iraq. Last year, Iran pressured Mr. Assad into supporting Mr. Maliki for prime minister, which eventually helped him gain a second term. Since then, Mr. Maliki and Mr. Assad have strengthened relations, signing trade deals and increasing Syrian investment in Iraq.

But the speaker of Parliament, Osama al-Najafi, a Sunni, said this week that the Assad government was suppressing the freedoms of the Syrian people and that it was unacceptable for it to use violence to halt protests.

"For the sake of the Syrian people we demand the government, out of its responsibility to safeguard the lives of its people and their property, take the bold and courageous steps to stop the bleeding," Mr. Najafi said.

For months, Mr. Assad has faced a protest movement that has spread through much of the country. His response has been to use the police and the military against the protesters, killing about 2,000 people so far, activists say. Thousands more have been arrested. At first, Arab leaders were largely silent, concerned that the collapse of the government would add another layer of chaos to a region reeling from uprisings. But recently some have begun to speak out, condemning the killings.

Syria’s allies in Turkey have also called for an end to the bloodshed, as have leaders in Western capitals.

But Mr. Maliki last month hosted a delegation of Syrian government officials and businessmen to discuss closer economic ties, including the construction of a gas pipeline that would run from Iran through Iraq to Syria. A month earlier, Syria’s foreign minister visited Baghdad.

In a television interview this week, Mr. Maliki said that the protesters should use the democratic process, not riots, to voice their displeasure, though Syria does not allow competitive, free elections.

He put most of the blame on the protesters and said little about the government’s ending the bloodshed. This contrasted with a position his alliance took against the Sunni monarchy in Bahrain when it stifled a pro-democracy movement among the Shiite majority there.

To protest the crackdown in Bahrain, members of Mr. Maliki’s alliance walked out of a session of Parliament, sent a ship with supplies to the protesters and called on the government to step down.

Before the Syrian uprising, Shiite and Sunni leaders in Iraq were beginning to work together again after months of paralysis that had undermined the functioning of the government. That cooperation has not yet been derailed, but the conflict over Syria threatens to strain relations.

Shaker Darraji, a member of Mr. Maliki’s State of Law bloc, said the Syrian protesters were members of Al Qaeda and that the Israelis and the Arab Persian Gulf states were behind the demonstrations. If the Assad government is overthrown, he said, it will be replaced by members of Al Qaeda, who will use Syria as a base to launch attacks in Iraq and the region.

The agenda of Israel and the Arab gulf states "is to use the sectarian differences between the Shiite ruling family in Syria and the Sunni majority" to their own advantage, Mr. Darraji said.

But Jaber al-Jabri, a member of the Sunni-dominated Iraqiya bloc, objected to that assessment.

"What is happening in Syria is not because of a terrorist group, as some say, that is not accurate," he said. "There are whole towns rising up to demonstrate against the regime. We call on the Syrian government to listen to the people’s demands and to stop violence against their people."

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=80436&s2=13.

Al-Hashemi blames Maliki for violence

BAGHDAD, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Iraq's vice president, in hiding to avoid arrest on terror charges, blamed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for a sudden surge in sectarian violence.

"We should blame Mr. Maliki -- he started a national crisis and it's not easy to control," Tariq al-Hashemi told the BBC's Arabic service. "The Iraqis have a right to be worried."

His comments followed a series of explosions that ripped through mostly Shiite areas of Iraq's capital Thursday, killing at least 68 people and injuring nearly 200. The attacks, which began at 6:30 a.m., destroyed schools, markets and apartments.

An ambulance packed with explosives incinerated a government office, The New York Times reported.

The morning blasts killed at least 65 people -- Baghdad's deadliest day in more than a year. Four more blasts shook Baghdad Thursday night, killing at least three more people.

No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, but analysts told the BBC and the Times they appeared similar to attacks conducted by the largely homegrown Sunni insurgent group al-Qaida in Iraq.

Western officials were alarmed at how quickly the withdrawal of U.S. troops had led to deadly sectarian violence, the Times said.

Maliki is a Shiite. Al-Hashemi is one of the country's most prominent Sunni politicians.

Maliki accused al-Hashemi this week of running a death squad and put out an arrest warrant for him.

Al-Hashemi denied the allegations and fled to Irbil in semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, under the protection of the regional government.

Maliki has demanded al-Hashemi return to Baghdad, but al-Hashemi said he would not because he could not receive a fair trial there. The Kurdish government offered no sign Thursday it would heed Maliki's demand to extradite al-Hashemi, the Times said.

Al-Hashemi told the BBC the attacks occurred because the government was too busy chasing "patriotic politicians" like himself instead of hunting down terrorists.

"The security services are pointed in the wrong direction," he said.

Maliki added new tension to the political climate Wednesday by threatening to discard Iraq's fragile power-sharing government.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/12/23/Al-Hashemi-blames-Maliki-for-violence/UPI-24551324627200/.

Elite units under an office of Maliki's linked to secret jail where detainees face torture, Iraq officials say

Iraqi legislators and security officials have been joined by the Red Cross in expressing concern about the Green Zone facility, called Camp Honor, where torture to extract confessions is alleged

July 15, 2011

Reporting from Baghdad—

Elite units controlled by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's military office are ignoring members of parliament and the government's own directive by operating a clandestine jail in Baghdad's Green Zone where prisoners routinely face torture to extract confessions, Iraqi officials say.

Iraqi legislators and security officials have been joined by the International Committee of the Red Cross in expressing concern about the facility, called Camp Honor. In a confidential letter to the prime minister, the Red Cross requested immediate access to the jail and added that there could be three more connected to it where detainees also are being mistreated.

Iraq's Justice Ministry ordered Camp Honor shut down in March after parliament's human rights committee toured the center and said it had uncovered evidence of torture. The Human Rights Ministry denied Wednesday that it was still in operation. But several Iraqi officials familiar with the site said that anywhere from 60 to 120 people have been held there since it was ordered closed.

Allegations that the jail has continued to function are likely to launch a fresh debate about the breadth of powers belonging to Maliki and his closest associates. The jail falls under the prime minister's Office of the Commander in Chief, which supervises a vast military and security apparatus.

Maliki supporters say he is committed to protecting human rights, but needs broad powers to navigate a treacherous domestic environment. The prime minister, a Shiite Muslim, is reluctant to loosen his grip on the army, police and his elite combat units, believing that any compromise would make it easier for opponents to organize a coup or political conspiracy, or would allow armed Shiite and Sunni Muslim groups to gain strength.

Maliki also has refused to permit his main political rival, the Iraqiya bloc led by Iyad Allawi, to choose the next defense minister, in defiance of an understanding on division of authority that took months to hammer out after inconclusive elections in March 2010. The position has remained vacant, with Maliki filling it for now.

The agreement also called for all security forces to be removed from the prime minister's office and restored to the normal chain of command. But the protracted negotiations over who should hold the key defense and interior ministries, which could stretch into next year, have allowed Maliki to preserve his authority.

The dispute over who directs Iraq's security forces is fueling a sense of drift as tens of thousands of U.S. troops prepare to leave Iraq. U.S. forces ended combat operations last year, and the remaining 46,000 troops are to leave by the end of this year. The United States has offered to keep some troops in Iraq after that deadline to help ensure stability, but that requires Iraqi consent, which is far from certain.

Adnan Assadi, a member of the prime minister's political coalition who serves as deputy interior minister, said in an interview that it was vital for Maliki to maintain control of Iraq's security because he will be blamed for any failures.

"The ministries of Defense and Interior are like the right and left hand for the commander in chief," Assadi said.

Until the inspection in March, the Camp Honor jail had illustrated the prime minister's supremacy on security matters. He has faced complaints since 2008 about his control of the U.S.-trained counter-terrorism service and a security force known as the Baghdad Brigade, or Brigade 56. The units possessed their own jails, investigative judges and interrogators, answering only to the prime minister's military office.

Critics say that many of those jailed by the forces are locked up for political reasons, because of personal feuds or to cover up corruption. But because of the opaque nature of the security forces and the jails they run, it is difficult to determine whether that is true.

The prime minister's military office promised reforms when, in April 2010, it was found to be running a separate secret jail in western Baghdad, where more than 400 inmates had been held for months. But nothing changed at Camp Honor, where family members and attorneys were barred from seeing detainees and allegations of torture were rampant.

Lawmakers, security officials and the Red Cross letter expressed deep concern that despite parliament's success in extracting the pledge to close Camp Honor, people were still being imprisoned there.

