Saturday, September 09, 2006
Shia politicians call for autonomy during religious festival
Politics
During the Shia religious Shaaban festival in Karbala, prominent Shia leaders like Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the powerful Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) repeated calls for an autonomous Shia region in central and southern Iraq made up of nine provinces. "Look at the example of federalism in Kurdistan, it is evidence of the success of this system.""We support it strongly because it would keep dictatorship from happening again -- all are entitled to enjoy federalism," he said.
The issue is to be debated in parliament on Sunday with the first reading of a draft law presented by the main Shia bloc. Sunnis have called for the debate to be delayed while they press their own demands for amendments to the constitution. Shia politicians insist a fully federal system will not lead to Iraq breaking up, but rather take some of the heat out of a bitter sectarian conflict which has pushed the country to the brink of civil war.
In Karbala, south of Baghdad, officials oversaw the departure of the tens of thousands of pilgrims, providing scores of trucks to transport them back to homes around the country, Governor Aqil al-Khazali said. Authorities said 7,000 police, along with 2,000 Iraqi soldiers and 1,800 Interior Ministry commandos were securing the city, while Interior Ministry special forces were guarding its entrance. The U.S.-led coalition was providing air support for the security measures, Iraqi Army Maj. Gen. Samir Abdullah said Friday. The coalition said it would "be on hand for support if needed," but could not reveal further details for security reasons. He added that the heavy security measures that ensured a peaceful conclusion to the ceremony would remain in place for now.
