Iraq OKs role of Shiite militias

BAGHDAD — Rekindling sectarian rivalries at a sensitive time, Iraq’s parliament on Saturday voted to fully legalize state-sanctioned Shiite militias long accused of abuses against minority Sunnis, adopting a legislation that promoted them to a government force empowered to “deter” security and terror threats facing the country, like the Islamic State group.

The legislation, supported by 208 of the chamber’s 327 members, was quickly rejected by Sunni Arab politicians and lawmakers as proof of the “dictatorship” of the country’s Shiite majority and evidence of its failure to honor promises of inclusion.

“The majority does not have the right to determine the fate of everyone else,” Osama al-Nujaifi, one of Iraq’s three vice presidents and a senior Sunni politician, told reporters after the vote, which was boycotted by many Sunni lawmakers.

“There should be genuine political inclusion. This law must be revised.”

Another Sunni politician, legislator Ahmed alMasary, said the law cast doubt on the participation in the political process by all of Iraq’s religious and ethnic factions.

“The legislation aborts nation building,” he said, adding it would pave the way for a dangerous parallel to the military and police.

A spokesman for one of the larger Shiite militias welcomed the legislation as a well-deserved victory. “Those who reject it are engaging in political bargaining,” said Jaafar alHusseini of the Hezbollah Brigades.

“It is not the Sunnis who reject the law, it is the Sunni politicians following foreign agendas,” said Shiite lawmaker Mohammed Saadoun.

The law, tabled by parliament’s largest Shiite bloc, applies to the Shiite militias fighting ISIS as well as the much smaller and weaker anti-ISIS Sunni Arab groups.

Militias set up by tiny minorities, like Christians and Turkmen, to fight ISIS are also covered.

According to a text released by parliament, the militias have now become an “independent” force that is part of the armed forces and report to the prime minister, who is also the commander in chief.