Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Muqtada al-Sadr aide accuses government of violating terms of deal to end Najaf fighting
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) A top aide to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accused the Iraqi government Tuesday of violating terms of the August peace that ended fighting in Najaf and of conspiring with other Shiite parties to suppress the firebrand's movement.
Ali Smeisim, al-Sadr's top political adviser, made no explicit threats as he leveled his allegations during a press conference in Baghdad.
But his remarks raised the possibility of a new confrontation between the government and al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which rose up against the Americans and their Iraqi allies in April and August.
''We negotiated with the Iraqi government and reached peaceful solutions and are carrying out our obligations,'' Smeisim told reporters. ''The Iraqi government should do its part.''
He said the government promised in the August agreement not to pursue members of al-Sadr's movement and to release most of them from detention.
''The government, however started pursuing them and their numbers in prisons have doubled,'' Smeisim said. ''Iraqi police arrested 160 al-Sadr loyalists in Najaf four days ago.''
He also accused the government of conspiring with two major Shiite parties, Dawa and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, to marginalize al-Sadr's movement and prevent its clerics from speaking in mosques.
''No gathering by the al-Sadr trend is allowed to take place at particular mosques,'' Smeisim said. ''They want to drag the movement into a third battle. I call on the movement to show restraint and patience'' to avoid ''a Shiite-Shiite war.''
He said Dawa and the supreme council, known by its acronym SCIRI, of having ''come with the (U.S.) occupation'' and having convinced the Americans ''that they are the parties that represent the people.''
Both Dawa and SCIRI are represented in the interim Iraqi government.
Meanwhile, Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission said Tuesday that 156 political parties have been approved to run candidates in the Jan. 30 general election.
They included the Iraqi National Accord party led by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and the new party of President Ghazi al-Yawer, called the Iraqis' Party, commission spokesman Farid Ayar said in a statement. Ayar said 212 parties applied for certification but 56 were rejected for failing to meet criteria.
Also among those approved was the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni group that had threatened to boycott the election to protest the U.S.-led offensive against Fallujah. The party later decided to participate.
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/328/world/Muqtada_al_Sadr_aide_accuses_g:.shtml
But his remarks raised the possibility of a new confrontation between the government and al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which rose up against the Americans and their Iraqi allies in April and August.
''We negotiated with the Iraqi government and reached peaceful solutions and are carrying out our obligations,'' Smeisim told reporters. ''The Iraqi government should do its part.''
He said the government promised in the August agreement not to pursue members of al-Sadr's movement and to release most of them from detention.
''The government, however started pursuing them and their numbers in prisons have doubled,'' Smeisim said. ''Iraqi police arrested 160 al-Sadr loyalists in Najaf four days ago.''
He also accused the government of conspiring with two major Shiite parties, Dawa and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, to marginalize al-Sadr's movement and prevent its clerics from speaking in mosques.
''No gathering by the al-Sadr trend is allowed to take place at particular mosques,'' Smeisim said. ''They want to drag the movement into a third battle. I call on the movement to show restraint and patience'' to avoid ''a Shiite-Shiite war.''
He said Dawa and the supreme council, known by its acronym SCIRI, of having ''come with the (U.S.) occupation'' and having convinced the Americans ''that they are the parties that represent the people.''
Both Dawa and SCIRI are represented in the interim Iraqi government.
Meanwhile, Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission said Tuesday that 156 political parties have been approved to run candidates in the Jan. 30 general election.
They included the Iraqi National Accord party led by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and the new party of President Ghazi al-Yawer, called the Iraqis' Party, commission spokesman Farid Ayar said in a statement. Ayar said 212 parties applied for certification but 56 were rejected for failing to meet criteria.
Also among those approved was the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni group that had threatened to boycott the election to protest the U.S.-led offensive against Fallujah. The party later decided to participate.
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/328/world/Muqtada_al_Sadr_aide_accuses_g:.shtml
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
The top aide to Moktada al-Sadr, the populist Shiite cleric, said today that the interim Iraqi government was violating a peace agreement by continuing to arrest senior officials in the Sadr organization.
The aide, Ali Smesim, said at a news conference that two powerful Shiite political parties, the Dawa Islamic Party and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, were pushing for the arrests. Both parties have prominent positions in the interim government and were favored by the Americans before and after the invasion in March 2003.
Yet even as Mr. Smesim was complaining about the arrests, all the major Shiite parties, including the Sadr organization, were busily negotiating to form a powerful coalition to present a unified slate of candidates for the Jan. 30 national elections.
Separately, a spokesman for Sheik Ghazi al-Yawar, the Iraqi president and a Sunni Arab, said the sheik had formed a political party to run in the elections. The party is called The Iraqis, and it counts among its members the current ministers of defense and industry.
Mr. Smesim's remarks came after Iraqi police officers arrested a senior Sadr official, Sheik Hashem Abu Reghif, in the holy city of Najaf last Friday. The government said it had acted after several Iraqis filed a court complaint accusing the sheik of detaining and torturing them.
Mr. Smesim said 160 people from the Sadr organization were still in prison, despite a peace agreement reached in October under which they were to be released.
