A “shocking step” .. Al-Sudani writes off 20 Iraqi embassies and cancels the privileges of the three presidencies

A “shocking step” .. Al-Sudani writes off 20 Iraqi embassies and cancels the privileges of the three presidencies

2022-11-19 06:45

A shocking step .. Al-Sudani writes off 20 Iraqi embassies and cancels the privileges of the three presidenciesShafaq News/ The Saudi newspaper “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat” reported, on Saturday, that the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’a Al-Sudani, issued a number of orders, including the cancellation of his office allocations, and the withdrawal of presidential protection for former presidents (republic, ministers, and parliament), in a step that seemed shocking, especially for senior officials. Iraqi officials.

Yesterday, Friday, a military commander told Shafaq News Agency, “The force assigned to protect Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, the former prime minister, had received orders to withdraw and leave its position near the house he lives in in the Green Zone,” adding that “the strength of the force is about one hundred members, most of whom have not yet implemented the sudden orders.” By leaving Al-Kazemi’s house, which was issued on Thursday morning.”

In its issue issued today, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted an official source as saying that all former presidents and ministers after 2003 were included in the decision, from Iyad Allawi, the first prime minister after 2003, to Mustafa Al-Kazemi, the last prime minister.

The newspaper says, quoting political observers, that it is the first decision that may have negative repercussions on the pattern of the Sudanese relationship with senior Iraqi leaders and leaders.

Among those covered by the decisions to withdraw protections, according to the newspaper, are the former presidents of the republic, Fuad Masum and Barham Salih, and also include the protections of former prime ministers Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Nuri al-Maliki, Haider al-Abadi and Adel Abdul-Mahdi, as well as al-Kazemi.

Al-Sudani’s decisions also include, according to the newspaper, the cancellation of the allocations for the three presidencies, both for President Abdel Latif Rashid and Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, in addition to his office.

Among the decisions taken by Al-Sudani, according to the source, was cutting two and a half million dinars from the salaries of members of his government. The decisions also included canceling allocations for hospitality, treatment, and renting private planes for the three presidencies, including his office.

The newspaper believes, according to its source, that Al-Sudani aims, through these decisions, to reduce exaggerated government spending. As it is forbidden to grant members of parliament new cars, and this applies to those with special ranks, including heads of agencies, undersecretaries of ministries, and ambassadors.

As is the norm in post-2003 Iraq, former senior officials usually maintain several government protection regiments, even years after leaving office.

In a context related to the restructuring of state institutions and pressure on government spending, Al-Sudani decided to cancel 20 Iraqi embassies abroad due to the lack of Iraqi expatriates in those countries, according to the political source, in addition to the huge funds allocated from the annual budget of those embassies and their diplomatic staff.

The move comes days after the Iraqi prime minister’s decision to withdraw the list of ambassadors prepared for a vote in parliament.

The phenomenon of increasing diplomatic representation and opening embassies abroad is considered one of the aspects of financial and administrative corruption, since the vast majority of ambassadors and those who come after them of special degrees in Iraqi embassies abroad are often sons, brothers, or in-laws of senior officials in the state.

The decisions repeat what was previously taken by former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, which provoked senior officials at the time.

shafaq.com