.Former Iraqi Parliament Speaker Spreads Blame
BAGHDAD — The former speaker of the Iraqi Parliament on Wednesday blamed political infighting for his downfall, as the Parliament’s leading Sunni coalition appeared to be on the verge of collapse.
The former speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, whose resignation on Tuesday ended a stormy tenure of nearly three years, also criticized the United States, saying it had “handed us a ruined state.”
During a wide-ranging news conference, Mr. Mashhadani said his bloc in Parliament, the National Dialogue Council, would immediately pull out of the Iraqi Consensus Front, the coalition of Arab Sunni groups in Parliament. Also known as Tawafiq, the front has been a crucial counterweight to the Shiite majority in Parliament.
Another Sunni group in Parliament, the Independence Bloc, also announced Wednesday that it would leave the Consensus Front. The withdrawal of the two groups would reduce membership in the front to 27 from roughly 40 in the 275-member Parliament.
But a spokesman for the Consensus Front, Salim al-Joburi, said Wednesday that the coalition would remain vibrant.
“We express our regret for the withdrawal, but we maintain that our front is solid and active,” said Mr. Joburi, who is also a member of Parliament.
Mr. Mashhadani said during Wednesday’s news conference that he had been forced to resign as part of a plot by several parliamentary blocs to depose Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government.
During an interview afterward, he named the groups as the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which is Shiite, the Iraqi Islamic Party, which is Sunni, and the Kurdish Alliance. The prime minister leads Dawa, another Shiite party.
“They are hoping that after my resignation, it will be easier for them to dismiss Maliki,” Mr. Mashhadani said.
But Yasin Majid, the press adviser to the prime minister, dismissed that assertion. “We don’t agree with Mashhadani’s analysis about an attempt to force Maliki to step down,” he said.
Fuad Ma’sum, leader of the Kurdish Alliance in Parliament, also rejected the notion of a plot.
“Our relationship with Prime Minister Maliki and the Dawa Party is good in spite of some political disagreement,” Mr. Ma’sum said. “Prime Minister Maliki’s government has our trust.”
Mr. Mashhadani, known as an outspoken and mercurial figure among his colleagues, quit during a heated parliamentary session last week, but hours later rescinded his resignation. He had quit as speaker and changed his mind at least once before.
But this week, his colleagues threatened to depose him by majority vote if he did not leave.
Mr. Mashhadani had particularly harsh words for the United States’ performance in Iraq. He had not previously been known as a strong critic, but on Wednesday, Mr. Mashhadani described American troops as “hateful occupation forces” who were “destroying everything in Iraq.”
“They handed us a ruined state,” he said, blaming the American occupation for the subsequent sectarian violence that Iraq has only recently begun to emerge from.
The former speaker added, however, that the status of forces agreement signed between Iraq and the United States in November had been a significant embarrassment for the United States.
“The Iraqi people forced the American forces to sign a humiliating withdrawal agreement,” he said.
Finally, Mr. Mashhadani had harsh words even for himself and his former party, which he said had “achieved nothing” except to arrange for him to live in “a palace” and to “provide bodyguards that close roads for us.”
NYT
The former speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, whose resignation on Tuesday ended a stormy tenure of nearly three years, also criticized the United States, saying it had “handed us a ruined state.”
During a wide-ranging news conference, Mr. Mashhadani said his bloc in Parliament, the National Dialogue Council, would immediately pull out of the Iraqi Consensus Front, the coalition of Arab Sunni groups in Parliament. Also known as Tawafiq, the front has been a crucial counterweight to the Shiite majority in Parliament.
Another Sunni group in Parliament, the Independence Bloc, also announced Wednesday that it would leave the Consensus Front. The withdrawal of the two groups would reduce membership in the front to 27 from roughly 40 in the 275-member Parliament.
But a spokesman for the Consensus Front, Salim al-Joburi, said Wednesday that the coalition would remain vibrant.
“We express our regret for the withdrawal, but we maintain that our front is solid and active,” said Mr. Joburi, who is also a member of Parliament.
Mr. Mashhadani said during Wednesday’s news conference that he had been forced to resign as part of a plot by several parliamentary blocs to depose Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government.
During an interview afterward, he named the groups as the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which is Shiite, the Iraqi Islamic Party, which is Sunni, and the Kurdish Alliance. The prime minister leads Dawa, another Shiite party.
“They are hoping that after my resignation, it will be easier for them to dismiss Maliki,” Mr. Mashhadani said.
But Yasin Majid, the press adviser to the prime minister, dismissed that assertion. “We don’t agree with Mashhadani’s analysis about an attempt to force Maliki to step down,” he said.
Fuad Ma’sum, leader of the Kurdish Alliance in Parliament, also rejected the notion of a plot.
“Our relationship with Prime Minister Maliki and the Dawa Party is good in spite of some political disagreement,” Mr. Ma’sum said. “Prime Minister Maliki’s government has our trust.”
Mr. Mashhadani, known as an outspoken and mercurial figure among his colleagues, quit during a heated parliamentary session last week, but hours later rescinded his resignation. He had quit as speaker and changed his mind at least once before.
But this week, his colleagues threatened to depose him by majority vote if he did not leave.
Mr. Mashhadani had particularly harsh words for the United States’ performance in Iraq. He had not previously been known as a strong critic, but on Wednesday, Mr. Mashhadani described American troops as “hateful occupation forces” who were “destroying everything in Iraq.”
“They handed us a ruined state,” he said, blaming the American occupation for the subsequent sectarian violence that Iraq has only recently begun to emerge from.
The former speaker added, however, that the status of forces agreement signed between Iraq and the United States in November had been a significant embarrassment for the United States.
“The Iraqi people forced the American forces to sign a humiliating withdrawal agreement,” he said.
Finally, Mr. Mashhadani had harsh words even for himself and his former party, which he said had “achieved nothing” except to arrange for him to live in “a palace” and to “provide bodyguards that close roads for us.”
NYT
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