Baghdad - Iraq's alliance of major Sunni political parties,
the Iraqi Accord Front, suspended its talks with the government over
disagreements on candidates for cabinet posts, front members told
Deutsche-Presse Agentur dpa.
'Talks have been suspended. We have shown a great deal of
flexibility to rejoin the cabinet in the spirit of reconciliation,'
the front member, Harith al-Ubaydi, told dpa.
'The main disagreement is over names of candidates for cabinet
posts,' al-Ubaydi said.
The front pulled out its six ministers from the national unity
cabinet of Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in August to voice
its frustration with what many Sunni Arabs perceive as their
marginalization in Iraq's Shiite-dominated politics.
But the front, which has 44 of the 275 parliament seats, has
reconsidered its position since the government agreed to one of its
demands: the release of Sunni Arabs detained without charges.
The Sunni bloc has put forward a list of candidates for six
cabinets posts.
The front is concerned that the deadline to reach a deal has not
been met and assurances it has received from the government have not
been honoured,' Selim al-Juburi, the front's spokesman, told dpa.
'The front has indicated that its return to cabinet is not an
objective in itself but we seek to make a real and effective
contribution,' al-Juburi said.
'If its return to cabinet is weak and bounded by restrictions and
conditions, which have not been previously agreed, then the front
will have to reconsider the whole matter,' the spokesman explained.
The Sunni Arab politicians are eyeing one of the main cabinet
portfolios: the foreign ministry, defence or interior ministries.
'We have submitted a big list of candidates with high
qualifications but the problem lies in which cabinet posts we are to
get,' the front member, Abdel-Karim al-Samarrai, told dpa.
'Sadly, the government is not willing to give us cabinet posts we
are worthy of,' al-Samarrai said.
National reconciliation and the integration of Iraq's Sunni Arabs
in the political process are among the main criteria set by the US
for al-Maliki's government to meet.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly said he wanted Sunni Arabs to
have a role in politics but also signalled his readiness to bring in
other Sunni players if the front refuses to rejoin his cabinet.
Al-Maliki has been eyeing his new allies in Sunni-dominated
provinces in western Iraq. Tribal chiefs in those provinces have been
fighting al-Qaeda insurgency in their areas.
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