Al-Monitor: How do you assess the political situation in the country? You constantly accuse your partners in the political process of disturbing the political and security atmosphere. However, you signed the initiative on social peace. How do you evaluate this initiative?
Maliki: This initiative came to further isolate extremists and strip them of any cover they may resort to in order to justify their crimes. We believe that it greatly contributes to reducing the activity of these groups, encircling them and facilitating the process of eliminating them. Furthermore, it raises the morale of the people and the armed forces, which are locked in confrontation with them.
I want to tell you that some of the partners [in the political process] resorted to sectarian incitement and threats of force, violence and rebellion against the state. This prevented us from succeeding in developing a line between what is freedom of expression, protest and calling for demands on the one hand, and incitement, infringing on public security and threatening the army, the security services and state institutions on the other.
These provocative partners have maliciously benefited from sectarian and ethnic overlap and political tensions to achieve electoral, political or other goals. Some have even resorted to [enlisting] al-Qaeda to help them achieve these goals. I hope that this initiative and the document that was signed will help us to re-establish this line and punish those who try to traverse it, whoever they may be.
Al-Monitor: Is the government a part of the Iraqi crisis? Where did this crisis come from? Is it a parliamentary crisis? A presidential crisis? Or does it involve the entire Iraqi political system?
Maliki: The crisis involves the entire political system, because institutions and authorities overlap with one another. No single authority benefits from the destruction of another.
Al-Monitor: How do you assess the nature of relations with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq today? Some say that practically no change has occurred in this relationship on the ground, and that what happened was a personal reconciliation between [you] and [Kurdistan Region of Iraq President Massoud] Barzani. Do personal considerations affect these crises?
Maliki: Terrorism ‘Directly Related’ to Syria | Iraq Business News http://t.co/AhNkasexpW
Terrorism in Iraq is directly related to Al-Malik's incompetence, corruption and failure to deliver. There is only one realistic option for him, step down and let the better candidates run the country.
Do not point your one finger to others as your other four fingers are pointing at you. Do fool others, Iraq have never been ruled by democracy but a strong dictator from the time 400 B.C.