Iraq Press Roundup

The elections law and budget

The top elections official in Iraq said the passage of the elections law and a federal budget paves the way for provincial elections in Iraqi Kurdistan, Kul al-Iraq reported Friday.

Iraq held provincial elections in 14 of its 18 provinces in January following the passage of an elections law in late 2008. After much deliberation, lawmakers also passed the 2009 federal budget Thursday.

Faraj al-Haidari, head of the Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq, made his comments following a meeting with Adnan al-Mufti, the speaker of Parliament for the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Haidari said the passage of both measures removed many of the obstacles to holding elections in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Several lawmakers said IHEC should not act as the supervising body for the Kurdish elections, a matter that Haidari rejected.

The IHEC chief said negotiations were under way to find the best legal solution to holding provincial elections in the three Kurdish provinces -- Erbil, Dahuk and Sulaimaniya -- and to decide on a formal date.

Mufti, for his part, called for efforts to hold elections on their originally scheduled date of May 19.

Calls mount for release of Iraqi journalist held in Syria

Officials raised concerns following the arrest and detention of Iraqi journalist Haifaa al-Hussaini, captured three days ago by Syrian authorities, Sot al-Iraq reported Friday.

Hussaini, a reporter for Iraqi television station al-Fayhaa, has not been heard from since her arrest Wednesday. Authorities are concerned over the circumstances surrounding her detention and allegations of human rights abuses against journalists.

Al-Fayhaa called on the Iraqi government to intervene to secure her release while holding Syrian authorities responsible for her safety.

The news station also called on Baghdad to prevent further assaults on prisoners of conscience.

Baath Party calls for jihad

The deposed Baath Party of late dictator Saddam Hussein blamed the U.S. occupation for destroying Iraq's civilization in response to a death sentence for "Chemical Ali," al-Iraq lil-Kul reports Friday.

The U.S. occupation of Iraq is targeting members of the Baath Party and the Iraqi people in an effort to destroy the country and its civilization, the Baath Party said in statements published by the news service Friday.

The Iraqi High Tribunal on Monday sentenced Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali," to death for his role in the violent suppression of a 1999 Shiite uprising following the assassination of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, the father of anti-American cleric Moqtada Sadr, and two of his sons in Najaf.

The Baath Party said the occupation's decision to hand down the death penalty for Majid is part of a long line of false allegations that led to the execution of Saddam in 2006.

The Iraqi people and the resistance will keep fighting the American occupation and their supporters while moving against Iranian interference in the country, the statement said.

The Baath Party called for an end to the "false trials" of its leadership and demanded the release of its members and members of the resistance currently held in detention.

"Otherwise we threaten jihad operations will continue until the last U.S. solider is out (of Iraq)," the statement said.

--

(Edited by Daniel Graeber)