Baghdad- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi implicitly refused threats directed by Muqtada al-Sadr, who is a popular leader and a governmental official. Al-Sadr, during his Friday speech on Friday, before thousands of his supporters threatened that public enraged protest against corruption will break into the Green Zone. The zone notoriously goes by the Green Zone and is a 10-square-kilometer area centered in the Karkh district of Bahdad.

PM Al-Abadi, in a press conference held by the parliament at al-Rasheed hotel and in cooperation with the U.N. delegation in Iraq, stated that the fight against corruption must be initiated within the parties themselves. He pointed out that no political party acknowledges its responsibility towards corruption in the country, “they all assign their ministers, force them on the Prime Minister, and then renounce them”, Al-Abadi added.

At the conference, which was attended by Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Abadi confirmed that political parties in Iraq were established either based on labels or on sects. Thus he called out on an initiative to form a comprehensive party that surpasses the limits of sects and figureheads. The new party should be able to overcome sectarian and social strife. “The reinforcement of democracy cannot be achieved because political parties are undemocratic themselves”, Al-Abadi said.

The Iraqi PM also clarified that political parties strongly adhering to their ministers stands in the way of fixing the country. He asked that all influential parties begin with repairing their own-self, “it is not possible for us to fix the community, when parties are not competent themselves, it is not possible to further anchor the concept of democracy and freedom in the community, whilst our powerful parties are undemocratic and do not support freedom within their structuring” Al-Abadi explained.

Many have already raised slogans that call for surpassing social, sectarian bridges rifting the society apart. However, nothing has yet been realized on ground, Al-Abadi added.