Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Shiites fail to resolve deadlock on candidate for top Iraq post
The Associated Press

TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2006


BAGHDAD Shiite politicians failed Tuesday to resolve the deadlock over their candidate for prime minister, which is blocking formation of a new government.

Key figures in the United Iraqi Alliance continued to stand behind Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, despite opposition to his nomination by Sunni and Kurdish parties, said Bassem Sharif.

He attended a meeting Tuesday of the seven Shiite factions.

Shiite politicians were to meet again Wednesday, Sharif said.

Other Shiite officials said that Jaafari's Dawa Party and followers of Moktada al-Sadr, the radical cleric, remained firm in their support for the prime minister and suggested that the Shiites block Sunni and Kurdish candidates for key posts if they do not accept him.

Jaafari won the nomination of the Shiite alliance in balloting last February. But Sunni and Kurdish parties, whom the Shiites need as partners in a national unity government, have refused to accept Jaafari.

That has alarmed the United States and Britain, which are pushing hard for a new government following the Dec. 15 elections as the best way to halt Iraq's slide toward chaos.

"Forming a unity government is critical to defeating the terrorists and securing the peace," President George W. Bush said Monday.

"The terrorists and insurgents thrive in a political vacuum. And the delay in forming a government is creating a vacuum that the terrorists and insurgents are working to exploit," Bush said.

A Sunni politician, Saleh al-Mutlaq, warned that Iraq would "drown in a river of blood" if a new government is not formed soon.

He chastised "the politicians who are seeking posts while people are slaughtered in the streets" in comments to the London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.

Cracks in support for Jaafari have appeared within the Shiite alliance, though his hard-core allies - including Sadr - have stood behind him.

The small Fadhila party, which is part of the alliance, said Tuesday it was ready to present a candidate of its own for prime minister.

"If the alliance fails to approve al-Jaafari, we will present a nominee," said Sabah al-Saedi, the party's spokesman. "We want to save the political process from its current deteriorated state."

The name of the nominee was not released on the instructions of the party's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Sheik Mohammed al-Yacoubi, according to al- Saedi.

Iraq to boycott Arab talks

Iraq said Tuesday it would not take part in an Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on Wednesday to protest President Hosni Mubarak's comments on the loyalty of Iraqi Shiites to Iran, Reuters reported from Baghdad.

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said,

"Iraq will not take part and we hope this will remind those concerned of the need to stand beside the Iraqi people and to defend against any problem Iraq faces."

In comments broadcast on Saturday, Mubarak, Egypt's president, said that Shiites in Arab states were more loyal to Iran than their own countries.


http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/11/news/IRAQ.php