Talabani accused Jaafari of unilaterally taking decisions in violations of a Shiite-Kurdish agreement. (Reuters)

By Samir Haddad, IOL Correspondent

BAGHDAD, October 2, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The public outbreak of differences between Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari was long overdue, Iraqi sources said Sunday, October 2.

"Talabani is trying to distance himself from mistakes made by Jaafari's government in running the country," the sources told IslamOnline.net on condition of anonymity.

"This casts serious doubts about Jaafari's chances to continue heading the government" after the upcoming general elections, they added.

On Friday, September 30, the Iraqi president accused Jaafari of breaking an agreement between the ruling Shiite United Iraqi Alliance and the Kurdish alliance and overly dominating the government.

Former Iraqi premier Iyad Allawi had accused Jaafari's government of allowing powerful militias to hold sway, posing a threat to communal harmony in the country.

Under Iraq's interim constitution, Talabani leads a three-member council that serves collectively as head of state.

But Jaafari leads the government, similar to Germany which has a president with few powers and a chancellor with massive powers of governing.

The Iraqi government was formed on 28 August after months of wrangling following January elections in which the Shiites won a majority.

Overdue

"There have been indications of under-wrap differences between Talabani and Jaafari," the sources said.

They cited a row between the two men on how should lead Iraq's delegation to the UN summit, hosted by New York last month.

The dispute began when the Iraqi president, a Kurd, sent a letter to Jaafari saying he would be representing Iraq at the session.

Shiite Jaafari replied that he should lead the Iraqi delegation since he runs the government.

Militiamen loyal to Talabani tried to chase Jaafari's guards from a palace in Baghdad 's Green Zone area allocated by the US forces to the Iraqi leader, according to the sources.

The dispute was only settled after the Americans stepped in and forced Jaafari's guards out.

Talabani and Jaafari also locked horn over the appointment of the editor-in-chief of the semi-official Sabah daily.

The National Guards booted out Mohammad Abdel Jabar Al-Shabout from his post and Jaafari named Gomaa Halfi as his replacement.

However, only few hours later Talabani reinstalled Al-Shabout in his old post.

Showdown

In a press conference in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymania, Talabani accused Jaafari of unilaterally taking decisions in violation of accords between the Shiite alliance and the Kurdish coalition.

He said the Kurdish alliance had submitted a memo to Jaafari for implementing the joint agreements on which their coalition was based.

"The agreement says that after one month from forming the government, the government should begin to address the issue of Kirkuk using the government committees set-up to solve this issue. Five months have now passed and despite our repeated calls, they haven't taken a single step."

But Jaafari declined to comment on Talabani's accusations.

"This is not the time for my personal reaction. My time is limited to serving my country. I head the government."

The differences come as Shiites and Kurds are trying to maintain unity to gain support for a draft constitution in a referendum on October 15.

Sunni Arabs reject the draft mainly because they believe its provisions on federalism could lead to Iraq's break-up, leaving them in a landlocked heartland without oil resources.