Patriarch of Baghdad grateful for the election of the Speaker of the House, now for the government
Baghdad (AsiaNews) - "Thank God our prayers are being heard" and the political and institutional stalemate that has beleaguered Iraq precipitate seems destined to end. Speaking to AsiaNews Chaldean Patriarch Mar Louis Raphael I Sako does not hide his relief after having yesterday launched a prayerful appeal to the Iraqi parliament hasten the appointment of the "three presidents".
In
the afternoon, in
fact, the Assembly elected the Sunni
al-Salim Jabouri as Speaker; a first step towards the consolidation of the political and institutional life of the nation, even the seat of the President of the Republic and the Prime
Minister are still vacant.
The interim Prime Minister - and the winner
of the April elections - is the Shiite Nouri al Maliki.
Commenting on the appointment yesterday,
His Beatitude believes that "now
the formation of the new government will
finally" be decided on; he confirms that "my letter was distributed
to all members of Parliament"
and hopefully contributed
something to the rebirth of the country.
After weeks of stalemate and political divisions
between Shiites, Sunnis
and Kurds - exacerbated by the advance of what
was the Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant (ISIS, Sunni jihadists linked to al-Qaeda), and what
is now the militia of the Islamic caliphate - ,
the House has elected its Speaker yesterday. He is the Sunni al-Salim Jabouri, a
moderate Muslim. Now it remains to
be seen whether politicians in
Baghdad will be able to proceed
speedily to the appointment of the Head
of State and the Prime Minister,
who will then be called on to form the
new government.
Al-Jabouri received 194 out of 273 valid votes
(out of a total of 328); the second candidate, Shorouq al-Abayachi, received
19 votes. Agreement must now be
reached on the appointment of the
President of the Republic (who must be a Kurd) and the Chief Executive, a Shia Arab reflecting the majority in the country. However, consensus on the latter two charges still seems a distant hope, in spite of prayers and appeals
from Christians and Muslims who call for "unity" in the face of separatist
movements.
Meanwhile the conditions
of Christians in the north, especially in Mosul are becoming increasingly
dramatic. In Mosul, the population is
forced to survive without water and electricity. As Auxiliary Bishop of Baghdad. Shleimon
Warduni told the webiste Baghdadhope, the
Islamists have begun to "mark the homes of Christians with the letter
N" of Nazarat
(Christian) and have "occupied
the Chaldean bishopric hoisting their
flag". The city occupied by the militia is now considered as "lost" and inaccessible
for Shiites, Kurds,
Christians and Sunnis themselves who do not recognize the power of the Islamic Caliphate.
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