Cleric says Iraqi PM should resign

25 Jun 2012, 7:07 am   -   Source: AAP

Hardline Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says Iraq's prime minister should resign if he cannot produce reforms.

The firebrand Iraqi cleric whose followers are a swing vote in the nation's ongoing government crisis says the prime minister should resign if he cannot produce reforms.

In a rare news conference, hardline Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr admonished the Shi'ite-led government, saying it has shut Iraq's minorities out of power and failed to fix legal systems and other public services.

As a result, and to jumpstart the nation's all but paralysed government, Sadr said he is prepared to direct his party's 40 MPs to support a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki - so long as he is assured other political blocs in parliament provide the rest of the 163 votes needed.

His declaration delivers a sharp blow to Maliki's efforts to hold on to power. The Shi'ite prime minister kept his job after 2010 elections failed to produce a clear winner only with grudging support from Sadr, an old nemesis.

"If the head is reformed, everything beyond it is reformed," Sadr said.

An adviser to Maliki, Ali al-Moussawi, declined to comment, but aides previously predicted any vote to replace Maliki would fall short - as has Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd.

Also Sunday, an Iraqi press freedom group condemned authorities for ordering the closure of 44 news organisations.

Critics say Maliki, whom they accuse of sidelining opponents to consolidate his Shi'ite party's power, is sending a warning to the media.

The list, which officials say was compiled a month ago, only became public on Sunday.

Most of the 44 newspapers, radio and TV stations targeted for shutdown are Iraqi, although foreign broadcasters including the BBC and Voice of America were on the list as well as the US-funded Radio Sawa. The BBC and Voice of America have closed most permanent news operations in Iraq.

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