Detainees "are still being held by the counter-terrorism center or Brigade 56 in the same location they declared was shut down," said Salim Abdullah Jabouri, the head of parliament's human rights committee. "These people are held 30-50 days. After they have obtained confessions, the detainee is transferred to Rusafa with his confession," he added, referring to one of Baghdad's main detention facilities.

The people in Maliki's military office haven't changed their practices, said a second member of parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity so he could comment freely. "They have more power. They have more prisoners. They are holding them in the IZ," the Green Zone, said the lawmaker, a prominent member of the Iraqiya bloc. "This is the reality."

Jabouri said he became aware of the detentions after he started looking for a leader of the Sunni Awakening movement who had helped U.S. troops fight Islamic extremists in northern Iraq.

Jabouri said he received a phone call about three weeks ago from the man, who said he had been transferred to a regular jail after he was tortured in the Green Zone facility and confessed to being a member of the militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq and of a wing of the late dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath Party.

As many as 120 detainees had been through the secret jail since March, Jabouri said. Most of the cases he knew of involved prisoners from provinces with large Sunni populations, where security forces regularly carry out raids looking for Islamic militants and members of the former Baath Party.

The Red Cross said in its May 22 letter that detainees whom it interviewed after they had been transferred out of the facility reported beatings, electric shock to the genitals and other parts of the body, suffocation using plastic bags, scalding with boiling water or burning with cigarettes, being hung from ceilings with hands tied behind the back or being hung upside down from the top frame of a bunk bed, the pulling out of fingernails, being left naked for hours and rape using sticks or bottles.

Detainees also alleged that female family members were brought to Camp Honor and raped in front of them, the Red Cross said.

A security official confirmed that detainees were guarded at Camp Honor by the Baghdad Brigade, probably in a building that can hold up to 60 or 70 prisoners that had been used previously to hide detainees when inspectors came to the base.

Government spokesman Ali Dabbagh referred questions about the facility to the Human Rights Ministry, where officials insisted that it had been shut down. "Absolutely, it is closed," said ministry official Kamal Amin.

Supporters say Maliki shouldn't be held responsible for abuses by people within the ranks of the security forces.

"Maliki has given very tough directions to respect human rights," said lawmaker Ali Alaq, a senior member of the prime minister's Islamic Dawa Party. "I know the leaders in the Office [of the Commander in Chief] are accurate and professional, but you know sometimes there are forces who say they belong to this office and do really bad things. Sometimes they are even connected to terrorist groups."

The Red Cross letter to the Iraqi government said the organization was "seriously worried regarding the possibility that the interrogations are continuing in Camp Honor."

The letter, shown to The Times by an Iraqi source, cited what it called credible allegations that three other secret facilities existed in the Green Zone, which it said were still being used "to hide and hold detainees when committees visit the main prison." It said one was near the counter-terrorism service's headquarters and that the two others were known as the Flag and Five Star.

The Red Cross declined to confirm or deny the authenticity of the letter because of its policy of not discussing publicly its detainee inspections or correspondence with governments.

The letter said the Red Cross had visited Camp Honor last December but was forced to leave after less than two hours. It said its teams, which included medical personnel, gained information about the facility by interviewing detainees around the country at prisons and detention centers where they had been transferred.

The interviews, done at different times and places, "show that [the detainees] were exposed to systematic mistreatment during their detention in Camp Honor that reached the level of torture due to its severity and the goal of it to extract confessions or information."

Detainees reported that investigative judges were present during interrogation sessions in which they were mistreated, the letter said. It also said the Red Cross was concerned that the tactics were still being used and asked for full access to the facility and all detainees held there.

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=79607&s2=16.

Iraq rights activist criticizes PM on live TV

Baghdad (AFP) June 5, 2011

A leading human rights activist confronted Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on live television on Sunday over what she said was the insinuation that rights groups were fronts for terrorism.

Maliki delivered a speech at the opening of a conference on Iraq's national rights action plan and referred to last month's arrest of a man security forces said had taken part in the massacre of a wedding party in 2006, but had been posing as an activist since.

"Unfortunately, as you see on TV, there are some human rights organizations working under this name, but are unfortunately practicing killing," Maliki said in his speech.

"As you all saw, the head of a human rights organization killed innocent people with his hands at a wedding, and he filmed the crime," he added.

Maliki was apparently referring to Firas Fleih, who was detained last month after allegedly taking part in the killing of 70 members of a wedding party.

Officials said Fleih had hidden by posing as a prison rights activist.

