Sunni Deputy Prime Minister Saleh Al Mutlaq stood by an earlier charge that Iraq is becoming a new dictatorship under Maliki, a Shiite.
He said Iraqis could eventually rise up violently if Al Maliki remains in his post, and pushed for a vote of no confidence in the prime minister if he remains in office.
“The longer Al Maliki stays in power, the higher the possibility of a divided Iraq,” Mutlaq said during an interview at his office in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone Al Mutlaq’s Sunni-backed Iraqiya party has been boycotting parliament and Cabinet meetings since last month to protest what it sees as efforts by Maliki to consolidate power, particularly over state security forces.
Mutlaq suggested the Kurds — a valuable political bloc — could be moving closer to Iraqiya’s point of view as the political stalemate drags on.
“The Kurds are getting more convinced that continuing to support the Al Maliki government is a mistake ...and maybe boycotting Parliament is one of the ways to pressure the government to change,” he said. Kurdish officials couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Mutlaq is a contentious figure in Iraqi politics.
The anti-Iran politician was banned from running in the last elections because of alleged ties to Saddam’s disbanded Baath party, but was allowed to resume his political life under a government power-sharing agreement that includes Iraqiya.
Maliki’s government, meanwhile, has demanded the arrest of the country’s top Sunni politician, Vice President Tariq Al Hashemi of Iraqiya, accusing him of running a hit squad targeting government officials.
Quad
Associated Press
Read more: http://dinarvets.com/forums/index.php?/topic/99997-deputy-pm-calls-for-maliki%e2%80%99s-removal/#ixzz1jNSMVcFi