Iraqi row over key laws deepens
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Scores of Iraqi lawmakers stormed outof parliament on Tuesday after blocking a vote on the 2008budget and other key bills, prompting calls for the legislatureto be disbanded.
Parliament speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab, toldreporters he might ask the presidency council to dissolve thelegislature unless the crisis was resolved. The councilcomprises Iraq's president and two vice presidents.
According to Iraq's constitution, parliament can dissolveitself with the consent of the absolute majority of itsmembers, or upon the request of the prime minister and with theapproval of the president. Mashhadani did not elaborate.
The walkout during an evening session, mainly by Shi'iteand Sunni Arab lawmakers, underscored the deep distrust betweenthe country's different sectarian and ethnic groups.
"The crisis of confidence in parliament has grown," Bahaaal-Araji, a senior lawmaker from the movement of Shi'ite clericMoqtada al-Sadr, told a news conference.
"I think we should admit the failure of the (politicalprocess), dissolve parliament and hold new elections."
In a rare moment of unity, Shi'ite and Sunni Arab MPsblamed the Kurdish bloc for the deepening legislative crisis.Kurdish lawmakers, who account for about 20 percent of theparliament, blamed their Shi'ite and Sunni Arab colleagues.
Lawmakers have been haggling over the $48 billion budgetfor weeks. Debate has been taking place at the same time on anamnesty law that could free thousands of prisoners and a billon provincial powers that would define relations betweenBaghdad and local authorities.
In recent days, leaders of the political blocs agreed tovote on all three measures as a package because of mutualsuspicion that if one was voted on separately and approved, thefaction that wanted that most would renege on the rest.
DEEP MISTRUST
Sunni Arabs are backing the amnesty law because it couldfree thousands of mainly Sunni Arab inmates detained during theinsurgency against U.S. forces and the Shi'ite-led government.
Some Shi'ite parties want the provincial powers law becauseit could devolve more power to the regions, including Shi'itesouthern Iraq, home to most of the country's oil reserves.
The Kurds had wanted the budget passed giving them 17percent of allocations, which some Shi'ite and Sunni Arab MPshad said was too much based on current population estimates.
A compromise was reached on Sunday whereby the allocationwould remain 17 percent for this year but then be reviewed oncea proper census had been carried out.
The agreement had been to read each article of each lawfirst and then vote on all three as a package. Despite thatdisputes broke out over the order of voting, several MPs said.
"The Kurds demanded the budget, the provinces law and theamnesty law be voted on at once," said Khalaf al-Alayal, aSunni Arab lawmaker.
"We rejected this as we didn't want to equate the releaseof prisoners with a financial contract to please the Kurds."
Ula Talabani, a member of the Kurdish bloc, accused SunniArab and Shi'ite Sadrist MPs of conspiring to block theagreement reached on sharing out the national budget.
"There was a deal between them to vote on the amnesty law,and then withdraw before reaching the budget law. After welearned this, we refused to vote on the amnesty law," she said.
It was not clear how the impasse would be resolved,although parliament is set to meet again this week.
The U.S. government has long been pressing Iraq's leadersto make progress on the legislative front.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, once highly criticalof the slow progress toward political reconciliation, said enroute to Baghdad on Sunday that Iraq's leaders "seem to havebecome energised in the last few weeks".
Parliament passed a law last month that will allow formermembers of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to regain their jobs inthe government and military, a key demand of minority SunniArabs who were dominant under Saddam.
(Additional reporting by Wisam Mohammed and Mohammed Abbas)
(Writing by Dean Yates, Editing by Sean Maguire)