WASHINGTON, United States – Iraq’s Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi praised the leadership of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, but advised him to form an independent political party if he wants to establish a working partnership with the country’s Sunni and Kurdish populations.
Nujaifi, a Sunni leader, is in the United States to rally support for Sunni areas devastated by three years of war against ISIS.
He said that the United States is right to support the prime minister winning a second term in office.
There is a “big difference” between Abadi and his predecessor Nouri al-Maliki, both Shiites, Nujaifi told reporters in Washington.
“He is capable of working with the various Iraqi components and is capable of making the government successful,” Nujaifi said.
Maliki, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2014, is now one of the three vice presidents. His sectarian policies, especially towards the Sunni population, are considered to have contributed to the rise of ISIS.
He was forced out of the premiership in 2014, under US pressure, when large areas of the country came under the control of ISIS, including Mosul, the hometown and stronghold of the Nujaifi family.
Maliki is head of the Dawa party, of which Abadi is a member. Nujaifi believes that it is time for Abadi to part ways with Maliki by leaving the party.
“Mr. Abadi has to have an independent party, and not stay within the framework of Dawa,” Nujaifi argued, because staying with Maliki’s party will force him to “commit to their decisions and instructions.”
He said Abadi, who faces a strong Shiite opposition, has to form a “deeper partnership” with Kurds and Sunnis as the three do not yet share “one project” under his leadership.
Regarding the Kurdish vote on independence, Nujaifi said it was “a strategic and legal mistake of the Kurdish leadership” that led to events that have followed the vote, including the October 16 fall of Kirkuk and other disputed areas.
He said it is right to impose federal authority over the disputed or Kurdistani areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad, but added that in the same way he considers the referendum unconstitutional, he also believes the use of the Iraqi army to settle internal differences is also unconstitutional.
After the war with ISIS, Nujaifi said the Iraqi army has the right to be present everywhere in the country provided they stay in their “camps” and do not interfere in local politics or security. He also called on the mainly Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi to leave the areas taken from ISIS and let local police and security forces take charge.
Asked about claims from Kurdish quarters that the US opposed Kurdistan’s independence referendum in order to increase chances of Abadi winning elections next year, Nujaifi said the Kurdish leadership themselves should receive the biggest blame.
As for US support for Abadi, he said it was mainly confined to the war against ISIS and the economic situation of the Iraqi government.
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