Obama Hails Iraqi Power-Sharing Deal
VOA News 12 November 2010
U.S. President Barack Obama says Iraq's new coalition government will be representative, inclusive and reflect the will of the Iraqi people.
Mr. Obama told reporters in Seoul that the power-sharing agreement reached this week marks another milestone for modern Iraq.
He said Iraqis are showing that their determination to unify their country and build its future is stronger than those who want Iraq to descend into sectarian war and terror.
After an eight-month deadlock, Iraqi leaders agreed to a deal Wednesday that will keep Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in power for another four-year term.
The agreement also gave the Sunni-backed Iraqi coalition the parliament speaker position and allowed Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani to keep the presidency.
But the deal got off to a rough start Thursday, when about two-thirds of Iraqiya's 91 lawmakers walked out of parliament, saying their demands had not been met.
The walkout underlined the fragility of the new agreement and the Sunni minority's distrust of Mr. Maliki, who under Iraqi law, now has 30 days to form his Cabinet.
If the deal holds, it could end the stalemate that has paralyzed Iraqi state institutions since March's inconclusive elections. Insurgents have taken advantage of the political vacuum to stoke violence.
Newly-elected parliament speaker, Osama al-Nujaifi, was one of the Sunni lawmakers who walked out of parliament Thursday, but he later returned to the session, where voting had continued on Mr. Talabani's re-election.
Nujaifi's Iraqiya alliance, led by former prime minister Ayad Allawi, won the most seats in the March elections but was unable to gain enough support from other parties to create a majority coalition.
Iraqiya's inability to find political partners allowed Mr. Maliki, who partnered with anti-American Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in an Iranian-backed coalition, to gain momentum and support.
President Talabani nominated Mr. Maliki to form a new government on Thursday, after he was re-elected as president.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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