Iraq Leader Warns of Coalition's End

Iraq Leader Warns of Coalition's End

By SAM DAGHER And MUNAF AMMAR

BAGHDAD—Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned that a challenge to his government by Sunni politicians could destroy the ethnic and sectarian power-sharing system that underpins Iraq's democracy—and take more power into the hands of the Shiite majority.

The threat signals the most dire political crisis Iraq has faced since an agreement on a governing coalition one year ago smoothed over a long-running conflict that has re-emerged with the official pullout this month of U.S. forces from Iraq.

The latest faceoff was triggered when a judicial panel issued a warrant for the arrest of Sunni Arab Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi on Monday, as the Ministry of Interior aired televised confessions by members of his security detail allegedly implicating him in ordering and funding attacks against Shiites.

Iraq's security forces, both the army and police, report directly to Mr. Maliki in his capacity as commander-in-chief. In a sign the political crisis could affect the security situation, there was a visibly stepped-up presence of police and army patrols on the streets of Baghdad Wednesday night.

Mr. Hashemi, hiding out from arrest in the semiautonomous Kurdistan region, accused Mr. Maliki of fabricating the charges against him and launching a sectarian political vendetta.



AP

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaking to reporters in Baghdad, Iraq, in early December 2011.

Mr. Hashemi's political bloc, Iraqiya, though facing its own internal divisions, has suspended its participation in Mr. Maliki's government and in Parliament. On Wednesday, some members of Iraqiya said they would pursue a no-confidence motion in Parliament to oust Mr. Maliki. It was unclear if all members of the bloc were in agreement. Parliament is in recess until Jan. 3.

A spokesman for Iraqiya said Mr. Maliki's "divisive actions were threatening security and civil peace."

Mr. Maliki invited all political factions for an urgent meeting to salvage the political process. He said a collapse of the government would lead to a "political majority" government of Shiite Arabs—the community that constitutes the largest share of Iraq's estimated population of 30 million—with the participation of Sunnis, Kurds and others.

"Today we say it, either we resort to the constitution as referee [to resolve our differences] or we go to a government of political majority so that we can launch ourselves, build and construct; we are tired of being patient," he said in a Baghdad news conference.

"There is a desire to rid ourselves of this gridlock because the state's hands are tied behind its back with this partnership, this understanding and these intentionally disruptive practices," Mr. Maliki said.

Mr. Maliki also asked Kurdistan to hand over Mr. Hashemi, upping the ante with his hesitant Kurdish partners in his coalition government. "Not handing him over and facilitating his escape could cause problems," Mr. Maliki warned Kurdish leaders.

There was no reaction from the Kurds, but a spokesman for the regional government's president told a local TV station that Mr. Hashemi was "a dear guest" under their protection.

Mr. Maliki would need Kurdish support to form a government without Sunni participation. Yet in a direct swipe at the Kurds, Mr. Maliki said on Wednesday that he met with top executives of oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. during his visit to Washington last week, and warned them that their contract with the Kurdistan region for six exploration blocks in the north could cause war.

"Contracts in disputed areas is a difficult thing; this is a problem that leads to war," said Mr. Maliki.

Exxon, which has a major contract in the south of the country, has declined to say anything publicly about its deal with Kurdistan, which it signed in October.

The current government, which emerged in December 2010 after over eight months of acrimonious negotiations, was an unwieldy coalition of feuding political factions.

For many, the collapse of this government is now inevitable. "American withdrawal in this manner, given that Iraq is unstable, opens Pandora's box," said Ghassan al-Atiyyah, a London-based Iraqi analyst.

In another development that could fan Sunni-Shiite tensions, Mr. Maliki said he had assembled a file three years ago that covers more alleged violations by Mr. Hashemi during the height of the sectarian warfare between 2005 and 2007 that he has held off on revealing it "for the sake of the political process."

He told political rivals engaged in "sabotage and killing" to stop doing so or "all files will be exposed and put in front of the judiciary."

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