Wednesday Evening Iraq Parliament News Highlights 7-27-22
Wednesday Evening Iraq Parliament News Highlights 7-27-22
European Report: Iraq Needs Measures To Address The Crisis Of The Delay In Forming A Government
Posted On2022-07-27 By Sotaliraq Translation: Hamed Ahmed
A European report stated that Iraq needs urgent political measures to address the delay in forming a government for more than ten months, indicating that European countries want to deal with a prime minister who is not inclined to the Iranian side. Simultaneously with the Turkish bombing.
A report published on the website of the European Council on Foreign Relations and its translation (Al-Mada) stated that "the delay of the Iraqi parliament in forming the new government is not surprising in relation to the political situation in the country."
The report added, "This chronic paralysis has left a power vacuum that leads to continued instability in the country."
He pointed out, "The new government, even if it appears in the coming months, the main problem for European decision-makers will be the quality of the prime minister who will lead it.
The report stated, "The dead end in Baghdad will continue until parliament elects a new president of the republic, who in turn will assign the elected prime minister to form a government."
He added, "After that, the Prime Minister will have a period of 30 days to obtain Parliament's approval on the cabinet's composition and the government's program."
And the report pointed out, that “if the Shiite blocs determine their candidate for prime minister before the Kurds appoint their candidate for the presidency, this may force the Kurdish parties to allow members of parliament to be free to choose the candidates instead of obtaining their sealed approval for a previously elected candidate. “.
And he spoke about, “a growing popular discontent at the same time as a result of Turkish bombings targeting civilians and the inability of the political elites to find solutions to economic challenges or the consequences of climate change.”
The report stated, "All of these things make it very likely that other disturbances will occur, especially as the Sadrist movement is preparing for street protests."
He noted, "European countries that seek to work with Iraq on common issues, especially security issues, must now deal not only with a stalled government, but with an Iraqi state whose legitimacy is eroding."
The report continues, "Any new Iraqi government, in the midst of this tense situation, must accelerate an urgent task in consolidating the stability of state institutions and restoring the people's confidence in them."
And he added, "The country has gone through a series of fragile consensus governments, one of the reasons for this is that the candidates for prime minister do not require them to run in elections to be eligible for the position."
And the report continued, "A section of European countries are betting that the current Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, will remain in his position. And he hopes so too.”
But on the other hand, the report sees, “Al-Kazemi’s fortunes were subjected to a strong setback after his political supporter, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, decided in June 2022 the resignation of his 73rd bloc members from Parliament.”
The report noted, "These developments are one of the reasons that made the process of forming a government in Iraq now one of the longest operations in the history of Iraq beyond 2003."
He added, "In the meantime, Al-Kazemi continued to show himself as a mediator in Middle Eastern issues and to mobilize the support of Western governments to support his plans to remain in the position."
The report stressed, "The withdrawal of the Sadrist movement harmed Al-Kazemi's chances of staying for a second term, yet this withdrawal did nothing to push for the formation of a new government."
He also stated, "The members of the coordination framework will take advantage of this opportunity to present a prime minister from among their ranks, and if they insist on choosing a candidate from their ranks, this means that Al-Kazemi has no luck in a second term."
The report adds, however, that "there is a point related to the political will of this candidate, which means that any candidate from political parties that are entrenched in power will be motivated to create policies that maintain the status quo of the country."
And he indicated, "Many Iraqis are tired of the corruption and mismanagement of ruling political parties, and therefore the people will be suspicious of the intentions of any prime minister from those ruling parties."
The report stressed, "This popular concern increases its pressure on the government formation process, and this may represent the best opportunity for Al-Kazemi to remain in his position."
The report asserts that “European countries will be in a relatively difficult position to work with a prime minister nominated by a political party who has pro-Iranian tendencies and adopts extremist ideas.”
He explained, "The European countries understand that they are eager to see friendly faces running the new Iraqi government, but this will not achieve anything good if this government continues to maintain what the country is while slowly eroding the sovereignty and legitimacy of the state."
[And the report went on, “A candidate like Muhammad Al-Sudani, who has no political flaws like the rest of his other competitors from the framework candidates from the first line, may prove to be the most suitable candidate for the position, a consensual and centrist prime minister who will have better luck in implementing internal and external policies effectively.” .
And the report went on, that "the country, ten months after the elections in Iraq, is clearly in need of urgent political measures, and the matter remains whether the Iraqi political elites understand this."
About the European Council on Foreign Relations LINK
Deputy: The Chances Of The Kurdistan Democratic Candidate For The Presidency Are Still Strong[/Size]
Political | 10:40 - 27/07/2022 Baghdad - Mawazine News, a member of the House of Representatives and a representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's parliamentary bloc, Jayyi Timur, said on Wednesday that the two Kurdish parties have not yet agreed on a specific personality for the position of President of the Republic.
And Taymour continued, "There is still hope that the two Kurdish parties will meet in a decisive meeting to determine a figure who represents the Kurds, which is the best, according to our belief in the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and that is better than we go with two candidates, and the Kurdish house must agree internally to nominate a personality to occupy the position without dictates and influences. Other political forces," according to the newspaper "Al-Sabah".
