Sunni lawmaker sacked for joining armed resistance

dpa German Press Agency Published: Thursday October 4, 2007

Baghdad- Iraqi parliament decided Thursday to sack a Sunni
Iraqi Accordance Front legislator after he "joined the armed
resistance and expressed regret to taking part in the political
process," media reports said.
After a long debate, the Parliament agreed to dismiss MP Abdul
Nasser al-Janabi, and ordered that his party nominate a replacement,
independent Voices of Iraq news agency reported.

Shiekh Khalid Attiya, the first deputy of the Iraqi parliament,
had earlier decided to postpone the decision, saying since al-Janabi
had not resigned from the Iraqi Accord Front, the move was "illegal."

But Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition members rejected efforts to put
off the issue and pressed for action against al-Janabi. The session
chairman then decided to sack him and ask IAF to nominate a
replacement.

Al-Janabi was a member of the National Dialogue Council, one of
three Sunni organizations that make up the IAF.

Al-Janabi had said he "regretted participating in the political
process," and that he had joined "the Iraqi resistance."

Separately, the IAF's spokesman Selim al-Jaburi said Thursday that
US forces detained the front's MP Naif Jassim while he was at a wake
along with other mourners.

Al-Jaburi local media reports that Jassim was arrested at an al-
Qaeda terrorist network meeting in Sharqat town in Salahaddin
province, 175 kilometres north of Baghdad.

Al-Jaburi called on the US military to release Jassim immediately.

The Sunni Iraqi National Accord Front occupies 44 seats in the
275-seat Iraqi parliament.

The front was founded by three Sunni parties: the Iraqi Islamic
Party, the General Council for the People of Iraq and the Iraqi
National Dialogue Council.

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency

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