IRAQ: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says he is "part of the problem" holding up new government
Record ID:
791642
IRAQ: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says he is "part of the problem" holding up new government
- Title: IRAQ: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says he is "part of the problem" holding up new government
- Date: 8th August 2010
- Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
- Embargoed: 23rd August 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA3XW53HW0AU59EFOASIX2HDBEL
- Story Text: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he was "part of the problem" holding up the formation of a new Iraq government but challenged allies and opponents to find a better candidate for the top job.
Five months after an election Iraqis hoped would stabilise governance, Maliki told Reuters on Friday (August 6) that Iraq's security is stable and said investor confidence had not been shaken by lengthy and so far fruitless talks for a coalition government.
"We are part of the problem, this is true. We are part of the problem as a person and as a bloc," Maliki said.
But he warned that his opponents were attempting to weaken the premiership and said that could destabilise Iraq and bring back Islamist militants al-Qaeda and the militias that were involved in Iraq's sectarian slaughter in 2006-07.
A March 7 parliamentary election produced no clear winner in the OPEC-member country, leaving the Shi'ite Maliki and secular ex-Prime Minister Iyad Allawi battling to form a majority coalition as Iraq tries to increase production from its world-class reserves and rebuild an economy ravaged by war.
Maliki's largely Shi'ite State of Law coalition won two seats fewer than Allawi's Sunni-backed, cross-sectarian Iraqiya but then merged with the third-place finisher, the Iran-friendly Iraqi National Alliance (INA), to form a Shi'ite bloc.
The Shi'ite allies have not been able to agree on a nominee for prime minister. The INA said last week it was rejecting Maliki and halting talks until his bloc offers another.
Maliki said he was in "serious and strong talks" with rival Allawi's Iraqiya, the Kurdish bloc and smaller parties, but was open to a reunion with INA, his traditional allies.
Maliki said the government impasse posed no risk to investors, citing projects to set up power-generating capacity.
He rejected critics who suggest the drawn-out government formation talks -- which in a few days will be longer than those after the 2005 election, when sectarian violence exploded -- have opened the door to a renewed insurgency.
"I'm sure that if the next Prime Minister is weak and not supported by the majority of political blocs, entities and parliamentarians, the big danger is it will affect the unity of Iraq and the security situation. Militias and gangs will return. Al-Qaeda will return and there will be conflicts. There are many people lurking who are waiting to seize any gap. We need a man who knows the map of existing challenges, diplomatic, external and internal relations, national unity, national reconciliation and the unity of Iraq," he said.
Iraq is plagued by bombings, assassinations and other attacks by Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militias but Maliki lauded the work of the country's nascent security forces and said the attacks had not worsened during the impasse over a government.
With Washington planning to cut its troop numbers to 50,000 from just under 65,000 as it formallycombat operations on August 31, Maliki said it was too early to talk about whether the U.S. stay in Iraq should be extended.
That would require a change in the negotiated security pact between the two countries, which says U.S. troops should be gone by the end of next year. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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