After Maliki and UN special envoy Ad Melkert finished their speeches, activist Hana Adwar walked to the front of the conference hall, stood in front of Maliki and shouted "Is that reasonable? That we are accused of terrorism?"

She added: "Where is the free opinion? Where is the freedom of peaceful demonstration and civil gathering?" in a reference to the detention last week of four protesters in central Baghdad during a regular weekly rally.

Activists and the four young men's families have said they are being held illegally, though security forces said they were arrested for having false identification papers.

Footage of the confrontation, broadcast live on Iraqiya state television, continued for several minutes, and showed Adwar holding up a poster and eventually being led away. She was not immediately available for comment.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iraq_rights_activist_criticises_PM_on_live_TV_999.html.

Iraqi PM gives cabinet 100-day ultimatum

Sun Feb 27, 2011

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has given a 100-day period ultimatum to his cabinet to improve the living condition of Iraqis in an effort to calm anti-government protests.

A statement from Maliki's office said on Sunday that the Iraqi premier took the initiative to resolve "changes" facing the war-torn country.

"Mr. Maliki specified a 100-day period after which an assessment of the work of the government and ministries will be carried out to find out the level of their individual success or failure in performing their jobs," AFP quoted the statement as saying.

The ultimatum started on Sunday, the statement said, adding, "Changes will be made based on the assessments."

It further added that Maliki plans to take new measures to fight corruption and cronyism in the Iraqi government.

Maliki made the move as the country faced massive protests on Friday due to poor public services, rampant graft and high unemployment.

At least 20 people were killed and many others injured on Friday after Iraqi security forces clashed with demonstrators who took to the streets of the capital Baghdad and other major cities for a "Day of Rage."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/167312.html.

Iraqi prime minister won't run for third term

By LARA JAKES, Associated Press

BAGHDAD – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will not run for a third term in 2014, an adviser said Saturday, limiting himself in the name of democracy and with an eye on the popular anger directed at governments across the Middle East.

Al-Maliki narrowly held on to a second four-year term after his political bloc fell two seats short of its main rival in national elections last year. He will step down at a fragile time in Iraq's history — his successor will be the first Iraqi leader to run the nation without U.S. military help since Saddam Hussein.

Al-Maliki adviser Ali al-Moussawi said the premier also wants to change the Iraqi constitution before he leaves to limit all future prime ministers to two terms.

"Eight years is enough for him, in order to not convert to a dictatorship," al-Moussawi told The Associated Press, as state TV announced al-Maliki's decision. "This is the principle and the concept of democracy."

Saturday's stunning announcement follows al-Maliki's decision a day earlier to return half of his annual salary to the government — a move he said aimed to narrow the wide gap between rich and poor Iraqis.

Al-Maliki is not required to publicly report his pay, but he is believed to earn at least $360,000 annually.

The salary cut appeared calculated to insulate al-Maliki from the anti-government unrest spreading across the Middle East, as clerics and protesters warned him not to ignore public bitterness over Iraq's sagging economy and electricity shortages. The U.S. government estimates that as many as 30 percent of Iraqis are unemployed.

Al-Maliki's decision to announce he will step down after two terms — a deadline more than three years away — appeared fueled by the same desire to shield Iraq from uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

But it is particularly surprising, given his drawn-out fight last year to keep his job after his party failed to win the most seats in parliamentary elections last March.

Al-Maliki, a Shiite, remained prime minister only after pulling enough support from allies in closed-door negations and promising to share power with his rival Sunni-based political alliance.

Turkey's PM calls Maliki to congratulate on new govt

Erdogan congratulated Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Iraqi parliament's giving vote of confidence to his new cabinet.

Wednesday, 22 December 2010

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Iraqi parliament's giving vote of confidence to his new cabinet.

Prime Ministry officials said that Premier Erdogan spoke with al-Maliki by phone on Tuesday and congratulated al-Maliki on his new government.

Erdogan underlined the importance of unity of Iraq during phone conversation.

Iraqi parliament in separate votes gave its approval to al-Maliki, three deputy prime ministers and 29 other cabinet members, as well as the government program on Tuesday.

Appearing at a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Muhammed Naci Itri, Erdogan also said he was pleased with the end of the political deadlock in Iraq with the establishment of the new Iraqi Government under Nur al Maliki's leadership.

Erdogan said he hoped the new government would succeed in reflecting the reconciliation among Iraq's ethnic groups.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=67683.

