INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Shafaq News/ The Coordination Framework, a consortium of mainly Iran-backed Shiite political forces, said it will halt communication
channels with the Sadrist movement if the latter continues to "occupy state institutions".In a statement on Tuesday, the Coordination
Framework condemned the flagrant aggression against the judicial institution and the death threats against Chief Justice Faiq Zeidan, urging
the "honorable" political forces to take a similar stance."The Coordination Framework will refrain from accepting any letter or invitation
for direct talks from the Sadrist movement unless it retracts his decision to occupy state institutions," it added.The statement held the
government full responsibility for protecting the state properties and the lives of the public servants, "particularly in the judicial
authority; the country's only safety valve after the anti-state forces took over the institutions."The Coordination Framework called on the
Iraqis to gear up for any developments that might unfold in the future and the international community to declare its position on the
violations against the legislative and Judicial authorities.Iraq's judiciary suspended its activities on Tuesday after supporters of the
powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stepped up pressure on it to dissolve parliament, as one of the worst political crises since the
U.S.-led invasion dragged on.The populist leader has helped inflame tensions in Iraq in recent weeks by commanding thousands of followers to
storm and occupy parliament, preventing the formation of a government nearly 10 months after elections.Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa
al-Kadhimi, who cut short a trip to Egypt to deal with the crisis, has urged all sides to remain calm and renewed calls for a national
dialogue.Al-Sadr's followers began gathering for protests outside the headquarters of the Supreme Judicial Council and Federal Supreme Court
The followers have sent threats by phone, the judiciary said in a statement."(We) will suspend court sessions as a protest against this
unconstitutional behaviour and will hold the government and political parties which are backing this move fully responsible for all the
results," the statement added.Al-Sadr, who fought U.S
troops and went on to become a kingmaker in Iraqi politics, has called for early elections and unspecified changes to the constitution after
withdrawing his lawmakers from parliament in June.His political opponents, mostly fellow Shiites backed by Iran, have refused to accede to
his demands, raising fears of fresh unrest and violence in a conflict-weary Iraq.Iraq's 10-month standoff since the election is the longest
stretch without a fully functioning government in the nearly two decades since Saddam Hussein was overthrown in a U.S.-led in 2003.Al-Sadr
was the biggest winner of last year's election but could not form a government along with Kurdish and Sunni Muslim Arab parties, excluding
his Iran-backed Shi'ite rivals.
