Iraq struggles with political crisis

Baghdad: Another crisis is looming over Iraq. Following the blasting of the mosque in Samarra, the security forces, political and religious figures managed to avert a civil war after days of sectarian strife.

The relative calm was once again broken, this time on the political scene with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani lending support to opposition calls for Prime Minister Ebrahim Al Jaafari to step down. Talabani said it would help form a national unity government.

Mahmoud Othman, prominent leader of the Kurdish coalition, said Kurds fear promises made by Al Jaafari during a visit to Turkey on the situations in Kurdistan and Kirkuk.

Kurdish fears

"What triggered our dismay was the exclusion of Kurdish representation in the delegation that visited Turkey with Al Jaafari. We suspect there were negotiations and perhaps secret agreements, which are not in the interest of the Iraqi Kurds," said Othman.

Iraqis are frustrated by the disagreements among their political leaders, on the candidacy of Al Jaafari as prime minister.

The average Iraqi wants to see the swift installation of a national unity government to tackle the social, economic and security problems.

The essence of the disagreement is over power, said Ammar Al Hakeem, a top official of the Higher Council of Islamic Revolution, the leading member of the Shiite coalition. Some parties were unable to make an impact in the parliamentary elections in December, they are now seeking a bigger share, he said.

"The coalition wants a national unity government based on the outcome of the elections for each party, which means all sides can participate in line with the outcome."

But it is not as easy as it seems due to divergent views of the key players.

Former prime minister Eyad Allawi wants to form a national unity government, based on the exceptional security situation in the country and not on the basis of poll results.

The Kurdish coalition, which includes parties of Talabani and Masoud Barzani, has reservations about Al Jaafari, who had taken tough stance regarding rights of Kurds in their region during his first term.

Sa'ad Jawad Kandeel a top leader, said the coalition's choices were limited because of lack of alternatives. The coalition has to either convince other parties to accept Al Jaafari, or quickly find a candidate who can replace him, he said.

The writer is an Arab journalist based in Baghdad impasse