Talabani calls INA to either change Maliki’s performance, replace him

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The President, Jalal Talabani, stated that “The Premier, Nouri al-Maliki has exceeded his limits by forming Dijla Operations Command and involving the Iraqi Army in an issue related to the tasks of the police forces.”

Talabani stated in a press conference “Forming Dijla OC is not within the authorities of Maliki because the emergency case is only announced by the President where Maliki did not accept that.”

“The Commander of the Ground Forces in the Ministry of Defense, General Ali Ghaidan, requested to involve the police elements within Dijla OC which means that it is an emergency case,” he added, noting that “Maliki does not want to announce the war and he cannot do, but such unplanned step results in the reaction of the Kurds which may lead to an unexpected conflict.”

Regarding the doubts over the weakness of the Kurdish-Shiite alliance, he said “I think that this alliance is historical and belongs to the period of the British occupation to Iraq where it cannot be awakened by some people who do not understand its value.”

“The concept of this alliance is not a sectarian one where it is a Kurdish-Arabic one and between the north and south of Iraq,” he pointed out, assuring that “I reject withdrawing confidence from Maliki because it is not within my authorities and we cannot ask the parliament to do so because it is a transgression to the Iraqi National Alliance that Maliki belongs to.”

“I call the INA to either change Maliki’s performance or replace him,” he concluded.