BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's main Sunni Arab bloc said on Monday it was ready to return to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led administration in an effort to revive the national unity government that collapsed last year.
By Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's main Sunni Arab bloc said on Monday it was ready to return to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led administration in an effort to revive the national unity government that collapsed last year.
Sunni Arab Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, leader of the largest political party in the Accordance Front, appeared to signal a new readiness to strike a deal after parliament on Saturday voted to allow members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to return to government jobs, a long-time Sunni Arab demand.
The walkout by the Accordance Front in August left Maliki's cabinet without any Sunni Arab representation and hurt efforts to draw the minority sect, who were dominant under Saddam, closer into the political process.
!ADVERTISEMENT!"The Front is ready to return to government, but as I said previously we have some demands and we are going to meet the prime minister today to listen to what has been achieved regarding these demands. We are flexible," Hashemi said.
He was speaking at a news conference in Baghdad with Abdul-Aziz Hakim, leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite party.
The Accordance Front pulled out of the government, saying it would not return until a list of demands were met. These included greater Sunni representation in government and the military and the release of mainly Sunni security detainees.
Iraq's parliament passed a bill on Saturday allowing thousands of former low-ranking Baath party members who were sacked from the civil service after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to reclaim their jobs. Parliament is also looking at a bill to free thousands of prisoners.
"We believe that the interests of Iraq needs us to return, not only the Accordance Front, but the other blocs and parties that withdrew from government," said Hashemi.
YEAR OF DELIVERY
Ministers loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also quit the government last year, along with the Iraqi National List of former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, although two List ministers refused to relinquish their posts.
Hashemi said there was an urgent need to end what he called the "unprecedented stagnation" of the political process.
Hakim said his meeting with Hashemi had focused on how to break the political logjam. "Iraqis will see progress in the coming days and weeks," he said.
Maliki's government, weakened by the walkouts and infighting between political blocs who treat ministries as personal fiefdoms, has made little progress in improving the lives of ordinary Iraqis, despite better security.
Many Iraqis still do not have regular access to water and electricity, more than a million have been displaced internally by sectarian violence, and the political blocs are still at odds over a law to unlock the country's vast oil wealth.
Washington sees 2008 as a critical year in which Iraq's political leaders must cement the security gains that have sharply reduced levels of violence countrywide.
A group of parties, including the Sadrists and smaller Shi'ite and Sunni Arab factions, released a "statement of understanding" on Sunday committing themselves to a new process of dialogue while accusing the Kurds, who have remained in Maliki's government, of threatening Iraq's unity.
(Writing by Ross Colvin; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)