Iraqi President assigns al-Maliki the task of government formation

Thu, 25 Nov 2010

Baghdad - Iraqi President Jalal al-Talabani on Thursday officially assigned Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki the task of forming a new government, Iraqi news agencies reported.

Al-Maliki, head of the Shi'ite National Alliance, has 30 days to form a government comprised of groups which spent eight months reaching an agreement on how to allocate the country's leadership positions.

Earlier this month, Iraq's parliament voted to re-elect Talabani, who then appointed al-Maliki as premier for a second term, ending a stalemate that had dragged on since the March 7 parliamentary vote.

Former premier Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya List grouping, which won the largest number of seats in the house but failed to achieve a majority, was given the position of speaker of the house. The post went to Osama al-Nujaifi.

Allawi himself was made president of a national council for strategy.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/355175,al-maliki-task-government-formation.html.

Iraqi PM to stay on as political deadlock ends

By REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press - Wed Nov 10

BAGHDAD – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will return to power for another four-year term after Iraqi lawmakers working late into the night Wednesday agreed on a tentative deal to form a new government, lawmakers said.

The deal breaks an eight-month impasse that paralyzed the government, encouraged insurgent attacks and rattled potential foreign investors. The Sunni-backed secular coalition, which had vehemently opposed al-Maliki, finally resigned itself to serving in his government along with the other main political groups.

"Finally, fortunately, it's done. It's finished. All the groups are in it," said Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman, who took part in the nearly seven hours of negotiations Wednesday following talks the previous two days.

An official in the Sunni-backed coalition, Iraqiya, also confirmed the deal. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

The deal involves concessions to both the Kurds and to Iraqiya, which is led by former prime minister Ayad Allawi. U.S. officials have worried that a government without the backing of minority Sunnis could spell a return to sectarian warfare.

The White House welcomed the development.

"The apparent agreement to form an inclusive government is a big step forward for Iraq," said Tony Blinken, national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, the administration's point man for Iraq. "All along we've said the best result would be a government that reflects the results of the elections, includes all the major blocs representing Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups, and that does not exclude or marginalize anyone."

But the return of al-Maliki to the premier's post underscores Iran's rising influence in Iraq at a time when American forces are leaving. It was Iran that engineered al-Maliki's recent endorsement by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who controls 40 seats in the new parliament. The two men, fellow Shiites, had been enemies in the past.

It was unclear what role al-Sadr and his hard-line Shiite faction might play in a new government — and whether al-Maliki's partnership with the Sadrists could derail pro-Western security and commercial policies.

One of the leaders of the Iraqiya coalition, Saleh al-Mutlaq, blamed Iran for al-Maliki's likely return to office.

"The pressure of Iran was too much," he said.

Lawmakers familiar with the negotiations described the general outlines of Wednesday's deal as follows:

Allawi's bloc will choose the parliament speaker. It was not known who that would be, but their pick was expected to be ratified when lawmakers meet Thursday for only the second time since the March 7 election.

The government will also create a new council with authority over security issues. That is intended as a concession to Allawi's coalition, which has pushed heavily for ways to reduce al-Maliki's power in exchange for offering its support.

But details apparently still need to be worked out, and it was not immediately clear that Iraqiya would end up controlling the council or that it will have real authority.

Allawi's bloc also won a concession to end the so-called de-Baathification law in two years, according to the Iraqiya official. The law regulates efforts to purge members of Saddam Hussein's former regime from government jobs. Sunnis detest the law because they consider it a thinly veiled attempt to keep them from power.

It was uncertain what role, if any, Allawi himself would play in the government. Othman said Allawi had signed off on the deal.

The Kurds, who have played the role of king-maker in Iraqi politics since the fall of Saddam, were granted their demand that President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, keep his largely ceremonial job.

Unclear, though, is whether the Kurds won any other concessions. They had wanted firm guarantees in exchange for their support, including a referendum to decide control of the oil-rich region around Kirkuk. The area lies just outside the Kurds' semiautonomous zone, but they are part of a three-way contest for influence along with ethnic Turks and central authorities in Baghdad.

The marathon negotiating session began with Iraqiya demanding the presidency but swiftly seeing their choices narrow. The Iraqiya official said the Shiites came in assured of the prime minister's post and the Kurds held firm to the presidency.

"They offered Iraqiya the speaker of the parliament and said: `Take it or leave it,' " he said. "We did not have a choice, knowing full well they will form a government with us or without us."

