Maliki’s Advisor Blasts Qatar for Interference in Iraq’s Political Process

A senior advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki rapped the Qatari government for meddling in Iraq’s internal affairs, cautioning that Doha seeks to spark sectarian strife to damage the political process in his country.

“Qatar’s interferences are aimed at bringing Iraq’s political trend to an end and sparking sectarian strife,” Maliki’s Advisor in National Reconciliation Affairs Amer al-Khazayee told FNA on Sunday.

Noting that foreign interference in Iraq is obvious to everyone nowadays, he said, “Some of these governments even have no justification for their interference in Iraq’s affairs as they have no common interests with Iraq in economic, social and geographical areas.”

Iraq said last month that several regional states, including Qatar, have paid $100 to each participant in protest rallies in al-Anbar province in support of Iraqi Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi, whose bodyguards have been arrested on terrorism charges last month.

Iraq’s al-Nakhil news agency quoted a security official as saying that after the arrest of Issawi’s bodyguards, several groups affiliated to the regional states, specially Qatar, paid huge sums to their sympathizers in Anbar, Salaheddin and Nineveh provinces to stage rallies against the Iraqi government.

Ouraq al-Khalij newspaper also informed that Doha is staunchly supporting Issawi for taking the leadership of Sunni protestors in Iraq.

The paper said Qatari officials had contacted a large number of their agents and hirelings in Iraq in recent days to coordinate the protests, adding that even the mottoes chanted against al-Maliki government have been dictated by Doha.

Also last month, an Iraqi legislator said that a number of foreign states are funding and supporting the recent protests and unrests in Iraq’s al-Anbar province.

“The goal of the recent protests in Iraq is drowning the country and this plot is orchestrated by the foreign states,” Jamal al-Batikh told FNA.

He also cautioned that certain opposition lawmakers joined the plot and entered a regional and international game against Iraq.