Iran Press/ Middle East: In an interview with al-Alam TV Channel, Sa'ad al-Hadithi expressed hope that the reforms of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi could take a major step towards making the cabinet ministers independent of the political fractions in the parliament.
He also said that the government has issued orders for practicing reforms in financial livelihood polices, Iran press reported.
Al-Hadithi said that the Iraq's government strive to support peaceful demonstrations, providing people with jobs and better living standards, and preventing any unrest that lead to the destruction of public property and attacks on state institutions and vital facilities, noting that such protests are not peaceful, and violate the law as well as deviating peaceful demonstrations from their right path.
"Unfortunately, some people carried out acts of violence, firing, looting, destruction and attack on state institutions, buildings, and critical facilities, and meanwhile some staffs working in these buildings and facilities were Killed or injured," the spokesman said.
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He noted that the Iraqi Supreme Judiciary Council called on security organs to protect public and private assets and arrest those who harm these properties.
The prime minister has prepared a list of individuals for the changes he wants to make in the cabinet, all based on his personal satisfaction with their ability, experience, and honesty.
When asked about the yet presence of protesters in streets of the Iraqi cities, he said: "in fact, most reforms and decisions taken by the government have a limited timeframe that can reassure demonstrators and ordinary people that the government is serious in its decisions, but needs time to execute and complete them".
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With regards to the opposition fractions acting as pressure groups against the government, al-Hadithi said that there are generally legal rules that govern political operations in Iraq, for example the formation of the government and the distrust in it.
"The current government came from the heart of the very parliament which voted for the government, and withdraw its vote from it, to which the prime minister could not object," the government spokesman said, going on: "from an operational point of view, we can say that in case of a lack of confidence vote to the current government, it will turn to a temporary government to form a new one, which may take months."
Al-Hadithi also was asked about Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's resignation which was rejected by him, asserting that resignation is normal under normal condition, yet once the country is in such a critical situation, resignation is not in the interest of the government, so the prime minister should stay to help the government to carry out its duties.
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In response to al-Alam's question about the Iraq's shut-down of some US-affiliated media offices based in Iraq, the spokesman said that the offices were closed according to independent board of media and communications, and based on its assessment that the foreign-affiliated media networks provoked the Iraqi general public to instigate violence and unrest.
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He reiterated that that people's demands are legitimate and right, and at the same time, the Iraqi government insists that some are trying to abuse the popular protests, going on that if the demonstrations are not deviated from its legal path, the government's decisions to reform the current situation will speed up. 215/213
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