U.S. officials tried repeatedly to get the Kurds to give up the presidency in favor of Allawi — but to no avail, a sign of waning American influence.

Ever since the election, Iraqi lawmakers have tussled back and forth over who would lead the new government. Iraqiya was able to capitalize on widespread Sunni frustration to get 91 seats in the election, compared to 89 for al-Maliki's bloc.

But despite Iraqiya's bragging rights as the victor, it was never able to find the political partners it needed for a parliamentary majority. That paved the way for al-Maliki, who had to make peace with bitter rivals among fellow Shiites.

Al-Maliki came from political obscurity four years ago when he was chosen as a compromise candidate to lead the country at a time when Sunnis and Shiites were battling in the streets. He presided over a return to relative stability.

But his critics say he ruled with a heavy hand and grabbed too much power. His commitment to the rule of law was called into question with recent revelations of widespread abuse of prisoners by Iraqi security forces and reports that Iraqi forces ran a secret prison in Baghdad where Sunnis were allegedly tortured.

Wednesday's political deal came just hours after suspected Sunni militants took aim again at Baghdad's dwindling Christian community, setting off a dozen roadside bombs and sending terrified families into hiding behind a church where walls are still stained from blood from an attack nearly two weeks ago.

Five people were killed and 20 were wounded in the bombings and mortar attacks that targeted Christians across the city, police and hospital officials said. Iraqi Christians are already reeling after the earlier attack on a Sunday Mass service left 68 people dead, and many are now wondering whether it's time to leave their homeland.

At a house on the grounds of Our Lady of Salvation Church, Karim Patros Thomas was under no illusion that the community is under siege.

On Oct. 31, Thomas' brother-in-law bled to death on the church floor after militants stormed the building, shot congregants in the first row, held others hostage and then set off bombs when Iraqi forces came to the rescue. Then Wednesday morning, two bombs went off in quick succession outside his home.

"We are terrified," Thomas said, who sought refuge with his family Wednesday at the church. "I cannot go back to my house. They will attack again. They want to kill us."

___

Associated Press writers Barbara Surk and Yahya Barzanji in Sulaimaniyah contributed to this report.

Al-Maliki says ex-Baathists cleared to run in elections

Baghdad - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Tuesday that former Baathists could participate in the upcoming elections provided they cut ties with the former ruling party of the country. However, he said he would not negotiate with Baathists who remained loyal to the party and its former leader Saddam Hussein, accusing them and al-Qaeda of creating instability and insecurity in the country ahead of the vote.

They would also be barred from the political process, Maliki told reporters in Baghdad.

Al-Maliki is depending on a patchwork of alliances with Sunni tribal leaders and Sahwa, or "Awakening," militia leaders to win January's parliamentary elections, following the departure of key Shiite coalition partners in August.

Iraq's electoral commission on Monday said those elections will now take place on January 21, five days later than originally planned, after weeks of rancorous debate on voting in the disputed northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk delayed passage of the electoral law for weeks.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/294088,al-maliki-says-ex-baathists-cleared-to-run-in-elections.html.

Maliki: Gov't, parliament risks losing legitimacy

Iraq's prime minister has warned that the government and parliament may lose their "legitimacy" as a result of a deadlock over stalled election law.

"If it is postponed from the current date, the government will lose its legitimacy and parliament will have lost its legitimacy," Maliki said in a speech Saturday.

"We will be forced to go back to square one, returning to sectarianism. ... Therefore, our voices must unite to hold the election at its present date," AFP quoted Maliki as saying.

The deadlock threatens the poll as the electoral law is supposed to be in place 90 days before voting. Constitutionally, the election must be held by January 31.

At issue are proposed changes to the law that would oblige the Iraqi political parties to publish full lists of their candidates rather than simply the name of their electoral list.

The lack of agreement on the fate of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk is another major hurdle.

Kurds have long demanded the province as part of their autonomous region in the north, but they have faced strong opposition from Arabs and Turkmen in the province.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=109549§ionid=351020201.

Maliki touts Iraqi business in US

The Iraqi prime minister says he wants to give US companies "an opportunity" to invest in Iraq as the country is rebuilding its war-battered agriculture, oil, and tourism sectors.

Nuri al-Maliki, accompanied by executives from 200 businesses and officials overseeing some 750 projects in all economic sectors, is currently visiting the US in a bid to revive Iraq's war-battered economy.

