Al-Sadr ministers leave Iraqi government

IRAQ:Six ministers belonging to the movement headed by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr resigned yesterday in protest at the Iraqi government's refusal to demand a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.

Mr al-Sadr, who has not appeared in public for months, has also been angered by the arrest by US forces of leading figures of his Mahdi Army militia, in spite of its adherence to a unilateral cessation of attacks on US and Iraqi forces and Sunni civilians.

Sadrist legislator Nassar al-Rubai, who announced the resignations, read a statement from Mr al-Sadr which said: "The six ministries shall be handed over to the government itself in the hope that this government will give these responsibilities to independents who wish to serve the interests of the people and the country."

Sadrist ministers, who did not distinguish themselves in office, held the agriculture, health, transport, civil society, public works and tourism portfolios in the 37- member cabinet.

The defection of the Sadrists, whose backing projected Nuri al-Maliki into the premiership, amounts to a major blow to his Dawa party, which has only 27 seats in the assembly. Furthermore, the Sadrists, who are both Shia fundamentalist and Iraqi Arab nationalist, constitute the only parliamentary faction with a mass following.

Over the past year Mr al-Sadr, who opposed the occupation from the outset, increased his following by exploiting rising popular dissatisfaction with the lack of security, electricity and jobs.

His movement, which carries out welfare work in poor communities, makes up for some of the major failings of the government.

While the 32 Sadrist deputies, the largest single faction in the assembly, are expected to attend sessions, it is likely that they will vote with the opposition, reducing the representation of the dominant fundamentalist Shia-Kurdish alliance to 139 seats, a simple majority plus one in the 275-seat assembly.

If the Sadrists make common cause with Fadhila, a dissident Sadrist faction which has 15 seats; the secular Sunni National Dialogue Front, with 11 seats; the secular Iraqi National List of Ayad Allawi, with 25; and the Sunni fundamentalist Iraqi Accord Front, with 44, they can muster 127 votes. And if another 11 Shias defect from the Shia bloc, the government could be voted out.

However, it is not expected the government will fall immediately. Instead, it is likely to gradually collapse due to its inability to deliver what the Iraqis want most - safety and stability.

In Washington, President Bush, who has committed 30,000 additional troops to Iraq, is under pressure from a Democratic-controlled Congress to set a withdrawal timetable, which he says would undercut the Baghdad offensive. Mr Bush and the Democrats set themselves on a collision course on Monday over his $100 billion funding request for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Ahead of White House talks tomorrow, Mr Bush set conditions for discussions with the Democrats on the request, saying he would not consider a withdrawal deadline.

One analyst said Mr al-Sadr could be acting to quell internal dissent over what was viewed as tacit support for the Baghdad crackdown, which has failed to stop bombings blamed on Sunni Arab al-Qaeda that have targeted Shia neighbourhoods.

"Sadr is coming under pressure because of his tacit support of the security plan . . . So he has to restore internal discipline, which he does by withdrawing from the political process and going back to the street," said Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis Group think tank.

Hazim al-Nu'aimy, a political science professor at Baghdad's Mustansiriya University, said he viewed the Sadrists' move as part of a "political game" that was unlikely to spark a crisis. - ( Additional reporting: Reuters)