Baghdad Parliament Speaker Muhammad Al-Halbousi announced the suspension of Parliament sessions until further notice.

He said in a statement: “Here we are living in difficult and sensitive times that require all of us to hold back, to show the highest degree of wise and sincere national responsibility, in which everyone bears the results equally, no matter what and which party they affiliate to.”

He described: “Difference in viewpoints, even between the parties, is a natural state in the most advanced countries and among the most powerful democracies in the world, and whatever its climax, dialogue is the solution. And our sincere and frank call to all political parties in this wounded country to give priority to the supreme interest of the homeland and the citizen, and to consider the consequences of matters and their catastrophic consequences if this tension continues.

He continued: “Out of national, political and functional responsibility, and in compliance with the constitutional oath of Article 50 of the Constitution, which obligated us to preserve the interests of the people, and based on Article 62 of the House of Representatives Law and its formations No. 13 of 2018, and Article 34/eighth of the bylaw of the House of Representatives, it was decided:

First: Suspension of Parliament sessions until further notice.

Second: I call on the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to take the necessary measures to protect the institutions and the demonstrators, whom I call upon to maintain their peace and preserve state property.

He continued: “From this standpoint, I call on all the brothers, leaders and political blocs, to an urgent national meeting, to achieve an effective and responsible national dialogue, the outcomes of which will be for the sake of the country, and to give priority to its interests over all partisan and factional interests, and to meet on one opinion that preserves the country and the capabilities of the people, and expresses us from these crisis that the people have been waiting for a long time to solve.

He said: “Belief in the sanctity of these great days that recorded the martyrdom of Imam Hussein – peace be upon him – and his pure family, and for their position, we wish everyone to consider these valuable meanings, and to hasten to this meeting in the shadows of the great occasion, in time and place.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency