Kurdish ministers quit Iraqi Maliki's government

Iraqi Kurdish leader Hama Amin said that Kurdish ministers returned to Erbil from Baghdad in protest against the outgoing prime minister’s accusations of Kurds of “embracing terrorists.”

According to Amin, as quoted by Al-Arabi Al-Jadid newspaper, the ministers of Commerce, Health, Foreign Affairs, Immigration, Governorate Affairs, and Parliamentary Affairs, in addition to the deputy prime minister Rose Nouri Shawis and 12 Kurdish general managers working at the federal government have arrived in Erbil and “will not return unless Maliki offers an official apology for accusing Kurds of sponsoring and embracing terrorism.”

Amin pointed out that “Maliki has become confrontational with everyone, including his closest partners. It’s impossible to work with such a person who does not calculate the repercussions of his statements.”

“Maliki’s government is no longer welcome at home or abroad,” member of the Kurdistan Alliance, Shwan Mohamed, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadid. “Any negotiation will be with the upcoming government.”

With the quitting of Kurdish ministers, Maliki’s government has become without nine ministers, including four sovereign ministries, namely the defence, interior, foreign affairs, and finance.

Maliki has been in charge of the ministries of defence and interior since the dismantling of the unity government three years ago, due to failure to name a civilian candidate as stipulated in the constitution.

In the same context, an Iraqi government source said that Maliki named his deputy Hussein Al-Shehrestany as minister of foreign affairs after the resignation of Husheir Zeibary. On Friday, Shehrestany received the Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukri in Baghdad.