Shiites, Sunnis Boycott Iraqi Conference
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Shiite and Sunni blocs in Parliament boycotted a conference on Iraqi reconciliation yesterday, as the American vice president, Dick Cheney, traveled north to meet with Kurdish leaders.
Members of the main Sunni Parliament coalition Tawafuq refused to attend the two-day conference because of complaints about the Shiite-dominated government.
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s bloc walked out of the conference, saying they did not want a ceremonial presence. The same went for Sheik Ali Hatem Sulaiman, a representative of Sunni tribes that rose up against Al Qaeda in Iraq. The boycott was symptomatic of the rifts and enmity among Iraqi parties, which are organized along ethnic and religious lines and have delayed progress in sharing power among the country’s Shiite majority and the formerly ruling Sunnis.
“It is the Tawafuq bloc’s opinion that current circumstances hinder the success of such conferences,” a Parliament member, Ayad Samarraie, said.
