The very same Iraqi Sunnis who worked to keep their followers from participating in the January elections, thus shortchanging themselves in government representation, are now determined to re-enter Iraq politics.
Sunni political, religious and tribal leaders came together Saturday to form a new political front intended to represent the disempowered Sunni minority in the process of drafting a new constitution and contesting the next round of elections in Iraq.
More than 1,000 Sunnis crowded into the Engineering Club in Baghdad to declare the existence of the new front, formed under the auspices of three groups that led the Sunni boycott of January’s elections: the Association of Muslim Scholars, the Iraqi Islamic Party and the Sunni Endowment, another religious body.
The move, at a time of growing tension between Shiites and Sunnis, gives rise to hope that the disgruntled and factionalized Sunni community may yet be able to find an avenue through which to reach an accommodation with the Shiite-dominated government, despite an increase in sectarian killings that has threatened to plunge the country deeper into violence.
The move gives rise to hope? Not really, as the group’s initial foray into politics is to immediately place a demand for the resignation of a member of the new government. This doesn’t seem to be a very cooperative political group that is being founded.
But tensions were evident at the meeting, with Sunni leaders angrily blaming the new Iraqi government for the slayings of a number of Sunni religious leaders in recent days, including a prominent cleric who was allegedly detained by Iraqi police before his body was found dumped nearby earlier this week, showing signs that he had been tortured.
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The new group called for the resignation of the new interior minister, Bayan Jabr, who has been accused by Sunnis of allowing the Shiite Badr Brigade militia to operate alongside Iraqi security forces.
Jabr, addressing his first news conference, said only the elected National Assembly has the right to call for his resignation. “People who failed to get one seat in parliament cannot demand such a thing,” he said.
He did not dispute, however, that his ministry has been cooperating with the Badr Movement, saying he has used them as a source of information on the insurgency. “We have a policy of cooperating with all political movements. We are ready to receive information even from the devil,” he said.
I cannot speak with any authority about either the role and behavior of the the Badr militias or the actions of the interior minister, but I can at least say that I appreciate the man’s attitude.
Sunnis attending the conference said they are determined now to join the political process and recover their lost political role by participating in the next election, scheduled for December after a new constitution has been drafted.
“There will be a wide participation by Sunnis in the next elections for sure, and especially if the new constitution fulfills Iraqis’ demands and aspirations,” said Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samarraei, a leading cleric with the Association of Muslim Scholars. “We have resolved to enter the political field.”
This is the only part of the story that actually holds forth any hope, though other Sunnis have already made it quite apparent that they missed the boat in January. Greater Sunni participation in December is something that should be expected. Given that, does this group bring more clout to the Sunnis or further fracture them on the political front?
Promises by the new government to include Sunnis in the political process have so far fallen short of Sunni expectations. Under pressure from the U.S. administration, efforts are under way to include Sunnis in the process of writing a new constitution, which has not yet started despite an August deadline for completing the document.
One problem, Shiite officials say, is that the Sunnis themselves are divided over who represents them, making it difficult to determine which Sunnis to include in the process.
Another group formed specifically to negotiate on behalf of Sunnis, the National Dialogue Council, was excluded from the formation of the new Sunni front, calling into question the prospects that the new front will solve the problem.
“This will make divisions between the Sunnis because we already have the National Dialogue Council, which contains more than 45 parties,” said Sheik Ali al-Mash Hadani, a spokesman for the council. “So what is the purpose of this new group?”