Maliki accepts resignation of Justice minister

A policeman awaits treatment at a hospital following a firefight with gunment in Kirkuk yesterday. Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution calls for "normalizing the status" of Kirkuk, resulting in the expulsion of Arab families from the oil-rich city ahead of a referendum determining whether Kirkuk should be annexed to the Kurdish provinces. Kirkuk's population is estimated at between 700,000 and 1 million, made up of Turkimen, Arabs, Kurds and some Assyrians. There is no reliable breakdown of current percentages of each, and Kurds have poured in from other areas. Because of their boycott of the 2005 election, Arabs already have little representation in the city. Kurds control 26 of the 41 provincial council seats as well as the army, police and intelligence services. Turkey and Iran fear that if the Kurds gain control of Kirkuk, Iraq's Kurds will form their own state and Kurdish militants in the surrounding countries would increase their campaign for independence. Turkey has threatened to intervene if the Kurds take over Kirkuk. The Iraq Study Group recommended delaying the referendum.

BAGHDAD: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accepted the resignation of Justice Minister Hashim al-Shebli and named a temporary replacement, his office said Thursday.

Al-Shebli, a Sunni Arab, announced last week that he had offered his resignation, citing differences with the government and the political groups that backs him, the secular Iraqi List of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. He said he would continue in office until the Cabinet approved his resignation.

Al-Shebli did not say what the problems were but it came as he was involved in a dispute over the Cabinet's recent endorsement of a decision to relocate and compensate thousands of Arabs who moved to the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk during "Arabization" campaign in 1980s. The Iraqi List and several Sunni lawmakers have objected to the decision, saying it fails to address key issues, including property claims.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

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