Iraq’s Sadr ends sit-in after PM proposes new ministers

BAGHDAD — Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr ordered his followers to end a two-week sit-in on Thursday after the country's premier proposed new ministers for a technocratic Cabinet that he had demanded.

The sit-in at entrances to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to Iraq's main government institutions and foreign embassies, was aimed at pressuring authorities to carry out reforms.

Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi had himself repeatedly called for the current Cabinet of party-affiliated ministers to be replaced with technocrats, but has faced resistance from powerful blocs and their ministers, who rely on ministries for patronage and financial gain.

The end of the sit-in and the proposal of the new ministerial candidates, who will now be considered by parliament, eases political tensions that have been running high for weeks.

"End your sit-in before the gates of the Green Zone, with thanks and appreciation to you," Sadr said in televised remarks, calling on his followers to make an organised withdrawal.

The cleric said that protests after Friday prayer will continue to push for a vote on the new Cabinet.

Sadr, who returned to the political spotlight after calling for the sit-in and various earlier protests, also praised the “brave step” by Abadi of proposing the new ministers at a parliamentary session earlier in the day.

The main sit-in site erupted in celebration after the announcement, with demonstrators waving flags, dancing and in some cases weeping.

Just the beginning 

Abadi gave a sealed file containing the names of 16 ministerial candidates to parliament speaker Salim Al Juburi following a speech to lawmakers, but did not announce their names.

The defence and interior ministers will remain the same for now due to the country’s ongoing battle against the Daesh terror group, Abadi said.

“They were chosen on the basis of professionalism, competence, integrity and leadership ability,” Abadi said of the proposed candidates.

Parliament then voted on carrying out “complete reform” of government positions including ministers, deputies and security commanders.

The ministerial changes are to be carried out in 10 days and the other positions within a month, Juburi said.

But changing ministers and other senior officials would only be the beginning of the process, as ministries are packed with lower-level employees appointed on the basis of party and sectarian affiliation, and replacing them would face serious resistance.

Technocrat ministers would also lack the political cover afforded by party affiliation, and could face threats by armed groups opposed to the changes they propose.

Parliament voted this week to give Abadi until Thursday to present his proposed line-up, and Abadi announced on Wednesday that he would do so.

In February, the premier had called for the cabinet to undergo “fundamental” change, saying it should include “professional and technocratic figures and academics”.

Stalled reforms 

That kicked off the latest chapter in a months-long saga of Abadi proposing various reforms that parties and politicians with interests in the existing system have sought to delay or undermine.

Abadi first announced reform measures last year under pressure from protesters calling for measures to address widespread corruption and abysmal services, demands that were backed by top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani.

But the protest movement faltered, weekly attendance at Friday demonstrations dropped and little in the way of real, lasting change has been achieved so far.

Sadr, the scion of a powerful clerical family from the Shiite holy city of Najaf, later called for his supporters to protest and then stage the sit-in at the Green Zone.

Sadr had threatened that his supporters would storm the Green Zone if Abadi failed to present a line-up of technocrats.

But Sadr entered the area alone on Sunday, asking his supporters to remain outside the perimeter.

Sadr first made a name for himself at the age of 30 as a vociferous anti-American cleric who raised a rebellion and commanded a feared militia.

His influence ebbed after the 2011 US pullout but he retained strong support among the lower classes, and is now casting himself as the champion of the fight against graft.