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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/05/us-iraq-politics-salary-idUSTRE7141IH20110205
Iraqi premier says will give up half his salary
Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during a joint news conference with Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi in Baghdad December 20, 2010. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen
Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during a joint news conference with Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi in Baghdad December 20, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Mohammed Ameen
By Khalid al-Ansary and Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD | Sat Feb 5, 2011 9:56am EST
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - As unrest sweeps the Middle East, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he would give up half of his salary, a possible bid to head off simmering discontent.
Iraqis have held sporadic protests against food, power and water shortages and their plight acquired particular attention this month as a wave of anti-government protests rocked the region.
Maliki's media advisor, Ali al-Moussawi, said the premier would forego 50 percent of his $30,000 monthly paycheck to bring his salary closer to other government employees.
"He feels there is a huge difference and says this leads to a kind of caste system in society," Moussawi said. Maliki made the announcement in a statement late on Friday.
Hundreds of people gathered in Baghdad on Saturday to demand better basic services. On Thursday, police fired on protesters making similar demands near the southern city of Diwaniya.
Political analyst Mazin al-Shammari said Maliki's pay cut could be an attempt to soothe public anger.
"The prime minister, by doing this, is trying to put a windshield in front of these protests," Shammari said.
"Politicians in the Middle East are watching where the jasmine cloud moves," he said, referring to Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution" that overthrew President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
Maliki was confirmed for a second term in December after nine months of political squabbling over a new government following an inconclusive parliamentary election in March.
His government is trying to rebuild Iraq but the economy remains shattered economy and infrastructure devastated eight years after the invasion ousted Saddam Hussein.
Iraqis complain bitterly about basic services. The national grid supplies only a few hours of electricity a day in a nation where temperatures rise above 50 degrees Celsius in the summer.
Members of parliament make $27,000 a month, according to Safia al-Suhail, a lawmaker from Maliki's State of Law political bloc, but have to pay from their salaries the cost of up to 30 personal security guards who make $635 each per month. Teachers earn about $350 a month.
"I admit that there is no social fairness between the government employees," Suhail said.
Government salaries can be a sensitive issue. "Why do you ask me?" said one MP when asked on Saturday how much he made. "Do you want to judge me?"
(Additional reporting by Muhanad Mohammed; writing by Jim Loney/Editing by Maria Golovnina)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12373767
Iraq PM Nouri Maliki 'will not seek third term'
Nouri al-Maliki, 5 February Nouri Maliki: "Eight years is enough"
Continue reading the main story
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has said he will not seek a third term in office when his mandate runs out in 2014, state media say.
Mr Maliki returned for a second term after polls last year but endured nine months of wrangling before a unity government could be formed.
He said he would back the insertion of a clause in the constitution bringing in a two-term maximum.
The move comes amid continuing pro-democracy protests in the Middle East.
There has been widespread unrest, including in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan.
'Change is necessary'
Mr Maliki told Agence France-Presse: "The constitution does not prevent a third, fourth or fifth term, but I have personally decided not to seek another term after this one.
"I support the insertion of a paragraph in the constitution that the prime minister gets only two turns, only eight years, and I think that's enough."
Referring to Egypt, he said: "The people have the right to express what they want without being persecuted.
"One of the characteristics of a lack of democracy is when a leader rules for 30 or 40 years. It is a difficult issue for people, it is intolerable and change is necessary."
Mr Maliki this week decided to give half his pay back to the treasury in a gesture viewed as an acknowledgement of the income gap between rich and poor.
Mr Maliki faces a number of key challenges in his second term, including the continuing instability and violence, the division of oil wealth and the planned withdrawal of US troops by the end of 2011.
Mr Maliki's Shia bloc fell two seats short of a majority early last year, triggering a political crisis that gave Iraq the unenviable record of the longest time ever to form a working government.
Mr Maliki eventually pulled together a unity government that included a number of MPs who are followers of staunchly Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Iraqi premier says will give up half his salary
Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during a joint news conference with Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi in Baghdad December 20, 2010. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen
Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during a joint news conference with Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi in Baghdad December 20, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Mohammed Ameen
By Khalid al-Ansary and Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD | Sat Feb 5, 2011 9:56am EST
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - As unrest sweeps the Middle East, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he would give up half of his salary, a possible bid to head off simmering discontent.
Iraqis have held sporadic protests against food, power and water shortages and their plight acquired particular attention this month as a wave of anti-government protests rocked the region.
Maliki's media advisor, Ali al-Moussawi, said the premier would forego 50 percent of his $30,000 monthly paycheck to bring his salary closer to other government employees.
"He feels there is a huge difference and says this leads to a kind of caste system in society," Moussawi said. Maliki made the announcement in a statement late on Friday.
Hundreds of people gathered in Baghdad on Saturday to demand better basic services. On Thursday, police fired on protesters making similar demands near the southern city of Diwaniya.
Political analyst Mazin al-Shammari said Maliki's pay cut could be an attempt to soothe public anger.
"The prime minister, by doing this, is trying to put a windshield in front of these protests," Shammari said.
"Politicians in the Middle East are watching where the jasmine cloud moves," he said, referring to Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution" that overthrew President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
Maliki was confirmed for a second term in December after nine months of political squabbling over a new government following an inconclusive parliamentary election in March.
His government is trying to rebuild Iraq but the economy remains shattered economy and infrastructure devastated eight years after the invasion ousted Saddam Hussein.
Iraqis complain bitterly about basic services. The national grid supplies only a few hours of electricity a day in a nation where temperatures rise above 50 degrees Celsius in the summer.
Members of parliament make $27,000 a month, according to Safia al-Suhail, a lawmaker from Maliki's State of Law political bloc, but have to pay from their salaries the cost of up to 30 personal security guards who make $635 each per month. Teachers earn about $350 a month.
"I admit that there is no social fairness between the government employees," Suhail said.
Government salaries can be a sensitive issue. "Why do you ask me?" said one MP when asked on Saturday how much he made. "Do you want to judge me?"
(Additional reporting by Muhanad Mohammed; writing by Jim Loney/Editing by Maria Golovnina)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12373767
Iraq PM Nouri Maliki 'will not seek third term'
Nouri al-Maliki, 5 February Nouri Maliki: "Eight years is enough"
Continue reading the main story
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has said he will not seek a third term in office when his mandate runs out in 2014, state media say.
Mr Maliki returned for a second term after polls last year but endured nine months of wrangling before a unity government could be formed.
He said he would back the insertion of a clause in the constitution bringing in a two-term maximum.
The move comes amid continuing pro-democracy protests in the Middle East.
There has been widespread unrest, including in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan.
'Change is necessary'
Mr Maliki told Agence France-Presse: "The constitution does not prevent a third, fourth or fifth term, but I have personally decided not to seek another term after this one.
"I support the insertion of a paragraph in the constitution that the prime minister gets only two turns, only eight years, and I think that's enough."
Referring to Egypt, he said: "The people have the right to express what they want without being persecuted.
"One of the characteristics of a lack of democracy is when a leader rules for 30 or 40 years. It is a difficult issue for people, it is intolerable and change is necessary."
Mr Maliki this week decided to give half his pay back to the treasury in a gesture viewed as an acknowledgement of the income gap between rich and poor.
Mr Maliki faces a number of key challenges in his second term, including the continuing instability and violence, the division of oil wealth and the planned withdrawal of US troops by the end of 2011.
Mr Maliki's Shia bloc fell two seats short of a majority early last year, triggering a political crisis that gave Iraq the unenviable record of the longest time ever to form a working government.
Mr Maliki eventually pulled together a unity government that included a number of MPs who are followers of staunchly Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
