PM reiterates calls to set up strong federal government

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Monday reiterated calls to set up a strong federal government able to protect Iraqi provinces, describing Iraq as “a unified state” and all its citizens have to benefit from its wealth. “This came during his speech before the first founding conference of the Bani Hassan Arab tribes,” al-Maliki’s office said in a statement. “If we want to set up a democratic state, we should have a federal government capable of protecting the Iraqi provinces from dangers that could face it,” al-Maliki added. “The most important thing we managed to realize was the national reconciliation and eliminating sectarianism,” he noted. He lauded tribes’ role in boosting Iraqi’s security and its role to maintain its territorial integrity. He called Iraqis for wide participation in the elections and choosing their representatives on right basis. SH (P) 1