In Iraq, Maliki's arrest (and release) of political rivals resembles Musharaff's tyranny in Pakistan

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. . . when he suspended the Constitution before the election and arrested hundreds of opposition members.

With the upcoming election and referendum in Iraq, Maliki needs to explain how his actions in overseeing the arrests represent the 'democracy' Bush and his gang claim they've rendered there.


Iraq frees officers amid rumours Maliki was behind arrests

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq on Saturday freed 24 security personnel arrested this week on suspicion of aiding terrorism, amid claims their detention was orchestrated by supporters of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The interior and defence ministry officers "have all been released and the allegations were dropped," Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf told AFP, without saying when.

"They are patriotic officers. We will take action against the people who made the allegations against them," he said.

Without giving a source, pan-Arab daily newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat said on Saturday that "the arrests were carried out by a special counter-terrorism group supervised personally by Maliki."

The operation "could have been launched by Maliki to weaken his rivals before the provincial elections" scheduled for the end of January, it said, decrying an "atmosphere of political secrecy and rivalry in Iraq."


On Friday, Interior Minister Jawad Bolani, who will head a rival list for next month's elections, said the allegations against the men were "fabricated and not based on any security fact or any intelligence information."

Bolani is the leader of the Constitutional Party list, which will also contest the elections along with a number of other lists.

read: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h9LjIu1GfKKPJU3OnIxyURhePNsA

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