Iraq’s Sunnis and Kurds are paying the price of the Shiite division
Iraq’s Sunnis and Kurds are paying the price of the Shiite division
1-17-2022
At a time when the Sunni Arabs ended their bilateral differences between the two most prominent alliances in the western provinces (progress and determination), this rapprochement seemed to favor the Kurds, especially the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and against the Shiite Arabs who were divided among themselves among three parties. The Iraqi political map, which almost split during the 2018 elections, included a longitudinal division that included Shiite-Sunni-Kurdish parties within a fleeting alliance that returned again to a kind of severe sectarian polarization, when the government of Adel Abdul-Mahdi was formed by the will of a semi-Shiite-Shiite movement represented by the leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr through his bloc at the time ( Sairoon) and Hadi Al-Amiri, the leader of the Al-Fateh Alliance.
The Kurds, who were classified as historical allies of the Shiites, were forced to sit on the waiting benches, which for them only led to obtaining ministries according to the electoral merit. As for the position of the President of the Republic, which gave Shiite leaders pledges to the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, to support its candidate for the presidency of the Republic, Fuad Hussein, it became the share of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, in which the leader was nominated, Barham Salih.
As for the Sunni Arabs, they were at that time outside the equation of decisive influence, unlike today, as they quietly received their ministerial entitlements. As for the presidency of the House of Representatives, which is their component share, a group of personalities competed for it, including Muhammad al-Halbousi, who succeeded in winning the position with a clear majority similar to the majority that Barham Salih won for the presidency. And both majorities for both positions (the presidency and the parliament) were Shiite, since Shiites are the decisive parliamentary majority in parliament (180 deputies), and therefore they have the ability to favor any party for any position.
Today, the matter is different if it is at the level of the Shiites (through the large majority represented by Al-Sadr) and at the level of the Sunni Arabs (through a clear majority represented by Al-Halbousi) and the Kurds (through the clear majority represented by Barzani). These majorities found, for the first time after 2003, an opportunity to impose part of their choices through al-Sadr’s insistence on forming a national majority government. The first step succeeded with the election of the parliament presidency, as the reality of the majority passed when the leader of “Progress” Muhammad al-Halbousi, allied with “Azzm”, won the other Sunni alliance led by Khamis al-Khanjar, with 200 votes. It is true that the wilaya order issued by the Federal Court temporarily halted the proceedings, but in the end it was for a feuding Shiite party a bone-breaking operation by the Sunnis against them.
While these factions sent one warning message to the Kurds through the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Massoud Barzani, when a hand grenade exploded in one of its headquarters in Baghdad, the Sunni Arabs have so far gained the lion’s share of the bombs and hand grenades that affected their headquarters in Baghdad and the homes of some of their leaders. After targeting the headquarters of the “Progress” party led by Muhammad al-Halbousi in the Adhamiya neighborhood next to al-Rusafa in Baghdad, an explosive device targeted, hours later, the headquarters of the “Azm” coalition led by Khamis al-Khanjar in the Yarmouk neighborhood. Yesterday (Sunday), an explosive device targeted the office and home of Progress Party deputy Abdul Karim Abtan in Al-Saydiyah neighborhood in Baghdad.
The Sunni leaders do not seem likely to back down from what they have done, although any decision to stop the procedures by the Federal Court will make them in a very weak position, unlike the Kurds who were divided and are still divided (the Kurdistan Democratic Party proceeded towards the majority, but with caution even with the presentation of its candidate for the presidency, Hoshyar). Zebari, while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan with the option of Shiite consensus so far).
While what appears to be a close agreement between the current and the framework does not appear on the horizon even after Al-Amiri’s meeting with Al-Sadr, the Sunnis will continue to pay the price for the Shiite-Shiite differences, while the Kurds are maneuvering through their candidates for the presidency at a time when Al-Sadr, after Al-Amiri met his choice towards the majority, This means that the situation will remain as it is, and the bombs and grenades will rain down the headquarters and homes of Sunni leaders.
rawabetcenter.com