Following his talks with Maliki during a two-day business and investment conference, US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that it was a positive sign that the topics of discussions are moving now to issues beyond security and "we are beginning to talk about economy, trade and commerce."

"There are obviously enormous opportunities for our countries to do business together," Obama said.

Maliki expressed optimism that US-Iraq ties would help provide prosperity for the Iraqi people.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=109196§ionid=351020201.

Maliki backs open voting system in Iraqi elections

Iraqi Premier has called for an open voting system in January parliamentary elections, following demonstrations protesting the adoption of a closed voting system by the parliament.

Nouri al-Maliki called on Parliament on Monday to adopt and approve the open-list system, which was also backed by top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani, Voices of Iraq news agency reported.

He made the request during his meeting with former parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, Premier's office said in a statement.

Maliki also called for holding of the January elections on time and avoiding its postponement.

However, based on the report, a debate is still underway in the Parliament about a possible suspension of the elections over the row on the election law.

Previously, the parliament had decided to adopt a closed voting system, which does not identify candidates standing for office.

The plan however provoked demonstrations across the country on Saturday, which came in support of a call by Ayatollah Sistani to adopt an open voting system for the parliamentary elections.

Sistani's official spokesman said earlier that the cleric warned against the closed system which may discourage people from participating in the upcoming vote.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=108506§ionid=351020201.

Iraq's al-Maliki joins with Sunnis in election bid

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD – The re-election strategy for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took shape Thursday as he unveiled a broad alliance for January's parliamentary voting that includes prominent Sunni clans who joined the fight against insurgents.

Al-Maliki's Shiite-led government is facing a challenge from a powerful bloc led by Shiite religious factions, including the largest Shiite political group and anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Maliki rejected joining the coalition and put together a rival movement that emphasizes secular policies and reconciliation with Sunnis after years of sectarian bloodshed.

Al-Maliki's allies had strong showings in provincial elections earlier this year. He now hopes that voter distaste for the Shiite religious factions remains strong enough to keep his pro-Western government in power.

Al-Maliki's Shiite-led coalition for the Jan. 16 vote brings in Sunni parties and clans from around the country, including some members of the Abu Risha tribe that led the Sunni uprising against al-Qaida in Iraq in the western Anbar province in one of the important turning points of the war. Other notable Sunnis joining al-Maliki include members of the powerful al-Dulaimi clan.

Also on board with al-Maliki are top aides and several key members of his government, including Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani and government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh. The bloc of 40 parties and movements — known as the State of Law list — is rounded out by some Kurdish and Christian groups from Iraq's north.

A victory by al-Maliki's coalition could mean a more diverse Cabinet and a greater political voice from Sunnis, who enjoyed unchallenged control under Saddam Hussein but were swept aside by the majority Shiites after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Many Shiites still carry deep resentment against Sunnis for years of repression under Saddam.

In a speech to announce his election bloc, al-Maliki said it was time for Iraqis to put aside ethnic and sectarian differences to "bear the responsibilities of the coming years, which need more efforts and sacrifices."

Al-Maliki's government has come under pressure to maintain security gains as U.S. forces prepare for the end of combat missions next year.

He used the speech to take another perceived jab at Syria, which he has blamed for harboring Saddam loyalists linked to attacks, including twin suicide truck bombs in August outside the foreign and finance ministries that killed nearly 100 people.

"We will not allow any country to interfere in our domestic affairs, which we consider a red line that can't be crossed," he said. "We will reconsider our relations with any country that does not respect Iraq's sovereignty and interferes in its affairs."

The election will offer two distinct poles of Shiite power — al-Maliki's list and a bloc led by the Iranian-backed Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which is Iraq's largest Shiite political force.

The Supreme Council, however, is now led by a new hand: Ammar al-Hakim, who took over after his influential father died in August in Tehran and is struggling to keep the group from splintering.

The Council has forged election bonds with Shiite leaders such as the cleric al-Sadr, who carries sway over members of his once-formidable Mahdi Army militia. But al-Maliki refused offers to join — banking his political future on the gambit that the era is ending for Shiite religious factions in Iraqi political affairs.

"We have agreed to confront all kinds of terrorism, not to allow the return of militias, to confine arms to the state only and to keep military and police forces away from political influences," al-Maliki said.

