22/11/2008 The Iraqi parliament will vote on Wednesday on a controversial pact negotiated with Washington that would see US occupation forces leave the war-torn country by the end of 2011, its speaker said on Saturday."The debate has finished and the vote will take place on Wednesday," Mahmud Mashhadani said after a seven-hour session of parliament during which about 40 MPs expressed their views.
If the three main blocs, Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, can agree a joint position, the vote could even take place before Wednesday, he added.
On Saturday, Kurds spoke out about differences they have with the government while other MPs appear divided amongst themselves on the proposed Status of Forces Agreement. "Errors were committed during the negotiations which were conducted without transparency and with neither parliament nor the people being kept informed," said a leader of the 53-member Kurdish Alliance parliamentary faction.
His comments appeared to put at risk the group's previous support for the agreement.
On Friday, thousands of Sadrists gathered in Baghdad to protest the security pact. The crowds swarmed into central Baghdad's Firdoos Square. The protestors hung an effigy of US President George W. Bush from the abstract statue that now stands in the center of the square.
Source : almanar
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