Iraq: Sadr loyalists plan campaign to oust US
F.T.com: Followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shia preacher, said on Sunday that they would follow up a big demonstration in Baghdad with a non-violent campaign to oust US and other foreign forces from Iraq.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of Sadrists staged possibly the largest political protest since the 2003 US invasion, filling the capital's al-Fardous square with chants of "No to America."
They demanded that the US government set a timetable for the withdrawal of its troops, and that it release an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Sadrists in detention, and that the "American agent" Saddam Hussein be brought to trial as quickly as possible
The Sadr loyalists, who fought intermittently against US and Iraqi government forces through much of last year, said they would continue to organise street protests, call upon Iraq's Shia clergy to demand withdrawal, and ask their allies in parliament to introduce a motion for a pull-out.
"We have emerged from the jails of Saddam, only to enter the jails of the Americans," said Muayad al-Khazraji, a cleric, as protesters wearing US-style camouflage and orange jumpsuits acted out skits depicting the abuse of prisoners in US-supervised detention facilities.
Unlike many Sadrist rallies in the past, protesters on Saturday did not carry weapons. Some said they had been instructed by the leadership not to chant slogans against Iraq's current government.
The protest, held on the second anniversary of the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime, coincided with anti-occupation rallies in the Sunni town of Ramadai, but the Sadrists said there had been no co-ordination between the groups. Link
Photo lifted from Occupation watch - "Iraqis Welcome 'Liberation'? Or Demand an End to Occupation? We Report, You Decide" Link
On Saturday, tens of thousands of Sadrists staged possibly the largest political protest since the 2003 US invasion, filling the capital's al-Fardous square with chants of "No to America."
They demanded that the US government set a timetable for the withdrawal of its troops, and that it release an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Sadrists in detention, and that the "American agent" Saddam Hussein be brought to trial as quickly as possible
The Sadr loyalists, who fought intermittently against US and Iraqi government forces through much of last year, said they would continue to organise street protests, call upon Iraq's Shia clergy to demand withdrawal, and ask their allies in parliament to introduce a motion for a pull-out.
"We have emerged from the jails of Saddam, only to enter the jails of the Americans," said Muayad al-Khazraji, a cleric, as protesters wearing US-style camouflage and orange jumpsuits acted out skits depicting the abuse of prisoners in US-supervised detention facilities.
Unlike many Sadrist rallies in the past, protesters on Saturday did not carry weapons. Some said they had been instructed by the leadership not to chant slogans against Iraq's current government.
The protest, held on the second anniversary of the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime, coincided with anti-occupation rallies in the Sunni town of Ramadai, but the Sadrists said there had been no co-ordination between the groups. Link
Photo lifted from Occupation watch - "Iraqis Welcome 'Liberation'? Or Demand an End to Occupation? We Report, You Decide" Link
posted by exoplanet at 1:38 PM
<< Home