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Minority Groups Get Win In Iraq

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Los Angeles Times

Published: November 4, 2008

BAGHDAD - Iraq's parliament Monday approved quotas guaranteeing minorities a handful of seats on the governing bodies of Iraqi provinces, an action that helps pave the way to regional elections but also angers Christians who had demanded greater representation.

No date has been set for the provincial vote, but it is due to take place by Jan. 31 and has been heralded as key to undoing lopsided power structures blamed for fueling sectarian violence. The minority quota formula approved by lawmakers would guarantee a total of six seats spread across three provincial councils to Christians and three smaller minority groups.

The plan sets aside one seat for Christian parties on the provincial councils of Baghdad, Ninevah, and Basra. Sabians, a pacifist religious sect, will also receive one seat in Baghdad. Yazidis, from another religious sect, and Shabaks, an ethnic minority, will each have one seat on the Ninevah council.

Like Christians, the other groups have claimed persecution under the Shiite Muslim-led Iraqi government and demanded special protection when parliament in September passed the law setting the stage for provincial elections.

The approved quotas were less generous than those in two other proposals, and the choice illustrated the fears and distrust among lawmakers in heavily contested, ethnically mixed areas.

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