.Shiite leaders look to dominate with Iraq pact
BAGHDAD (AFP) — A pact forged by Iraq's two most powerful Shiite leaders demonstrates their determination to avoid conflict so they can capitalise on their dominant positions, observers said on Sunday.
After jockeying for control of the majority Shiite community since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Moqtada al-Sadr and Abdel Aziz al-Hakim believe further rivalry would undermine their pursuit of power.
"They realised the atmosphere of not having armed conflict would be to their political advantage," leading Kurdish politician Mahmud Othman told AFP.
Sadr's movement backed by a militia known as the Mahdi Army -- rogue elements of which he is trying to rein in -- enjoys the greatest popular support of any grouping in Iraq.
Fellow cleric Hakim leads the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), a pillar of the ruling coalition that along with an armed wing known as the Badr Brigade commands the second biggest following.
Competition between the two for domination of the Shiite community has led to clashes, assassinations and fears of wider conflict, in particular in the oil-rich south as the British begin to withdraw.
A low-point came in late August when running street battles erupted between their militias at a major Shiite festival in the holy city of Karbala, killing at least 52 people and wounding up to 300.
The reported spark for that unrest was the arrival at a Karbala shrine of Ammar Hakim, 36, the heir apparent to the SIIC crown who has been leading the party in place of his cancer-stricken father.
In an interview Sunday, the younger Hakim distanced himself and the Shiite movements from the Karbala violence and said the deal with Sadr was aimed at bolstering the Iraqi state.
"We don't interpret what happened in Karbala to be an intra-Shiite conflict. What happened in Karbala is that groups were operating outside the law.
"I think we have no choice other than building the Iraqi state, and that the law must prevail, weapons must be in the hands of the government, Iraqis have no choice other than tolerance," he told AFP.
After the August carnage, Sadr ordered his militiamen to observe a six-month ceasefire, including a halt to attacks on US forces. Since then, he has cracked down on those continuing violence under his banner.
"The deal was a result of clashes between both sides, assassinations, and the fighting in Karbala," said Othman.
"I think with the tensions between the two their positions became weaker. They took this step to repair that to a degree. It is to strengthen Shiite unity."
Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki welcomed the deal, saying it "came at the right time" and showed "a high sense of religious and national responsibility."
The timing, Othman said, could be linked to the fact that the Shiites perceive Sunni groups that are being helped by the US military to fight Al-Qaeda in Iraq to be a worrisome threat.
"It comes at a time when the Americans are arming the Sunnis and the Shiite leaders fear the creation of Sunni militias. That also led to this agreement."
Certainly the development was anathema to Ammar Hakim.
"Seeking help from people in some areas to bring peace is a right principle, but random arming and giving authority to groups out of the security forces is wrong," he told AFP.
Sadr and Hakim are on the surface unlikely bedfellows.
Sadr presents himself as a strong Iraqi nationalist but Hakim is seen as closer to Tehran, where he spent a number of years in exile while Iraq was under Saddam.
Sadr has always taken a fierce public stand against the American occupation, while Hakim has courted the affection of Washington and last year met President George W. Bush at the White House.
Hakim's party returned to Iraq in the aftermath of the US invasion and last year, after winning 30 seats in the 275-member parliament, joined Maliki's coalition government.
Sadr's six ministers have boycotted the government since April and in mid-September the fiery cleric pulled his 32 MPs out of the ruling Shiite-dominated coalition where it had been the largest single bloc.
"There are no signs that we will retreat from our decision of withdrawal from the unified coalition," Liwa Sumaysim, head of the political committee of the Sadr group, told AFP after Saturday's deal.
"The agreement does not carry political dimensions relating to the government."
AFP
Give them enough rope...
After jockeying for control of the majority Shiite community since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Moqtada al-Sadr and Abdel Aziz al-Hakim believe further rivalry would undermine their pursuit of power.
"They realised the atmosphere of not having armed conflict would be to their political advantage," leading Kurdish politician Mahmud Othman told AFP.
Sadr's movement backed by a militia known as the Mahdi Army -- rogue elements of which he is trying to rein in -- enjoys the greatest popular support of any grouping in Iraq.
Fellow cleric Hakim leads the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), a pillar of the ruling coalition that along with an armed wing known as the Badr Brigade commands the second biggest following.
Competition between the two for domination of the Shiite community has led to clashes, assassinations and fears of wider conflict, in particular in the oil-rich south as the British begin to withdraw.
A low-point came in late August when running street battles erupted between their militias at a major Shiite festival in the holy city of Karbala, killing at least 52 people and wounding up to 300.
The reported spark for that unrest was the arrival at a Karbala shrine of Ammar Hakim, 36, the heir apparent to the SIIC crown who has been leading the party in place of his cancer-stricken father.
In an interview Sunday, the younger Hakim distanced himself and the Shiite movements from the Karbala violence and said the deal with Sadr was aimed at bolstering the Iraqi state.
"We don't interpret what happened in Karbala to be an intra-Shiite conflict. What happened in Karbala is that groups were operating outside the law.
"I think we have no choice other than building the Iraqi state, and that the law must prevail, weapons must be in the hands of the government, Iraqis have no choice other than tolerance," he told AFP.
After the August carnage, Sadr ordered his militiamen to observe a six-month ceasefire, including a halt to attacks on US forces. Since then, he has cracked down on those continuing violence under his banner.
"The deal was a result of clashes between both sides, assassinations, and the fighting in Karbala," said Othman.
"I think with the tensions between the two their positions became weaker. They took this step to repair that to a degree. It is to strengthen Shiite unity."
Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki welcomed the deal, saying it "came at the right time" and showed "a high sense of religious and national responsibility."
The timing, Othman said, could be linked to the fact that the Shiites perceive Sunni groups that are being helped by the US military to fight Al-Qaeda in Iraq to be a worrisome threat.
"It comes at a time when the Americans are arming the Sunnis and the Shiite leaders fear the creation of Sunni militias. That also led to this agreement."
Certainly the development was anathema to Ammar Hakim.
"Seeking help from people in some areas to bring peace is a right principle, but random arming and giving authority to groups out of the security forces is wrong," he told AFP.
Sadr and Hakim are on the surface unlikely bedfellows.
Sadr presents himself as a strong Iraqi nationalist but Hakim is seen as closer to Tehran, where he spent a number of years in exile while Iraq was under Saddam.
Sadr has always taken a fierce public stand against the American occupation, while Hakim has courted the affection of Washington and last year met President George W. Bush at the White House.
Hakim's party returned to Iraq in the aftermath of the US invasion and last year, after winning 30 seats in the 275-member parliament, joined Maliki's coalition government.
Sadr's six ministers have boycotted the government since April and in mid-September the fiery cleric pulled his 32 MPs out of the ruling Shiite-dominated coalition where it had been the largest single bloc.
"There are no signs that we will retreat from our decision of withdrawal from the unified coalition," Liwa Sumaysim, head of the political committee of the Sadr group, told AFP after Saturday's deal.
"The agreement does not carry political dimensions relating to the government."
AFP
Give them enough rope...
posted by madtom at 12:39 PM
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