BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Sunday that he was ordering a halt to construction of a wall that would blockade a Sunni Arab neighborhood in Baghdad from other areas, saying it reminded people of ‘other walls.’ The announcement, which he made in Cairo while on a state visit, appeared intended to allay mounting criticism from both Sunni Arab and Shiite parties about the project. ‘I oppose the building of the wall and its construction will stop,’ Mr. Maliki told reporters during a joint news conference with the secretary general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa. ‘There are other methods to protect neighborhoods,’ he said. A spokesman for the American military, Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, said the military would remain ‘in a dialogue’ with the Iraqi government about how best to protect citizens. The military did not say whether the wall’s construction would be halted. Mr. Maliki did not specify in his remarks what other walls he referred to, but the separation barrier in the West Bank being erected by Israel, which protects Israel but greatly inconveniences Palestinians, is a particularly sensitive issue among Arabs. In Baghdad, the wall would surround the Adamiya […]
Monday, April 23rd, 2007
Iraqi Leader Orders Halt to Wall in Baghdad
Author: ALISSA J. RUBIN
Source: The New York Times
Publication Date: 22-Apr-07
Link: Iraqi Leader Orders Halt to Wall in Baghdad
Source: The New York Times
Publication Date: 22-Apr-07
Link: Iraqi Leader Orders Halt to Wall in Baghdad
Stephan: Just how absurd does this have to get? Thanks to Judy Tart.