Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that altogether 150 deputies in parliament (well over a majority) signed a memorandum of agreement aimed at resolving the most contentious issues facing Iraq.
For their part, the Kurds considered the new alliance as a “wave against them.”
Al-Hayat also says the PM Nuri al-Maliki is conducting extensive talks with the parliamentary blocs so as to be able to announce the names of his cabinet ministers next week.
For their part, the Kurds deplored the statement. The Kurdish independent Mahmud Osman, said that “we were surprised by this resolution.” He said that the group’s antipathy toward article 140 of the constitution (which calls for the holding of an early referendum on whether Kirkuk Province should accede to Iraqi Kurdistan) “can only be interpreted as an attack on Kurdish issues.”
President Jalal Talibani extended an invitation to the Islamic Virtue Party (IVP) to join the already- assembled 3-party alliance that underpins the current establishment. This invitation was a transparent attempt to detach Fadhila from their new friends and to draw it into an alliance with the Kurds and to entice it to join the forces in favor of a loose federalism rather than a powerful central government. The IVP or Fadhila left the al-Maliki government in part because they lost control of the Ministry of Petroleum. Fadhila controls Basra, and the Kurds’ partners, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq will need Basra to vote in favor of forming a Shiite confederacy from 8 southern provinces if their scheme is to succeed. (The new political alliance is also opposed to the creation of more “autonomous governments”). Fadhila has 15 seats in parliament and is a swing voter.
McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq for Monday:
‘Baghdad
– Around 8.30 a.m., gunmen assassinated Judge Amir Jawdat Al-na’ib, the member of the federal appeal court while he was in his way to work. The incident took place in Mansour neighborhood (west Baghdad) near Kabab Ninawa restaurant . Jawdat’s car driver was killed in the incident, too.
– Police found (5 ) unidentified dead bodies in the following neighborhoods in Baghdad . . .
Diyala
– Around noon, a joint forces of Iraqi police , American army and popular committees , raided Buhriz village ( 7 km south east Baquba ) arresting 63 suspected men .Meanwhile , a house filled with explosions detonated killing three ( one policemen and two members of the popular committees) and injuring 7 others ( five policemen and two Iraqi officers ).
Salhuddin
– Around noon, an IED targeted a car whose passengers were policemen of Dujail police station who were on their way from Baghdad to Dujail .The incident took place at Tarmiyah area in the midway between Dujail and Baghdad.
– Around 2 p.m., mortars hit Balad district ( north of Baghdad ) injuring one child as destroyed one of the houses there.
Mosul
– Around noon, a car bomb exploded at Gharbalani neighborhood in Mosul city which was parked on the road targeting a police patrol killing one civilian and injuring 6 ( three policemen and three people who were on the road at the moment of the incident.
– Police in Mosul found two unidentified dead bodies in two different places in Mosul city.
Basra
Sunday night , gunmen assassinated Fayadh Al-Mosawi , the man in charge of public relations of Sadr office in Basra , while he was attending a funeral ceremony in Zubair ( south of Basra city ). ‘
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