Iraqi PM urges Sunni bloc to end cabinet boycott30 Jun 2007 13:25:07 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Mussab Al-Khairalla
BAGHDAD, June 30 (Reuters) - Iraq's Shi'ite prime minister on
Saturday urged the main Sunni bloc to return to government,
a day after the faction said it would boycott cabinet meetings
because of legal steps against one of its ministers.
The move by the Sunni Accordance Front, which suspended
its membership in parliament a week ago too, is another big
blow to Iraq's faltering efforts to push through laws aimed
at reining in sectarian violence and reconciling majority
Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs.
"I urge ... the leaders of the Accordance Front to cancel
their decision to boycott cabinet meetings and to let the
judicial process solve this problem in the interests of national
reconciliation," a statement from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's
office said.
Ali al-Dabbagh, the spokesman for the Shi'ite-led government,
this week told Al-Arabiya television that an arrest warrant
had been issued for Culture Minister Asaad Kamal Hashemi in
relation to a murder investigation.
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