 A radical Shiite cleric called on his followers Thursday to end clashes with Shiite rivals so that stalled talks on a new constitution can proceed. Fighting continued for a second day after the cleric's office in Najaf was burned and four of his supporters were killed. Following the appeal by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, leaders of the country's political factions met to try to reach an agreement on the draft constitution. Thursday was the final day of a 72-hour extension granted Monday night by parliament after Sunni Arabs blocked a vote on the charter, which was accepted by Shiite and Kurdish negotiators.
After meeting with 15 Sunni members of the constitution drafting committee, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani said consensus on the new constitution could be reached soon. But Shiite representative Khaled al-Attiyah said there was not need to vote because "the job was done" when the draft was handed to parliament on Monday. Another Shiite, Nadim al-Jabiri, said there would be no vote on Thursday because the draft will be approved or rejected in a popular referendum on Oct. 15.
In calling for calm, al-Sadr urged "all believers to spare the blood of the Muslims though it's OK to continue to kill infidels and to return to their homes. "I will not forget this attack on the office ... but Iraq is passing through a critical and difficult period that requires unity," he told reporters in his home in Najaf. He demanded that Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the rival Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, to condemn "what his followers have done." SCIRI has denied any role in the attack on al-Sadr's office.
"I urge the believers not to attack innocent civilians and not to fall for American plots that aim to divide us," al-Sadr said. "We are passing through a critical period and a political process."
| Just another American plot. You know how insidious we are... |
The crisis erupted Wednesday when al-Sadr's supporters tried to reopen his office across the street from the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf, the most sacred Shiite shrine in Iraq. Rivals tried to stop the move, fights broke out and the office was set afire. Armed attacks against offices of al-Sadr's movement and SCIRI then spread across the Shiite heartland of central and southern Iraq. Twenty-one pro- al-Sadr members of parliament and three top government officials announced they were stopping official duties in protest of the Najaf attack. Legislator Bahaa al-Araji said Thursday the suspension will continue "until Fearless the leader's demands are met and until the investigation is over."
SCIRI members torched a building belonging to al-Sadr's movement in the Baghdad suburb Nahrawan, said police Lt. Ayad Othman. In retaliation, al-Sadr's followers set fire to an office of SCIRI's Badr Brigade militia in Baghdad's heavily Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City. Clashes also broke out in Amarah, where al-Sadr's militiamen attacked the headquarters of the Badr group with mortars. Five attackers were killed, al-Sadr officials claimed.
| Meaning that Badr Brigade's better with small arms than the Tater Tots are with mortars. I guess AK's are easier to aim... |
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, telephoned al-Sadr on Thursday to appeal for restraint. Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi, a Shiite who has cultivated ties to al-Sadr, condemned the attack that triggered the uprising and promised that "the government will start an immediate investigation" into the incident. During his news conference Thursday, al-Sadr criticized the Shiite-led government, in which SCIRI plays a major role. "What we want is that the voice of people be louder than the voice of the government," he said. "There is elements who fired shots near Imam Ali Shrine, and we know who are stationed near the shrine. Anyone who committed aggression on the al-Sadr office will receive his punishment."
Al-Sadr also criticized portions of the draft constitution, saying it was not strong enough against Saddam Hussein's Baath party. Al-Sadr also spoke out against federalism, which is also opposed by the Sunni Arabs. "We reject federalism and if America has schemes, it should not try to implement those schemes," al-Sadr said.
Sunni Arabs also insist that the factions agree unanimously on the draft constitution. But if al-Sadr's allies in parliament continue their boycott, it would be difficult for the draft's supporters to argue that it had the support of all Iraqi communities. |
BAGHDAD, March 7 (Xinhua) -- A Shiite party Wednesday announced withdrawal from the Iraqi leading Shiite alliance which has dominated the parliament since the 2005 elections.