Iraqi parliament in chaos, no vote on security pact (Roundup)

Nov 20, 2008, 15:31 GMT

Baghdad - For the third time in a week, an Iraqi parliamentary session was the scene of heated debate Thursday as lawmakers clashed over a controversial security pact with the US.

Debate was marked by shouting and arguments and lawmakers angrily pounding their desks, and no vote was taken.

The agreement, which mandates a withdrawal of US troops by 2011, needs parliamentary approval before it can be signed into law by the US and Iraqi presidents.

The 275-member house is required to vote on the so-called Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) before November 24, under terms of the agreement signed by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and US Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, on Monday.

Sadrists, loyal to the anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, hold 30 seats in the parliament, and are the most vocal critics of the deal along with Shiite Fadila party (15 seats) and the Sunni Arab bloc (11 seats).

'The Iraqi government did not include us in their negotiations with the US, which lasted for months and now in this short time it is forcing us to vote on the deal,' Sadrist lawmaker Aqil Abdel Hussein told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki rejected the charge, saying 'all political blocs were aware of the government's negotiations with the American side and the agreement clauses. We were transparent.'

Supporters of the treaty are the United Shiite coalition with 87 seats and Kurdish bloc with 15 seats.

'Kurdish bloc supports an end to occupation and this deal is better for Iraqi citizens than other alternatives,' said Fouad Massoum, head of the Kurdish bloc.

Al-Maliki in a press conference said that a one-year extension to the United Nations Security Council mandate, proposed by some as an alternative to the agreement, would be 'painful.'

'This deal does not tie Iraq or interfere in its security affairs,' said al-Maliki. Rejection of the deal would put Iraq in a 'tight situation,' the premier said.

Al-Maliki said that the treaty respects the security of neighboring countries, likely seeking to reassure Syria and Iran after the US conducted a commando raid on Abu Kemal village in Syria, killing eight civilians.

A high-ranking American official told Iraqi media earlier this week that the US might withdraw troops from Iraq if the treaty was not signed.

'The United States will withdraw its forces from Iraq and refuse to approve an extension of the UN Security Council mandate if the treaty is not signed,' David Satterfield, senior advisor to the US secretary of state and the country's Iraq coordinator, told the semi- official al-Sabah newspaper.

Zebari said he was hopeful the security pact would be passed.

'Do not wonder if there are some supporting and opposing votes in the parliament. The chances for the agreement to pass are there,' Zebari said.

The coming days were critical, and Iraqi lawmakers should be decisive, Zebari said.