He added, "The chances of the democratic candidate are still strong, and we demand the forces of the coordination framework not to put too much pressure on the Kurds, and there are several days and perhaps more weeks for us to agree on one candidate for the Kurdish component and with the agreement of all the forces, including the main Kurdish forces, the party and the Yekti." Ended 29/N33
https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=200625
The Start Of The Emergency Session Of The UN Security Council On The Middle East And The Recent Turkish Aggression On Iraq
political| 11:03 - 26/07/2022 Baghdad - Mawazine News Today, Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council held its session on the Turkish aggression on Iraqi territory.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein confirmed, today, Tuesday, that Iraq is working to obtain a resolution from the Security Council to help it remove the PKK from its lands.
Hussein said: "We will ask the Security Council to issue a resolution to help Iraq expel the PKK, and it is our duty to work with other concerned countries to remove the PKK from the land of Iraq."
Speaking about the Turkish presence, he added, "There are more than 4,000 Turkish fighters and 100 military points in Iraqi territory, and the Bashiqa base, where the Turkish army is located, is 100 km from the border." https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=200595
Behind the scenes of choosing "Al-Sudani": Al-Maliki's threats and concern about the reaction of "Al-Sadr"
Posted On2022-07-27 By Sotaliraq Baghdad / Tamim Al-Hassan
Until the last minute of the meeting of the "big seven" within the "coordinating framework" to choose a new prime minister, the conflict was raging between the wings of Hadi al-Amiri and Nuri al-Maliki, before the latter threatened an escalatory situation.
Behind the official "calm" story that the leaders of the "coordinating body" pushed to public opinion about the scenes of choosing Muhammad al-Sudani to head the new government, exciting details of what happened that day.
The preludes to the meeting in which the name of "Al-Sudani" was revealed were fiery, when Qassem al-Araji (National Security Adviser) was forced to withdraw after he became a strong contender for the position.
The candidate of Hadi al-Amiri, the leader of Al-Fateh, left because of what was said to be a "veto" of Nuri al-Maliki, the leader of State of Law, who is facing the repercussions of the "crisis of leaked recordings."
Before that, documents were published - whose authenticity has not been verified so far - that implicated Al-Araji with criticism against well-known factions and an attack on Iran and Russia, in what was known as the “Kuwaiti Record.”
Some "leaders" were worried because of that decisive moment that was close to taking place amid the absence of Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist movement, who remained "the framework" until the last moment to avoid provoking him.
Those close to "Al-Sadr" mocked the choice of "Al-Sudani" amid the silence of the leader of the movement so far, while "Tishreon" rejected the candidate, as they did in the events of the protests in 2019.
The Kurds and Sunnis (allies of al-Sadr) have not yet officially commented on what happened on Monday, but there are indications of "very difficult" days to come, as described by one of the Kurdish leaders.
A politician familiar with the last "framework" meeting at Al-Amiri's house said in an interview with (Al-Mada) that: "Al-Maliki and his candidates have been favored before the meeting, after the most prominent competitor was removed," referring to Al-Araji.
At the beginning of the meeting, 5 candidates remained, 3 of whom were supported by Al-Maliki (Al-Sudani, Ali Shukri, Tariq Najm) and 2 (after Al-Araji's withdrawal) supported by Al-Amiri (Al-Abadi and Abdul-Hussein Abtan).
The well-informed politician, who asked not to be named, adds: "It was agreed to remove the first line, so the name of Haider Al-Abadi was dropped, and the competition became strong between Abtan and Al-Sudani."
At that time, al-Maliki leaned on his candidate's victory by claiming that he "owned the most seats in the framework, and threatened to withdraw if his candidate did not win," according to what the politician said.
Under the threats of "Al-Maliki", everyone was forced to accept the latter's candidate for fear of the collapse of the "coordinating framework," while before that news had arrived that "Al-Sadr is not interested in the session."
Qais al-Khazali, the leader of Asa'ib, revealed how the communication with the leader of the Sadrist movement took place before choosing Al-Sudani.
Khazali said during his participation in an audio room on the communication sites: "Some of the brothers tried to contact the situation, and the answer was that we (the Sadrists) are not interested in this agreement, neither negatively nor positively."
Al-Sadr has not yet issued any reaction to the selection of Al-Sudani, but the one close to the leader of the Iraqi movement, Saleh Al-Iraqi, published a picture in which he ridiculed the name of the prime minister.[/size]
The picture showed a black-skinned man shaking hands with his shadow, while it was reported in Sadrist circles that this means that Al-Sudani (the tire candidate) thanks Al-Maliki, who is behind the scenes, for his first choice for the position.
As for Ibrahim Al-Jabri, the director of Al-Sadr's office in Baghdad, he said in his account on the communication sites that "the breath of the Baiji liquidator was present in the name of Al-Sudani .. Mo?" In a hint that what happened in the meeting is similar to the faction’s theft of the liquidator during the liberation wars in 2015 in Tikrit, which the Sadrists accuse “factions within the coordination” of being behind that incident.
