Militant Cleric Postpones Big Baghdad ProtestBAGHDAD — Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shiite cleric whose Mahdi Army militia has been engaged in fierce clashes with Iraqi and American troops in Baghdad over the past week, on Tuesday called off a huge demonstration in the capital less than 24 hours before it was to take place.
The march was planned for the fifth anniversary of the day that American troops captured the capital, April 9, 2003, and was intended to protest the continuing United States military presence in the country.
But Mr. Sadr’s Baghdad strongholds have been encircled by Iraqi government and American troops since heavy fighting last month in Basra and clashes in Baghdad, and dozens of Iraqis have been killed in recent days.
The Iraqi and American military have been tightening a cordon around Sadr City, the vast Shiite district of Baghdad that is Mr. Sadr’s base of support, and which is named after his ancestors.
At a hastily convened press conference in Paradise Square, where the flag-draped statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003, Mr. Sadr’s spokesman, Salah al-Obaidi, said his movement feared for the safety of its supporters if they confronted armed government forces.
Acting on the orders of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, Iraqi security squads have been stopping young Shiite men from entering Baghdad at checkpoints around the city’s perimeter, Iraqi witnesses said Tuesday. They said the checkpoint sentries have been singling out men 15 to 35 years old and sometimes detaining them.
Mr. Obaidi said his movement had to take account of “the size of the security deployment made by the government of Maliki.”
“That is why I call on our beloved Iraqi people who wanted to demonstrate against the occupation to postpone it,” he added, “because I fear for their lives and blood and because, by God, I fear for Iraqi hands being raised against you..."
The tension between the Sadrist and government forces escalated in late March when Mr. Maliki ordered the Iraqi military to occupy the southern port city of Basra, where Mr. Sadr’s militia had taken control.
Mr. Maliki has warned Mr. Sadr’s organization that it must disarm the Mahdi Army militia, the largest Shiite militia in Iraq, or his representatives would not be allowed to take part in future elections. The ultimatum reflects the growing political tension between Mr. Maliki and Mr. Sadr, who represent rival political factions among Iraq’s majority Shiites.
Mr. Obaidi, the spokesman for Mr. Sadr, denied that his movement had miscalculated by calling the march in the first place, and then embarrassed itself by having to abandon it.
SOURCE
Previous Topic
Index
