IRAQ: Iraqi people react to the political crisis summit in Baghdad

Iraqi people say they have mixed views on the Iraqi political leaders' crisis summit that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for Thursday in a bid to end political deadlock among the country's leader. Some citizens said on Thursday (August 16) that the Iraqi people are waiting patiently for the results of the crisis summit, while others believed this summit will not achieve anything. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last week arranged the much-anticipated summit to try to end political crisis. Maliki, whose national unity government has been in crisis since the main Sunni Arab bloc pulled out, said he would either lure it back or find other Sunni Arabs to replace it. "Of course, the Iraqi people are pinning hopes on the meeting of the political leaders, which will be held today," said Mohammed Kadhim, an Iraqi citizen. "What we hope from the politicians is to overcome their conflicts and try to to find positive points between them," said Kadhim. Ahmed Jaleel Kadhim said, "I do not think that the Iraqi government will agree on anything. Obsoletely, they will not agree on anything and will not offer anything to us. With my respect, the thief can not offer anything." U.S. officials have called the meeting a make-or-break moment for the government, which was formed in 2006 to reduce violence by including all groups but has been paralysed by boycotts and infighting on ethnic and sectarian lines. The worst split occurred this month when the main Sunni Arab bloc, the Accordance Front, withdrew its six members. Nearly half of the cabinet is no longer participating in its meetings. Besides the Sunni Arabs, supporters of powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also quit the government, while the secularist bloc of former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is boycotting cabinet meetings. The political leaders at the summit are expected to include Maliki, Iraq's Kurdish President Jalal Talabani, Sunni Arab Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi, Kurdish regional leader Masoud Barzani and powerful Shi'ite party leader Abul Aziz al-Hakim. All five were in Baghdad, with Maliki, Hashemi and Hakim having returned from trips abroad in the past few days and Barzani having arrived from Kurdish regional capital Arbil.

ITN Source | August 16, 2007

Tags:. .arrived. .among. .accordance. .quit. .agree