Iraq: Iraqi Kurdish leaders have officially informed the main Shia Alliance that their rejection of Ibrahim al-Jaafari as the alliance nomination for prime minister is final, political sources said yesterday.
The message was delivered by Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, who is also a top Kurdish leader, to a committee from the alliance, the sources said.
The alliance, under growing pressure to nominate a replacement to break a deadlock over a unity government, is expected to inform other political blocs today of their final decision on Mr Jaafari, the sources said.
The powerful Shia bloc is due to meet today to make a final decision and then deliver it to Kurdish and Sunni Arab blocs who accuse Mr Jaafari of monopolising power and failing to provide strong leadership.
Iraq's acting speaker of parliament said yesterday he would call on the assembly to convene in the next few days, raising the possibility that political deadlock over the new prime minister may be broken.
"The Iraqi people are impatiently waiting for this issue to be resolved. When the parliament convenes it will be possible to start the steps to form a national unity government," Adnan Pachachi told a news conference.
His announcement was the first public sign of a possible step forward for Shia, Kurdish and Sunni leaders who are struggling to form a unity government they hope can avert sectarian civil war.
The United States and Britain have stepped up pressure on Iraqi leaders to form a government as soon as possible, stressing that the political vacuum would play into the hands of the Sunni Arab insurgency and further fuel sectarian bloodshed.
But there are no signs that will happen soon as Iraqis contemplate their difficult plight three years after the fall of Baghdad.
Mr Pachachi did not say whether the assembly would vote on a prime minister and there was no suggestion that Ibrahim al-Jaafari would finally agree to widespread calls for him to step aside as the main Shia Alliance's nominee.
But some politicians believe taking the prime minister issue to parliament for a vote is the only way to break the impasse.
The problem is that Mr Jaafari's ruling Shia Alliance, which is already deeply divided, risks an internal crisis if it agrees to a vote in parliament.
British foreign secretary Jack Straw conceded there was a "high level of slaughter" in Iraq but said the country had not descended into civil war.
Speaking to BBC television, he reiterated his concern over the political paralysis.
"It's very frustrating because the leaders are taking far too long to form this government which we've elected, well the parliament was elected, on December 15th, almost four months ago," he said yesterday.
His comments came after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak offered a grim assessment of Iraq, saying that civil war had started.
The Iraqi government, eager to project an image of unity, criticised Mr Mubarak yesterday.
"It's a stab in their patriotism and civilisation [ of Iraq's Shias] even if it was unintended," Mr Jaafari said, reading from a government statement.
Mr Mubarak said in his comments, broadcast on the al-Arabiya satellite channel, that Shias in Arab states were more loyal to Iran than to their own countries, echoing accusations by Iraqi Sunnis about their own Shia leaders.
- (Reuters)