Iraq Parliament Convenes as Pachachi Urges Unity (Update2)
March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Iraqi politicians are determined to unite and avert civil strife, Adnan Pachachi, the country's most senior statesman, said as the new parliament convened in Baghdad for the first time.
``We must now show the world that a civil war isn't breaking out and won't break out,'' Pachachi, an 83-year-old former foreign minister who opened the parliament, said in a televised speech. ``Iraq needs to be strong, united and stable.''
Speaking after hundreds of Iraqis died in sectarian killings sparked by the bombing of a Shiite shrine last month, Pachachi said he had long dreamt of a free and egalitarian country. ``This dream hasn't come true yet, we are still on the way to building a democratic society,'' he added.
Iraq's parliament was elected on Dec. 15 and results were confirmed Feb. 10. The meeting was delayed by political infighting over the formation of a unity government, and the Feb. 22 destruction of the Golden Mosque, a sacred Shiite shrine in the city of Samarra, which prompted reprisals against Sunnis and warnings of a civil war.
``The country is going through very difficult times and it faces a big dilemma after the Samarra bombing, and the attacks that followed,'' said Pachachi, who opened the session as Iraq's oldest representative. ``Sectarian tension has increased and it threatens to provoke a national disaster.''
Green Zone
An agreement on forming the government has yet to be reached, and today's inauguration in the fortified Green Zone was left open ``pending political agreement on the designation of a speaker and his two deputies,'' Pachachi said.
The session, which lasted about 30 minutes, began with a reading from the Koran, followed by a minute's silence in memory of the Iraqis who died fighting Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated Baath party regime.
The Council of Representatives, formerly the National Assembly, is the country's first full four-year term parliament since the 2003 ouster of Hussein, whose 23-year regime was opposed by Pachachi.
It's dominated by the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, which has the support of 130 out the 275 deputies. The Kurdish Alliance has 53 seats, and Sunni parties hold about 55 seats. Secular-based and minority parties hold the balance.
As the largest bloc in the parliament, the Shiite alliance may by law nominate the premier. It named al-Jaafari on Feb. 15, after he beat Adel Abdel Mahdi, one of two vice presidents, by a single vote in an internal ballot.
Lacks Support
Al-Jaafari, who lacks the support of Sunni, Kurdish and secular leaders, said in a televised news conference after the parliament convened that he expects a new government ``will be formed in no more than a month.''
He also said he's willing to withdraw his nomination if Iraqis want him to, the British Broadcasting Corp reported.
``If my people ask me to step aside, I will do this,'' the BBC quoted al-Jaafari as saying.
Security was tight in the capital as the deputies convened, with measures including a ban on vehicles to prevent car bombings, the government said in an e-mailed statement. Civil servants were told to stay home, and most shops were closed, Agence France-Presse said.
Police reported the discovery of 27 bodies in various parts of the city late yesterday, according to the Associated Press.