Sadr Bloc Ends Boycott Of Parliament
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 — Lawmakers loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said yesterday they are ending a nearly five-week boycott of Parliament sessions after officials accepted their demands for rebuilding a Shiite shrine damaged by bombings.
Boycotts by the Sadr bloc and the main Sunni faction have stalled work on major “benchmark” legislation demanded by the American government.
Nassar al-Rubaie, head of the 30-member bloc, told the Associated Press that “we have suspended our boycott as of today after all our demands were met and the parliament voted on them.”
Mr. Sadr’s followers walked out of Parliament last month over the government’s inability to restore a major shrine in Samarra that has been bombed twice — once in February 2006 and again last month.
The Sadrists said they would return if the government developed a plan to rebuild the shrine and secure the road from Baghdad to the city, which passes through Sunni insurgent areas.
