Al-Maliki calls for al-Sadr loyalists to end their boycott

Followers of Moqtada al-Sadr march over chalk drawings of the British, American and the Israeli flags in Basra on Tuesday

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called Thursday on lawmakers and cabinet ministers loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to end their boycott of the parliament and government.

Addressing a news conference on his return to Baghdad from a two-day visit to neighboring Jordan, where he met with President George W. Bush and King Abdullah II, al-Maliki said: "I hope they reconsider their decision because it doesn't constitute a positive development in the political process."

The Sadrists, who have 30 lawmakers and five Cabinet ministers, said Wednesday that their boycott was called to protest al-Maliki's meeting with Bush.

The Sadrists had threatened to quit the government and parliament if the meeting went ahead, but only said they were suspending their participation when they announced their decision Wednesday, suggesting that they wanted to leave the door open for their return.

A senior Sadrist legislator, Baha al-Aaraji, said Thursday that al-Sadr supporters would end their boycott when there is an increase in what he termed well-trained Iraqi security forces and the government ends the chronic shortages of basic services like electricity and fuel.

"Political partnership means commitment," al-Maliki said, addressing his Sadrist allies, whom he advised to use constitutional channels to air their grievances.

The Sadrists were crucial to al-Maliki's election to his job earlier this year, something that is reflected in al-Maliki's reluctance to comply with repeated U.S. demands that he moves to disband the Mahdi Army, a Shiite militia run by al-Sadr and blamed for much of the sectarian violence tearing Iraq apart.

Al-Maliki pledged again to act against illegal armed groups in his Thursday news conference, but without naming the Mahdi Army or citing specific actions.

He said he has reassured Bush in their meeting of "the government's resolve to impose the government's authority, bring stability, hold to account outlaws and limit the possession of arms to the hands of the government."

He also pledged to deal harshly with those who "endanger Iraqi lives regardless of their identity and affiliation," a clear reference to militias.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

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