Al Maliki Announces Break With Iraqi National Alliance

By Rahma al-Salim

September 25, 2009

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki ended speculation surrounding his return to the Shia Iraqi National Alliance coalition by announcing that he will form his own 'State of Law’ coalition soon. Al Maliki announced that he will contest the forthcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections [to be held in January 2010] by way of this coalition, and ruled out joining any other political coalitions.

The Iraqi National Alliance is a Shia-majority electoral coalition previously known as the United Iraqi Alliance. Al Maliki’s Islamic Dawa party was previously a member of the United Iraqi Alliance and Nouri al Maliki came to power in the December 2005 elections under its banner.

During a question and answer session conducted with journalists through the National Media Center website, Iraqi Prime Minister al Maliki said that the process of forming his own State of Law coalition is ongoing, and stressed that "the door is open with regards to reaching agreements with other coalitions in order to reach an understanding, whether this is prior to- or following- the elections, but this does not mean [we will be] joining other coalitions."

Al Maliki clarified, "If a coalition wants to join the State of Law [coalition] then we will welcome it, so long as it takes up the standards and principles that we have adopted." Al Maliki also confirmed that he is in the process of forming a large [political] bloc "in order to protect the political process and activate the executive and legislative role in order to prevent the state of weakness that characterizes the current phase."

The Iraqi Prime Minister also told journalists that he intends to focus on "the principles of the National Project that has been adopted by the State of Law coalition to eliminate the obstacles that have accompanied the political process over the previous period."

Iraqi MP Sami al Askari, who has close ties to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki also revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that "the day the new Iraqi National Alliance was announced was like [the declaration of ] the end of genuine dialogue between the Dawa party and the Iraqi National Alliance." He added, "We stressed that if anybody rushed to announce the [formation of] the new alliance, that person would not be considered a founding member [of the coalition when it is officially established]."

Al Askari also told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the course of the dialogue between the State of Law coalition and the [Iraqi National] Alliance involved the latter putting pressure on al Maliki to convince him to catch up with it on a number of issues, as well as [attempting] to intimidate him by saying that he would lose the elections, and that his contesting of the elections individually would result in dividing the Shia vote. Other people [attempted] to intimidate al Maliki through Shia marjas [religious authorities] who do not believe the State of Law coalition to be [religiously] acceptable."

For his part, Fadhila party MP Bassem Sharif, who is also a member of the Iraqi National Alliance, said, "The Iraqi National Alliance desired and hoped that al Maliki would join [the coalition], because if they competed in the elections as part of one large list then they would achieve greater results. As for entering [the elections] with two coalitions, this will increase the electoral competition, which is something that could lead to political and security problems."

Sharif added, "The progress indicators with regards to negotiations between the two parties suggested that al Maliki would not join the Iraqi National Alliance unless he was forced to do so by political circumstances, especially considering the continuous calls to delay announcing the [formation of] the Iraqi National Alliance."

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=58303&s2=26.

Maliki seeks Iran help to rebuild Iraq

4-1-2009

TEHRAN (AFP) (Middle East Times) Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Sunday that he hoped Iran would help rebuild his conflict-torn country by boosting economic ties.

"We agreed to set up a joint service contract company with Iran... when Iraq witnesses stability and when the national unity government starts the reconstruction," Maliki told reporters as he wrapped up a two-day visit.

"I personally hope that trade ties between the two countries will focus on quicker reconstruction and progress," in Iraq, Maliki added at the end of his fourth visit to Iran since he took office in 2006.

Iraq and Iran also agreed to establish a high-ranking joint committee to pursue bolstering economic ties between the two neighbors, Maliki said.

The committee will be headed by Iraqi Commerce Minister Abdul Falah al-Sudani and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, he added.

Iran's first vice-president, Parviz Davoudi, said meanwhile that the volume of trade between Tehran and Baghdad now stands at around four billion dollars, which they both hope to raise to 10 billion dollars.

Maliki arrived on Saturday seeking investments to rebuild his country which suffered considerable damage in the 2003 US-led invasion and the violence that followed.

Iran and Shiite-majority Iraq waged a war between 1980 and 1988 in which around one million people died. Ties have warmed considerably since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime by US-led forces.

Maliki's fourth visit to Iran since he took office in 2006 is his first since the December 14 signing of a bilateral security agreement for US troops to remain in Iraq until the end of 2011 -- a deal that irked Tehran.

The Iraqi premier's trip was initially scheduled for late December.