Zebari: the presence of al-Maliki disrupted America’s move to help Iraq face ISIS .. This is what John Kerry told me
(BAGHDAD) – Former Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari disclosed the content of a conversation he had with former US Secretary of State John Kerry after he visited the latter in Baghdad at the beginning of the Islamic State’s takeover of large areas of Iraq in 2004.
Zebari said in a press statement, “Kerry told him that the United States wants to help Iraq from the threat of terrorism, but this will happen only by sending the Iraqi government a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, asking Iraq for help.”
He added, “The Americans were reluctant to help Iraq in its war against terrorism, because of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, because they believe that Maliki has ruined their policy and must be replaced.”
Zebari said on Thursday (August 22, 2019), in an exclusive interview that former Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, was “afraid”, from the demonstrations of Tahrir Square in 2011, which coincided with the outbreak of the Arab Spring.
Zebari said in an interview with The Independent in its Arabic version, that “we also have demonstrations within the wave of Arab Spring revolutions, in Tahrir Square, and beaten and arrests and prevented from crossing the bridge, and the security services threw grenades at the demonstrators.”
He added: “I saw that and I was going to the cabinet meeting, everyone was afraid, especially Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, I told them what is the reason for your fear, all these demands that they are demanding, we made, we have a peaceful transfer of power, there are elections, there Constitution, so why fear? We have freedoms, all these things exist.
He continued that “the demonstrations that took place in the Sunni areas of Iraq later, were not part of the wave of the Arab Spring, but a reaction to the behavior of the Iraqi authority” began in another direction, Sunni demonstrations were not with the Arab Spring revolutions, was a special case after the arrests, with the exclusion of Tariq Hashemi and others, and began in the Sunni cities more, excessive violence used, sectarian behavior of the government and the army and security forces and the killing in Kirkuk, Hawija and Ramadi, was rejected, according to the Constitution, which contains a article refusing to use military forces to resolve political differences, so I was opposed to this Behaviors. ”
And issued a coalition of the coalition of state law on Thursday (August 22, 2019), a statement on the statement of former Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, against the leader of the bloc Nuri al-Maliki.
The bloc expressed in a statement received (Baghdad today), “surprised by what was contained in the statements of former Minister Hoshyar Zebari in one of his interviews,” indicating that “those statements were not accurate and that Mr. Nuri al-Maliki was keen on two things, the first preserve the prestige of the state and the second not to target The demonstrators, and made sure that the handling of demonstrations demanded consistent with the provisions of the Constitution and the law, and there was no fear of them. ”
The bloc called “all political forces to renounce differences and work to unite ranks, and preoccupy with national concerns and work to stabilize the political situation under the Constitution in order to provide service to the Iraqi citizen.”