Top Iraqi cleric Al Sistani not consulted on unity agreement
Al Sistani says his office had no prior knowledge of accord between rival Shiite blocs
Baghdad: Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric was not consulted about an agreement between rival Shiite political groups that makes him and other high-ranking members of the religious hierarchy the final arbiter of their disputes, his office said on Thursday.
An associate of Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani said the cleric's office had no prior knowledge of the agreement that sets down conditions for unity between the Shiite political blocs, including the referee role for the marjaiya, the Shiite religious hierarchy.
The agreement has stoked fears that a union between two main Shiite blocs seeking to govern Iraq will further alienate a minority Sunni community already wary of the Shiite-dominated leadership and spark new violence.
"We were not consulted," the official said. "The agreement was done among the two blocs and we had no knowledge about it before it was announced."
He declined to comment on whether Al Sistani had accepted the role.
Al Sistani frequently offers his counsel to senior politicians who privately seek his guidance and support but has shunned a more public role. On Tuesday night, the country's rival Shiite groups agreed to unite to form a coalition, making them front-runners to head the new government after March elections.
The conditions of the alliance, which leaves them just four seats shy of the majority needed to form a government, were set down in an 11-point agreement strictly dictating the behaviour expected of any future premier.
The blocs were once part of the same governing coalition, but split over the policies of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, and the document is testament to the lingering suspicions between the two groups, especially the premier and followers of radical cleric Moqtada Al Sadr.
"So far, the obstacles that once prevented this alliance have still yet to be resolved," noted Baha Al Araji, a Sadrist lawmaker, in an interview with Al Arabiya satellite channel late Wednesday.
While the need to bring in religious authorities reflects the deep distrust between the two rival blocs, it would also give an overtly religious character to any government formed by the coalition.
