BAGHDAD, 11 March 2006 — President Jalal Talabani issued a decree yesterday that orders Iraq’s new Parliament to hold its first session on March 19, the president’s chief of staff, Kamran Al-Karadaghi, told The Associated Press.
There still was no resolution of the bitter dispute over a new term for Shiite Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, prompting Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdish region of Iraq, to issue a statement saying the country was in political “crisis.”
He invited the leaders of all the major blocs in Parliament to meet with him in Irbil as soon as possible to seek a resolution.
The call appeared to grow out of or coincide with discussions US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad is conducting with Iraqi politicians to overcome the leadership stalemate.
Time magazine reported on its website yesterday that Khalilzad hoped to coax the country’s major politicians to join him in a conference, “possibly outside Iraq,” to sort out the formation of a government.
The United States wants to leave behind a strong central authority and has made that a precondition for its hopes to begin drawing down American forces this summer.
“Khalilzad told Time he would advocate a new initiative: lock the bickering officials up in a room outside of Baghdad and maybe outside of the country, and don’t let them out until they have sorted out their differences,” the website said.
Elizabeth Colton, US Embassy spokeswoman in Baghdad, said Khalilzad hoped to convene a meeting such as the one suggested by Barzani, “but there is nothing definite yet and no plans yet for where or when — should it be decided.”
Talabani, a Kurd who has opened a campaign with Sunni and some secular politicians to deny Jaafari a second term, first sought to issue the necessary decree last Sunday.
But he was unable to obtain the signature of one of two vice presidents, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, who leads the Shiite parliamentary bloc loyal to Adbul-Aziz Al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
The president has challenged Jaafari’s candidacy on grounds he is too divisive and would be unable to form a government representing all Iraq’s religious and ethnic factions.
There was also great unease over Jaafari’s close ties to radical anti-American cleric Moqtada Sadr.
Talabani first sought to order the first session on March 12, the date dictated by the constitution. Both Abdul-Mahdi and Hakim held back because of the uncertainty over Jaafari, apparently reluctant to be forced to publicly join those in the opposition because they did not want to publicize the split in Shiite ranks. On Thursday, however, the two political heavyweights relented and Abdul-Mahdi agreed to sign.
The minority parties believe Jaafari, who has led the interim government since April, has done too little to prevent sectarian violence which has resulted in the deaths of over 500 Iraqis since a Shiite shrine was bombed Feb. 22.
The opening of Parliament is the first step in the process of forming the country’s first permanent, post-invasion government. When Parliament convenes, it has 60 days to accomplish the task.