Prime Minister with 7 ministries!
Returning to the atmosphere of the “Al-Sudani” selection meeting, the Asa’ib leader said in the audio intervention: “Until last Sunday night (a day before Al-Sudani was chosen), there was a difference between the leaders about the candidate for the position, but thank God focused efforts were made, in order to reduce the areas of difference, And there were distinguished efforts by Mr. Ammar al-Hakim.”[/size]
Khazali, who is a member of the Special Quartet Committee within the "framework" to choose the prime minister, added: "The Sudanese is the candidate of the framework unanimously, not the candidate of a bloc or party within the framework."
The "coordinating framework" confirmed that the process of selecting the "Sudanese" at Hadi al-Amiri's home in Baghdad took place with the agreement of all.
In a positive atmosphere, the leaders of the Coordination Framework agreed, unanimously, to nominate Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani for prime minister," the framework said in a statement on Monday evening.
Al-Sudani is the Minister of Human Rights in Al-Maliki’s second term, and the Minister of Labor in Al-Abadi’s government. He also served as acting minister in those governments of the Ministries of Industry, Finance, Trade, Agriculture, and Immigration, and won 3 parliamentary sessions.
In the recent elections, he led the Euphrates Movement after announcing his withdrawal from the Dawa Party during the October 2019 demonstrations, when his name was rumored at the time to be an alternative to “Abdul-Mahdi.”
Al-Sudani won in the last poll one seat, then rose to 3 seats after he won the Sadrists resigned seats in Baghdad and Maysan.
The protests had rejected Al-Sudani to head the government after the resignation of Abdul-Mahdi's government, and there were reports of protesters burning the first house in Maysan.
Hussein Al-Ghurabi, activist and founder of the Iraqi House party, said after the demonstrations, in response to Al-Sudani's choice: "No good for Iraq will come from the framework."
On his Facebook page, Al-Ghurabi vowed, "We will not stand idly by regarding their control of the country again."
In front of Al-Sudani and the prime minister, there is a critical session - yet to be determined - to choose the president of the republic, who will assign him to form the new cabinet.
The "coordinator" must gather at least 220 deputies in the selection session (the president), according to the interpretation of the Federal Court.
This requires the approval of "al-Sadr's allies": the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Progress Alliance, which have been silent so far on the latest developments.
missiles…
Before any position was issued by the Kurdish side, at least 3 missiles fell on a gas field in Sulaymaniyah, which had led to a crisis between the region and the "Coordination Committee" days after al-Sadr's "resignation".
The spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government, Jutiar Adel, called on the federal government to take the necessary measures to curb the attacks of armed groups outside the law.
The new attack targeted the Kormore gas field on Monday evening (just hours after the selection of Al-Sudani).
[We strongly condemn the attack again launched by the militias and outlaw armed groups on the Khormore (Khormore) gas field," Adel said.
The field and other oil fields in the vicinity of the region have been subjected to 3 attacks last month, which occurred only days after the decision of the leader of the Sadrist movement to withdraw from the political process.
[Regarding the "democratic" reactions after the selection of Al-Sudani, Arafat Karam, who is described as responsible for the Iraqi file at the headquarters of the party's leader, Massoud Barzani, said that the latter's candidate is Riber Ahmed.
On the other hand, Jaafar Eminki, Barzani's chief adviser, said on his Facebook page: "The birth throes of the birth of a new federal government in Baghdad are still very difficult, and the closest possibilities are that we will witness another, more severe and orderly abortion."
Eminke added: "The political blockage only results in a dangerous political blockage, which started with the blocking third and will end with the blocking whole and the initiator is darker. Perhaps events will force us to go back to square one, that is, the elections. LINK
In The Presence Of Fouad Hussein.. The UN Security Council Discusses The "Zakho Attack" And Iraq Clings To Its Position
Posted On2022-07-27 By Sotaliraq Today, Tuesday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein arrived in New York to attend the UN Security Council session devoted to discussing the artillery shelling that targeted a tourist resort in Zakho last Wednesday, killing nine civilians, including a girl.
Ahead of the session, members of the Security Council issued a statement condemning the attack in the "strongest terms", but avoided referring to Turkey, which Iraq has openly accused.
Turkey denies responsibility for the attack, accusing the Kurdistan Workers' Party of carrying it out, and indicated that "terrorists" want to "sabotage relations" between Baghdad and Ankara.
The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Hussein will attend the “emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the Turkish aggression on Iraqi lands.”
The attack took place specifically in the Barkh resort, located in the vicinity of the town of Darkar, which is affiliated to the border city of Zakho. The resort attracts hundreds of tourists daily.
The border areas in the Kurdistan Region are constantly exposed to Turkish bombardment, which Ankara says targets the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants.
The bloody confrontations between the PKK and the Turkish army often result in casualties among the villagers, with extensive damage to their property. LINK