Prime Minister Ebrahim al-Jaafari pledged to unite Iraq and fight terrorism as Iraq’s first democratically elected government was sworn in on Tuesday amid escalating violence.
”You all know the heavy legacy inherited by this government. We are afflicted by corruption, lack of services, unemployment and mass graves,” Al-Jaafari told lawmakers after taking the oath of office before the National Assembly.
”I would like to tell the widows and orphans … your sacrifices have not gone in vain.”
One by one, Al-Jaafari and members of his Cabinet walked up to a podium and pledged to defend Iraq and its people. But five ministries — including the key defence and oil portfolios — remained in temporary hands and two deputy prime minister’s slots were unfilled as Al-Jaafari struggled to balance the demands of Iraq’s competing ethnic and religious factions.
Al-Jaafari had promised to form a government that would win over members of the disaffected Sunni Arab minority, believed to make up the backbone of the country’s deadly insurgency. But members of his Shi’ite-dominated alliance rejected candidates with ties to Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime.
After months of wrangling, Al-Jaafari negotiated a Cabinet that so far includes 15 Shi’ite Arab ministers, seven Kurds, four Sunnis and one Christian. Two of four deputy prime ministers were also sworn in on Tuesday, a Shi’ite and a Kurd.
Al-Jaafari will act as defence minister — a post promised to the Sunnis — until consensus can be reached on a new one. And former Pentagon favourite Ahmad Chalabi, the Shi’ite Deputy Prime Minister, was given temporary responsibility for the key oil ministry.
Even with some Sunnis in the government, insurgents have made clear there will be no let-up in the violence tearing at the country, unleashing a torrent of bombings and shootings in recent days.
President Jalal Talabani wished the new Cabinet well in its historic task — ”to achieve a unified democratic Iraq”.
Underscoring lingering divisions, however, many lawmakers stayed away from the ceremony, which took place in a half-empty hall inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone.
The new government will hold its first meeting within days, al-Jaafari said.
On January 30, millions of Iraqis risked their lives to elect the government, which is dominated by members of Iraq’s Shi’ite majority. But many Sunnis boycotted the vote or stayed home for fear of attacks at the polls. — Sapa-AP