INTERVIEW-Iraq Sunni VP says weak govt hampers reconciliation

By Mohammed Abbas

MANAMA, Dec 8 (Reuters) - A weak and unprofessional government hampered by rampant corruption and infighting is preventing sectarian reconciliation in Iraq, the country's Sunni Arab vice president said on Saturday.

In an attack underlining the deep divisions in Iraq, Tareq al-Hashemi said the government was failing at a time when marked security improvements were being made across the country.

"The political process has been built on myths and allegations," Hashemi told Reuters on the sidelines of a security conference in Bahrain.

"I must be frank and the result of this political process is now a disputable constitution, a weak government and incoherent parliament," Hashemi added.

Violence has fallen sharply in Iraq over the past few months after Washington deployed an additional 30,000 troops.

But Iraqi leaders have so far failed to match security improvements with political advances, making scant progress in passing laws meant to reconcile minority Sunni Arabs and majority Shi'ites who now lead the government.

Political tensions escalated further last week after the largest Sunni Arab bloc walked out of parliament to protest against what it said was the house arrest of its leader, Adnan al-Dulaimi. The bloc, of which Hashemi is a key member, ended the boycott after Dulaimi was allowed to leave his house.



CORRUPTION

Hashemi said what he described as the poor performance of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government was the result of a system that does not allow proper power-sharing among different sectarian groups.

"I do have my own reservations about the way my country is being run," said Hashemi, one of two vice presidents along with Shi'ite Adel Abdul-Mahdi. "Deficiencies in professionalism, corruption is becoming widespread. We have been asked to go into a wide-scale reform plan ... the government is still hesitant on that," he said.

"We have to revise the political process to ensure genuine power sharing in decision making," he said.

New election laws and an early election were needed to break what he described as "sectarian polarisation".

Washington wants a series of reconciliation laws passed in Iraq, including one allowing former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to rejoin the military and civil service, another agreeing on how to share Iraq's substantial oil wealth, as well as one organising provincial elections.

Hashemi did not make it clear if he was talking about provincial or national elections.

Sunni Arabs took part in Iraq's last national elections in December 2005 and have representatives in parliament but most boycotted 2005 provincial polls and are under-represented in areas where they form a numerical majority.

Hashemi also accused the government of not doing enough to support the flourishing, U.S.-backed "concerned local citizens" movement of mainly Sunni Arabs who have signed up to form neighbourhood police patrols.

Failure to support them would have grave security implications for Iraq, he said.

"I am very scared about the future. If this model collapses in Iraq then security will be set back," Hashemi said.

"They should be on the payroll of the government. The government is so far resistant," he said.

The concerned citizens groups have been credited for helping bring down violence. Maliki's government has indicated it would soon take over payments to many of the groups from the U.S. military. (Editing by Peter Millership)