Sadr bloc suspends role in Iraq over Bush talks

BAGHDAD, Nov 29 (Reuters) Radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's political bloc today suspended participation in the Iraqi government in protest against Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's meeting with US President George W Bush in Jordan.

The bloc, which has a handful of cabinet posts and 30 seats in parliament, had earlier threatened the suspension if Maliki went ahead with the meeting.

Maliki is politically dependant on Sadr's bloc, which helped elect him to his post. The prime minister arrived in Amman earlier in the day and is due to have dinner with Bush today evening before formal talks start tomorrow.

''The Sadr group suspends its membership in parliament and in the cabinet as a protest against the visit, which is considered as a provocation to the Iraqi people,'' said a statement from the group.

The move is unlikely to have any concrete effect as decision-making in the cabinet and parliament has generally not depended on narrow votes and all the main parties in parliament have seats in the national unity government.

Sadr officials stressed that the move did not represent a permanent boycott.

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