Iraq's Sunni bloc suspends talks over its return to cabinet

May 28, 2008, 10:34 GMT

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.