As the trial begins of Health Ministry officials accused of sectarian killings, the Green Zone remains paralysed, writes Nermeen Al-Mufti Amid tight security, the trial began this week in Baghdad of two former Health Ministry officials affiliated with the Sadr current. Former deputy minister of health Hakem Al-Zamili and Lt Colonel Hamed Al-Shemari, from the Health Ministry security command, are charged with abuse of power, abduction, murder, and acts of sectarian violence. They were arrested by US forces nearly a year ago. The trial is seen as a test for Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, who has long been accused of covering up sectarian crimes. Witnesses for the prosecution claim that the two men allowed Shia militiamen to attack hospitals and abduct Sunni patients at gunpoint. Al-Zamili and Al-Shemari are said to have enrolled Health Ministry security men into militia and allowed them to use ambulances to smuggle weapons and get away from crime scenes. A Sunni source speaking on condition of anonymity said that this was the first time "prominent Shia officials" stand trial for sectarian crimes. The trial, therefore, is under scrutiny as a sign of Al-Maliki's ability to keep in check Shia extremists. Government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh said the government is not interfering in the trial. "The prime minister wouldn't obstruct the law just because the defendants are loyal to the Sadr current," Al-Dabbagh said. The Americans believe that Al-Zamili may have been involved in the death of many Health Ministry officials, including the director-general of health in Diyala. He may also have ordered the killing of contractors working for the Health Ministry. The Sadr current denied the accusations. Liwaa Semeisem, chairman of the political bureau of the Sadr current, told the press that the "accusations against the Sadr current are utterly groundless." The New York Times noted that preliminary investigation in the case was based on nine eyewitnesses, some of whom later immigrated to the US. One is former health minister Ali Al-Shimari, who fled the country as soon as charges of sectarian acts were brought against officials at the ministry. Al-Shimari was granted political asylum in the US. Dozens of Iraq's best doctors, mostly Sunnis, have been abducted and killed in recent years. Some were taken by force from hospitals; others were snatched in the parking lots of medical colleges. Following clashes between the Mahdi Army and security personnel in Al-Diwaniya, 180 kilometres south of Baghdad, the spokesman of the Sadr current at the parliament, Nassar Al-Robeie, said that the "no-bloodshed" agreement with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) was over. A prominent SCIRI figure, Hadi Al-Emari, denied the news. He said that the agreement signed by SCIRI head Abdul-Aziz Al-Hakim and Moqtada Al-Sadr still holds. "Al-Robeie has no right to make such a statement, considering that the agreement was concluded between the two leaders, not the two parties." The Sadr current is having trouble with the law, not with SCIRI, Al-Emari added. Moqtada Al-Sadr, who maintains that the Mahdi Army is innocent of acts of sectarian violence, had ordered his militia to freeze all activities. Should he change his mind, more bloodshed is to be expected. Meanwhile, political parties are contemplating a proposal by Prime Minister Al-Maliki on the formation of a new government. Al-Maliki wants to name the heads of "sovereign" ministries; namely, the foreign, defence and interior ministries. The remainder of cabinet seats would be divided among various political parties according to their relative weight, Al-Maliki suggested. The prime minister's plan may be hard to implement, however, especially given that Kurds insist on retaining the Foreign Ministry. But there is some support for the idea in Sunni circles. The (Sunni) Accordance Front said that it was willing to "discuss" the names suggested by Al-Maliki. Several deputies have already made it clear that they want the current system of sectarian quotas to remain in force, a matter that could undermine Al-Maliki's efforts to form a government of "technocrats". Abbas Al-Bayati, parliamentarian for the Accordance Front, told Al-Ahram Weekly that Al-Maliki asked parliamentary blocs for their opinion on a six-point programme that would give Al-Maliki full authority to name members of his cabinet, especially the foreign, defence and interior ministers. He added that Al-Maliki is going to hold further talks with various political parties before reducing the cabinet's size. The Accordance Front has already endorsed Al-Maliki's call for a smaller cabinet, saying that it doesn't mind giving up some cabinet seats to make that happen. "We wish to participate in a smaller cabinet in which all political blocs are represented," Accordance Front spokesman Salim Abdullah said. Bahaa Al-Aaraj, parliamentarian for the Sadr current, differs. Proposals to downsize the cabinet are little more than "empty talk", he said. A smaller cabinet would exacerbate "differences among political blocs," he added. Basem Al-Sharif, from Al-Fadila Party, said that efforts to form a new government of national unity are still "incomplete", noting that his party hasn't yet seen Al-Maliki's proposals. A week ago, Al-Maliki sent a message to parliament saying that the cabinet he wants would be made up of 22 or less ministers, mostly technocrats, and wouldn't be formed along sectarian lines. The current Iraqi government of 37 ministers was formed in May 2006. It was crippled when the Accordance Front (five ministers and a deputy prime minister), the Iraqi List (five ministers) and the Sadr current (five ministers) pulled out some months ago. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani met Monday with the Iranian ambassador to Iraq to discuss the visit to Baghdad of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, slated for 2 March 2008. A fourth round of Iranian-US talks that was due to be held in Baghdad this week was called off due to what the Iranians said were "technical reasons". The Americans, meanwhile, reiterated accusations against Tehran of backing the Iraqi resistance. Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, spokesman for the US army, said: "Iraqi and coalition troops have uncovered 212 weapon caches in various parts of Iraq, including two in Baghdad. These are believed to be connected to Iranian-backed groups." Smith stated that attacks in Iraq were down to about 40 a day, their lowest level since 2004. In one recent act of violence, a woman wearing an explosive belt under her wraparound coat blew herself in a shop in downtown Baghdad, killing three and injuring four others.
