Some 78 Iranian lawmakers have called on President Mohammad Khatami to allocate a share of cabinet seats to the country's Sunni minority when the body is formed in August.
In a letter faxed to the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, the deputies said that the Sunni community "is seriously expecting the president to give them a share in his cabinet."
"Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is proud of having quite delicately and artistically presented a model of Islamic democracy to the world," the letter said.
"Our Sunni brethren have always maintained their strong presence at all scenes of the 1979 Islamic revolution, whose slogan was establishment of a democratic religious system in Iran."
The signatories also praised the Sunni minority for its massive turnout in the June 8 presidential polls, which swept Khatami into office for another four-year term.
Khatami is due to announce his new administration in August.
Reformist MPs have ruled out the idea of forming a cabinet containing a spectrum of mainstream political parties, saying "meritocracy" should be the criteria for choosing new ministers, according to IRNA.
"Our Sunni brethren strongly believe that their active and lively presence in the state affairs before and after the Islamic revolution have had a share in the developments," the letter said.
Sunni Muslims constitute approximately eight percent of the Iranian population.
A majority of Kurds, virtually all Baluchis and Turkomans, and a minority of Arabs are Sunnis, as are small communities of Persians in southern Iran and Khorasan – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
