Iraqi parties must unite

The leader of the Iraqi National Coalition, Ibrahim al-Jaafari Baghdad - Jaafar Nassrawi The leader of the Iraqi National Coalition, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, told Arabstoday all political parties in Iraq except for the Iraqi List had agreed to attend a national summit planned for next May. Jaafari , who is also a former prime minister, said the date was agreed on by president Jalal Talibani, prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, president of the autonomous Kurdistan region Massoud Barzani, head of the Supreme Islamic Council Ammar al-Hakim, chairman of the Iraqi National Congress Party Ahmed al-Jilbi and the head of the al-Ahrar parliamentary bloc, MP Bahaa al-Aaraji. Jaafari called on political fronts in the country to give priority to the national interest in order to overcome disputes, emphasising the necessity of a direct and fruitful dialogue to address the threats against the country's unity and sovereignty. The former prime minister said: "Iraq doesn't lack initiative, but what it really needs is true intent from all parties to establish effective solutions for the country's problems. "I respect all views offered by diverse political powers, as their differences are motive for dialogue rather than tension." The preparatory committee of the summit held a session on April 24 without the presence of Iraqi List representatives as the party opposed the casting-aside of the implementation of the Erbil treaty in the meeting's proposed agenda. It also opposed assigning the National Coalition representatives to formulate the agenda. The Iraqi List threatened to take political and constitutional action if the government didn't commit to the Erbil treaty. For his part, the head of the Supreme Islamic Council, Ammar al-Hakim, urged the Iraqi list to reconsider its decision to boycott the meeting. He also urged political fronts not to flood the summit with too many demands, saying: "The Iraqi citizens have lost faith in those whom they had elected."