Sahwa councils pivotal for security, stability – PM

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday said that the sahwa (awakening) councils are “pivotal” to maintain security and stability, calling on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to avoid media “escalation”. “The formation of sahwa councils were necessary to preserve security and order in the provinces that were gripped by security vacuum before our armed forces managed to improve security conditions,” Maliki was quoted by his media office in a release received by IraqiNews.com on Wednesday. The prime minister’s statement was issued in response to another by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s PUK and Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barazani’s KDP in which they expressed rejection against the formation of sahwa tribal councils. The Iraqi premier’s office expressed “deep regret over the media escalation in the joint PUK-KDP statement over the issue of the sahwa councils that have to do with Iraq’s security, national unity and stability, noting the statement coincided with a campaign of accusations on the issue of amending the constitution. The two main Kurdish parties concurred on Tuesday that the formation of sahwa tribal councils in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and disputed areas runs counter against the constitution. “The formation of these armed elements is defying the laws endorsed by the Iraqi parliament and is also against the opinions of the majority of the country’s political powers that call for disbanding these militias,” according to a joint statement by the two parties after a meeting of their politburos in the city of Arbil. Abboud al-Issawi, an advisor for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for clans’ affairs, had said earlier this month that the government would seek the establishment of a national sahwa council for clans and refer a proposal in this respect to the Iraqi parliament for endorsement. IraqiNews.com failed to reach the official spokesman for the Iraqi government for comments on this issue. The sahwa fighters, armed by the U.S. forces, were formed by tribes in several cities and provinces of Iraq, namely Anbar, Diala, Salah al-Din and Mosul as well as some areas in the Iraqi capital with the aim of fighting armed organizations in their areas. Maliki’s statement stressed that the sahwa councils were greatly welcomed by all the political parties and powers, including the Kurdish parties, during the operations to stand up against “terrorists and outlaws”. AmR (S) 1