Iraqi communists discuss security pact

BAGHDAD, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Officials with the Iraqi Communist Party met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad to discuss the long-term security deal with Washington.

Party Secretary Hamid Majeed Mousa, a Shiite, led a delegation to discuss concerns over transparency, independence and sovereignty in the long-term security deal set to replace the expiring U.N. mandate for Iraq.

The Iraqi Communist Party has been a dominant opposition force in Iraqi politics since the 1930s. Though it opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Mousa served as a member of the provisional government established by the United States after the fall of the former regime.

Beyond the security pact, political development and ties between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government were included in the discussions, Tareek al-Shaab, the daily newspaper of the party, said.

The Communist Party also called for urgent action to improve the quality of social services such as water and the availability of adequate health and educational facilities.

Iraq is facing a cholera outbreak in the southern areas of the country due to a warmer than expected summer and a lack of clean water.