"There is a conspiracy against the Sadr people," Mr. Smesim said. "Dawa and the Supreme Council are conspiring against the Sadr movement."
Mr. Sadr has been one of the biggest thorns in the side of the Americans, igniting uprisings across the south and in Baghdad in April and August and delivering fiery sermons denouncing the American presence.
The American military routed Mr. Sadr's militia in Najaf this summer, and in October Mr. Sadr agreed to try to disarm his thousands-strong militia, the Mahdi Army, after weeks of American airstrikes in Sadr City, a sprawling slum of 2.2 million people in northeastern Baghdad that is Mr. Sadr's strongest base of support.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Sabah Kadhum, said the government would continue to arrest clerics if they incited violence. The arrests of the Sadr officials have nothing to do with political rivalries, he said.
"The government has no political stand in all of this," he said. "It's not a political matter. It's more about incitement. The government is arresting clerics who incite people."
The clash between Mr. Sadr and the two major Shiite establishment parties comes as the most powerful Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is trying to bring all the Shiite political groups together to present a unified slate of candidates for the national elections scheduled for Jan. 30. The Shiites make up at least 60 percent of the population here but have been subjugated for centuries by the Sunni Arabs, a historical trend that Ayatollah Sistani is determined to change.
The ayatollah wants to bring not only the Dawa and Supreme Council parties under one Shiite umbrella, but also Mr. Sadr, who is hugely popular among Iraqis because of his anti-American stand. Mr. Sadr has formed a loose alliance with Ahmad Chalabi, the former exile once favored by the Pentagon to rule Iraq, and the two could run in the elections together if they did not join a Shiite coalition.
When asked about whether Mr. Sadr would join a Shiite umbrella coalition, Mr. Smesim simply said that he did not want to talk about the elections. He said Dawa and the Supreme Council, both exiled during the rule of Saddam Hussein, were now "using their position in the government to persecute the Sadr movement," adding, "We're asking the Sadr followers to stay calm so a Shia war will not erupt."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/international/middleeast/24baghdadcnd.html
The aide, Ali Smesim, said at a news conference that two powerful Shiite political parties, the Dawa Islamic Party and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, were pushing for the arrests. Both parties have prominent positions in the interim government and were favored by the Americans before and after the invasion in March 2003.
Yet even as Mr. Smesim was complaining about the arrests, all the major Shiite parties, including the Sadr organization, were busily negotiating to form a powerful coalition to present a unified slate of candidates for the Jan. 30 national elections.
Separately, a spokesman for Sheik Ghazi al-Yawar, the Iraqi president and a Sunni Arab, said the sheik had formed a political party to run in the elections. The party is called The Iraqis, and it counts among its members the current ministers of defense and industry.
Mr. Smesim's remarks came after Iraqi police officers arrested a senior Sadr official, Sheik Hashem Abu Reghif, in the holy city of Najaf last Friday. The government said it had acted after several Iraqis filed a court complaint accusing the sheik of detaining and torturing them.
Mr. Smesim said 160 people from the Sadr organization were still in prison, despite a peace agreement reached in October under which they were to be released.
"There is a conspiracy against the Sadr people," Mr. Smesim said. "Dawa and the Supreme Council are conspiring against the Sadr movement."
Mr. Sadr has been one of the biggest thorns in the side of the Americans, igniting uprisings across the south and in Baghdad in April and August and delivering fiery sermons denouncing the American presence.
The American military routed Mr. Sadr's militia in Najaf this summer, and in October Mr. Sadr agreed to try to disarm his thousands-strong militia, the Mahdi Army, after weeks of American airstrikes in Sadr City, a sprawling slum of 2.2 million people in northeastern Baghdad that is Mr. Sadr's strongest base of support.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Sabah Kadhum, said the government would continue to arrest clerics if they incited violence. The arrests of the Sadr officials have nothing to do with political rivalries, he said.
"The government has no political stand in all of this," he said. "It's not a political matter. It's more about incitement. The government is arresting clerics who incite people."
The clash between Mr. Sadr and the two major Shiite establishment parties comes as the most powerful Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is trying to bring all the Shiite political groups together to present a unified slate of candidates for the national elections scheduled for Jan. 30. The Shiites make up at least 60 percent of the population here but have been subjugated for centuries by the Sunni Arabs, a historical trend that Ayatollah Sistani is determined to change.
The ayatollah wants to bring not only the Dawa and Supreme Council parties under one Shiite umbrella, but also Mr. Sadr, who is hugely popular among Iraqis because of his anti-American stand. Mr. Sadr has formed a loose alliance with Ahmad Chalabi, the former exile once favored by the Pentagon to rule Iraq, and the two could run in the elections together if they did not join a Shiite coalition.
When asked about whether Mr. Sadr would join a Shiite umbrella coalition, Mr. Smesim simply said that he did not want to talk about the elections. He said Dawa and the Supreme Council, both exiled during the rule of Saddam Hussein, were now "using their position in the government to persecute the Sadr movement," adding, "We're asking the Sadr followers to stay calm so a Shia war will not erupt."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/international/middleeast/24baghdadcnd.html
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$135.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network