Iraq parliament speaker, lawmaker trade insults during nationally televised news conference

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Frustration over poor turnout in Iraq's parliament flared Wednesday, with the house speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani having to be physically restrained from attacking a Sunni lawmaker.

Al-Mashhadani had been holding a nationally televised news conference when he lashed out at Abdel-Karim al-Samarie for alleged corruption and failure to attend sessions, calling him a "dog" — a deep insult in Iraq and other Arab societies.

"You are dishonest and a dog," screamed al-Mashhadani.

Al-Samarie, a member of the main Sunni parliamentary bloc, the Iraqi Accordance Front, responded by calling al-Mashhadani a false patriot. The speaker, who belongs to a rival Sunni group — The National Dialogue Council — then lunged at al-Samarie, but was held back by bodyguards.

Al-Mashhadani then moved on to the parliament's main chamber, where he accosted other Sunni Accordance Front lawmakers, calling them "villains" and "dogs," and accusing them of colluding with the former Baath Party of toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

Al-Mashhadani had been angered by low attendance among Iraqi Accordance Front lawmakers that prevented the 275-seat body from making the quorum of 138 of the 275 lawmakers.

In his earlier remarks to reporters, al-Mashhadani complained that lawmakers who failed to show up were delaying the ratification of a series of edicts reached by Shiite and Sunni religious figures in the Muslim holy city of Mecca last month that aims to stop sectarian bloodshed between Shiites and Sunnis.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

Related Link:
Sunni decry dirty tricks in passing controversial federalism law

Related Link:
Iraqi parliament passes federalism bill after walkout by opponents

Related Link:
A Third of Lawmakers in Iraq Skip Session (09/06/06)