Sectarian tension in Iraq is increasing, as cracks are forming in the fragile governing coalition, writes Nermeen Al-Mufti The Kurdish community received news of the outcome of the United States elections with obvious concern. But most Iraqis didn't have much to say about the loss of the Republicans. Most refuse to believe that the Democratic control of the Congress is going to improve their lives in any tangible manner. The Sunnis remain sceptical about the performance of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, and some have threatened to leave the government. The Sunnis are particularly worried about the worsening security situation. And not only the Sunnis are disenchanted with the performance of the Shiite prime minister. Mohamed Ihsan, a minister in the Kurdish government, said that the prime minister is failing to act on Article 140 of the constitution, which calls for full normalisation in the country. Other politicians, especially the Turcomans, disagree with that assessment. Tareq Zeinal, a legal consultant for the Turcoman Front, said that Article 140 is about normalisation in the entire country. "The Kurds want to implement Article 140 in Karkuk alone. In other words, the Kurds want to annex Karkuk, which is something Arabs and Turcomans are opposed to. All historic documents and previous censuses confirm that Karkuk is an Iraqi and Torcuman town," Zeinal pointed out. The New York Times has published a report by a US officer who worked in Dialy, 90 km northeast of Baghdad. The officer claimed that the commander of the fifth division of the Iraqi army in Dialy, Shaker Al-Kaabi, was involved in fomenting sectarian sedition in the country. Iraqi Defence Ministry spokesman Mohamed Al-Askari, denied the charges. The dominantly Sunni Al-Azamiya region and other Sunni areas in the country have come under mortar fire for most of last week. The government blames "unknown gunmen" for the bombardment. Meanwhile, differences continue to surface in government ranks. Half Al-Alyan, chief of the National Dialogue Front, threatened to withdraw from the government, citing Al-Maliki's refusal to listen to Sunni ministers. But Vice President Tareq Al-Hashimi, in a meeting with the Iraqi community in Doha, denied that the Sunnis were about to pull out of the government. In a closed session of the parliament, Al-Maliki threatened to punish parliamentarians who speak out against the government. In the event of government reshuffle, Al-Maliki said, he will choose the new ministers himself and will not base his decision on their sectarian background. The remarks angered some deputies, one of whom told me that "what Al-Maliki said conflicts with the standing agreement among the parliamentary blocs." The Reconciliation Front now seeks an urgent meeting with the Coalition Bloc to discuss power sharing. The Reconciliation Front wants to maintain sectarian balance in various government agencies, especially the security services and may withdraw from the coalition unless its demands are met, according to a well-informed source. Ministers of the Reconciliation Front are disappointed with the government's failure to bring security to Sunni areas, political analyst Raad Al-Hadithi said. "It is significant, though, that Al-Maliki now recognises that the militia are a menace," Al-Hadithi, who favours the incorporation of the militia in the army and the police, pointed out. But what if the militia were incorporated in the police and then continued to disrupt the system from inside? The question worries Sheikh Mohamed Al-Badran, who lives in Ramadi. The best thing would be for the militia to be disbanded and their leaders to be brought to trial, he said. Other analysts don't see Nuri Al-Maliki as someone who is insensitive to Sunni demands in particular. "I don't think that Al-Maliki is ignoring his Sunni ministers. But he is acting alone, just as former Prime Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari used to do. It is hard to blame him, for most officials cannot make up their mind and the country is spiralling out of control," says Janan Ali, an expert in Iraqi politics. Living conditions in Iraq are steadily worsening. Gasoline is now 1,000 dinars ($0.6) a gallon, rather expensive by Iraqi standards. A bottle of liquefied gas costs 30,000 dinars ($20) and lasts an average family about a week. Electricity and water supply are irregular. Students are afraid to go to school. And many families are moving out of their neighbourhoods because of sectarian violence. Some are spending the cold winter in stadiums, now turned into open-air makeshift camps.
