In Iraq, a parliament in disarray
The response to last week's bomb attack underscored that the 275-member body is stymied by partisan divides that undermine hopes for political progress.
from the April 16, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
The government has made little visible progress on any of those benchmarks.
It did, however, meet earlier this month in a session closed to the media to discuss a bill that would grant the speaker of parliament a salary equivalent to that of Iraq's president. News of such meetings only adds to the common Iraqi sentiment that its parliament is completely disconnected from reality outside the Green Zone.
Already, says the Iraqi analyst, members of parliament (MPs) are paid between $10,000 to $15,000 a month, receive a generous allowance for any trip they make outside Iraq, as well as other perks and benefits such as fuel to operate their generators and an allowance for personal security. He says many of them have amassed personal fortunes and have bought homes and started businesses in Arab and European capitals.
In comparison, an average Iraqi who may have served the state for 30 years struggles to make ends meet on a pension of $100 to $200 a month, he says.
The analyst says the problems of the Iraqi parliament can be traced to the fact that the dominant blocs were only able to win by appealing to voters' sectarian and ethnic affiliations.
The heated exchanges at the meeting Friday illustrated the sectarian divide in parliament.
Mustafa al-Hiti of the National Dialogue Front (NDF), the Sunni bloc to which the killed parliamentarian Mohammed Awadh belonged, spoke about a "conspiracy" by other government organs to weaken parliament and target Sunni lawmakers. Hassan al-Shimmari of the Shiite Fadhila Islamic party, which recently broke ranks with the dominant Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) bloc, demanded better security for the building and "more respect" for MPs.
Nassar Al-Rubaie from the group loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr berated his colleagues for not having the courage "to hold the US occupation forces responsible for the attack," since they were chiefly in charge of the Green Zone's security.
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