Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's political movement demanded Tuesday a dissolution of the Iraqi parliament to hold a fresh elections, its spokesman said.

    "This parliament is an obstacle to democracy, if it goes on in this way, I demand President Jalal Talabani to dissolve the parliament and hold new legislative elections," Baha' al-Aaraji told reporters.

    "This parliament is a concern for the Iraqi people, as the sectarian differences are clear among the parliament members," said the spokesman, whose bloc has 32 members in the current 275-seat parliament.

    According to Aaraji who heads the legal committee in the parliament, the differences among lawmakers delayed vital law that the Iraqi people are in need for.

    "The oil law has many negatives but large parts of it are serving the people, however, some parties in the parliament have decided to reject the law without discussing it," he explained.

    Aaraji reiterated his bloc's previous demands that it would agree to dissolve the parliament after enacting a new law for the elections that would "bring the political process to the right way."

    In April, the anti-American bloc withdrew its six ministers from the cabinet of Prime Minister Nuroi al-Maliki, pressing a demand on Maliki to put a timetable for the U.S. troops' withdrawal.

    Last November, the political bloc announced suspension of their role in parliament and government to protest Maliki's meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush though it returned to the Iraqi political arena months later.