. Medical and Hospital News .




IRAQ WARS
Iraq finance minister announces resignation at demo
by Staff Writers
Ramadi, Iraq (AFP) March 1, 2013


Iraqi Finance Minister Rafa al-Essawi announced his resignation on Friday at an anti-government protest, ramping up a conflict between his secular Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc and the Shiite premier.

State television quoted Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office as saying the resignation of Essawi, a leading Sunni and Iraqiya member, would not be accepted until an investigation into "his financial and administrative violations" was complete.

"I announce, in response to you now, that I present my resignation," Essawi told thousands of demonstrators in Ramadi, west of Baghdad.

"I will not be part of a government that has blood on its hands. I will not sell you (or) sell your rights," he said.

"We are with you, Essawi," protesters chanted, also shouting "Allahu akbar!" (God is greatest).

Maliki is at loggerheads with Iraqiya, which is a part of his national unity government, over its accusations of authoritarianism and sectarianism in the run-up to key provincial polls due to be held next month.

"The resignation proves that the political crisis in the country cannot be solved soon," Iraqi political analyst Ihsan al-Shammari told AFP.

"Essawi knows now that he cannot continue working with this government, especially at a time when there are (reports) that there is an arrest warrant against him," Shammari said, referring to Iraqi media reports.

Protests have been staged in Sunni-majority areas of Iraq for weeks, calling for Maliki's resignation and decrying the alleged targeting of their community by the Shiite-led authorities.

The protests were initially sparked by the arrest of several of Essawi's guards on terrorism charges in December, but have since expanded markedly.

In addition to Ramadi, demonstrations were also held on Friday in areas including Mosul, Fallujah, Tikrit, Samarra and Baghdad.

The resignation "was taken after coordination with Iraqiya, because Dr Rafa al-Essawi thinks that the procedure taken against him by the prime minister made it impossible for (Essawi) to work with him," MP Haidar al-Mullah, an Iraqiya spokesman, told AFP, referring to the arrest of the guards.

"Iraqiya will discuss all options in order to put pressure to achieve the demands of the protesters," Mullah said.

In Baghdad, security forces cordoned off Sunni areas including Adhamiyah to prevent protesters from leaving, and set up additional checkpoints in the city.

The Iraqi government has sought to curtail demonstrations by saying it has released thousands of detainees and raised the salaries of the Sahwa anti-Qaeda militiamen.

Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said on Thursday that 4,000 prisoners had been released since the start of the year, some of whom can request compensation if they are not guilty of a crime.

The arrest of Essawi's guards at the end of last year came almost exactly a year after Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi's guards were arrested and accused of terrorism.

An arrest warrant was also issued for Hashemi, also a member of the Iraqiya bloc, who fled to Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region and eventually to Turkey, saying the charges against him were politically motivated.

Hashemi has since been given multiple death sentences in absentia on charges including murder, while death sentences have been handed to his guards as well.

.


Related Links
Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

Get Our Free Newsletters
Space - Defense - Environment - Energy - Solar - Nuclear

...





IRAQ WARS
Baghdad beats: Iraqis look to revive traditional music
Baghdad (AFP) March 01, 2013
Hussein Abdullah clutches his oud, long the symbol of Iraqi music, and sighs. "Iraqis do not care for their musical heritage," he laments. "On TV, all you see are singers who have no voice." While his contemporaries may have chosen to play the drums or guitar, or belt out modern lyrics, the 25-year-old has instead opted for the oud, part of an attempted revival of Iraqi traditional music, lo ... read more


IRAQ WARS
Living through a tornado does not shake optimism

Ongoing repairs keep Statue of Liberty closed

Japan riled by WHO's Fukushima cancer warning

Chernobyl plant building to be covered

IRAQ WARS
USAF Awards Lockheed Martin Contracts to Begin Work on Next Set of GPS III Satellites

Telit Offers COMBO 2G Chip For Multi Satellite Positioning Receiver

Boeing Awarded USAF Contract to Continue GPS Modernization

A system that improves the precision of GPS in cities by 90 percent

IRAQ WARS
Walker's World: The time for women

Human cognition depends upon slow-firing neurons

Blueprint for an artificial brain

Early human burials varied widely but most were simple

IRAQ WARS
Rhinos, elephants and sharks to top CITES agenda

Heat on Thailand as wildlife conference starts

Frogs leap from Indonesian swamps to tabletops in France

Thai tourist industry 'driving' elephant smuggling

IRAQ WARS
HIV 'cure' in infancy, caution experts

Cambodia orders action to stop deadly bird flu

Atlantic warming points to malaria risk... in India

HIV cured in baby for the first time: scientists

IRAQ WARS
China labour camp reform on agenda as parliament meets

China village defies officials to demand democracy

New pope faces old problem of divided China Church

Keep up censorship fight, urges acclaimed Chinese filmmaker

IRAQ WARS
US court convicts Somali pirates in navy ship attack

Ukraine to join NATO anti-piracy mission

16 gunmen killed in Thai military base attack: army

Japan police arrest mobster in Fukushima clean-up

IRAQ WARS
Outside View: Bringing facts to budget

HSBC posts falling 2012 profits after troubled year

British skepticism caps EU jobless spiral

China home prices rise for third month in February




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement