Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Al-Sadr calls for demonstrations against Adhamiyah wall
Security, Politics
(AP) - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr strongly condemned construction of a wall around a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad, calling for demonstrations against the plan as a sign of "the evil will" of American "occupiers." The remarks, in a statement read by an aide, were the first by the anti-American cleric since the U.S. military announced last week that it was building a three-mile long 12-foot high concrete wall in Azamiyah, a Sunni stronghold that has been targeted by mortar and rocket attacks by Shiite militiamen.
Many Sunnis also protested the plan, saying they felt like they were being herded into a prison. Protesters in Azamiyah carried banners Monday with slogans such as "No to the sectarian wall" and "Azamiyah children want to see Baghdad without walls." In the statement, al-Sadr said the protests showed that Iraqis reject "the sectarian, racist and unjust wall that seeks to divide" Sunnis and Shiites. "I am confident that such honorable voices will bring down the wall," he said.
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia was blamed for much of the sectarian killings of Sunnis, has been trying to make overtures to the Sunni minority and draw a difference between ordinary Sunnis and extremists who target Shiites. "This wall shows the evil will of the occupier and its sectarian and terrorist projects against our people," al-Sadr said in the statement. "We the people of Iraq will defend Azamiyah and other neighborhoods that you (Americans) want to segregate from us. We will stand hand in hand with you (Sunnis) to demonstrate and protect our holy land."
The U.S. and Iraqi military said they plan to construct barriers in other neighborhoods too to protect people from sectarian death squads. On Sunday, however, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he would not allow "a separation wall," but then he said that the subject would be discussed. He said he would not rule out all barriers, such as barbed wire. Iraq's chief military spokesman indicated that some type of barrier would go up, saying al-Maliki was responding to exaggerated reports about the wall.
An aide to al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, told reporters in the holy Shiite city of Najaf that they plan two demonstrations in eastern and western Baghdad to condemn the wall. He did not give a date for the demonstrations but said that if the security situation permits, al-Sadr's followers will be happy to join demonstrators in Azamiyah.
The U.S. military has said that al-Sadr is currently in neighboring Iran, a claim that his aides denied in the past week saying he is in Iraq. Al-Obaidi said al-Sadr's disappearance "is for security reasons and ... it is not necessary to know where he is.
Many Sunnis also protested the plan, saying they felt like they were being herded into a prison. Protesters in Azamiyah carried banners Monday with slogans such as "No to the sectarian wall" and "Azamiyah children want to see Baghdad without walls." In the statement, al-Sadr said the protests showed that Iraqis reject "the sectarian, racist and unjust wall that seeks to divide" Sunnis and Shiites. "I am confident that such honorable voices will bring down the wall," he said.
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia was blamed for much of the sectarian killings of Sunnis, has been trying to make overtures to the Sunni minority and draw a difference between ordinary Sunnis and extremists who target Shiites. "This wall shows the evil will of the occupier and its sectarian and terrorist projects against our people," al-Sadr said in the statement. "We the people of Iraq will defend Azamiyah and other neighborhoods that you (Americans) want to segregate from us. We will stand hand in hand with you (Sunnis) to demonstrate and protect our holy land."
The U.S. and Iraqi military said they plan to construct barriers in other neighborhoods too to protect people from sectarian death squads. On Sunday, however, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he would not allow "a separation wall," but then he said that the subject would be discussed. He said he would not rule out all barriers, such as barbed wire. Iraq's chief military spokesman indicated that some type of barrier would go up, saying al-Maliki was responding to exaggerated reports about the wall.
An aide to al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, told reporters in the holy Shiite city of Najaf that they plan two demonstrations in eastern and western Baghdad to condemn the wall. He did not give a date for the demonstrations but said that if the security situation permits, al-Sadr's followers will be happy to join demonstrators in Azamiyah.
The U.S. military has said that al-Sadr is currently in neighboring Iran, a claim that his aides denied in the past week saying he is in Iraq. Al-Obaidi said al-Sadr's disappearance "is for security reasons and ... it is not necessary to know where he is.
Labels: Adhamiyah, Azamiyah wall, demonstration, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi
