.Eulogies for Iraqi Shiite leader reflect worries
BAGHDAD (AP) - Thousands of mourners marched through Baghdad behind the coffin of one of the country's most powerful Shiite leaders on Friday, and eulogies from rivals and allies reflected deep worry over the political void left by his death.
Al-Hakim's death from lung cancer comes at a time of disarray among Iraqi Shiites. Just this week, his party formed a new political grouping to contest January's parliamentary elections that excludes the Iraqi prime minister, setting up a showdown between the two former allies.
Rivalries were put aside as al-Hakim's body was flown back to Iraq from Iran, where he died Wednesday, but tensions were clear as he was remembered in memorial services.
"We have lost you while we are undergoing a delicate and sensitive period, and in a time when we are in need of strong men with experience and who have made great sacrifices," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said at the airport upon the arrival of al-Hakim's coffin. "We are still confronting the remnants of a dictatorship and terrorism by those who want to hurt Iraq."
Islamic tradition usually requires the dead to be buried swiftly, preferably within hours. But political factors were at play in the case of al-Hakim - one of Iraq's most influential power brokers - and his body was taken on a three-day mourning tour starting with memorials Thursday in Iran and ending with burial Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Najaf in southern Iraq.
Iraq is holding parliamentary elections on Jan. 16 in which competition over the Shiite vote will be stiff because of the split among Shiite parties. In regional elections this year, al-Hakim's party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, did poorly in many parts of the south. A show of masses of supporters turning out to mourn al-Hakim could boost the party, and the bloc it formed this week with other parties called the Iraqi National Alliance.
"I think they wanted to use such a procession to give an emotional boost to the Iraqi National Alliance ahead of the coming elections and maybe to show those who didn't join the new alliance the size of popularity and support they enjoy," said Qassim Nassir, the 35-year-old owner of an electrical appliance store in Baghdad.
Officials with his party defended the decision to delay the burial, citing al-Hakim's stature and demands from supporters in different provinces to be allowed to pay last respects.
The body was taken to two mosques in northern Baghdad before being transported to the holy city of Karbala. Followers pressed around the casket, striking their heads in grief as it was carried through the crowd in the capital, at one point tearing off the Iraqi flag that had been draped over it.
Al-Hakim, who died at the age of 59, was a symbol for many of the re-emergence of Iraq's Shiite political majority after decades of oppression under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led regime. He worked with Americans after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion even while maintaining his ties to Iran, where he lived in exile for 20 years.
His death comes as insurgents have stepped up attacks, including coordinated bombings last week against government ministries in Baghdad that claimed about 100 lives. Security was tight in the capital on Friday, and many major roads were closed, reflecting fears that his funeral procession could become a prime target for insurgents hoping to stoke sectarian tensions.
Iraqi state television broadcast the service, which also was carried live on a number of other Arabic stations.
Many Sunnis and some Shiites distrusted al-Hakim, seeing him as a tool of Iran in his calls for self-rule in the Shiite heartland that is also home to most of Iraq's oil.
Al-Hakim's death, however, seems to have prompted more worry that instability could ensue without a strong figure at the helm of Iraq's biggest Shiite party.
Al-Hakim had been grooming his son, Ammar, to take over his party. But it was unclear whether the young and untested Ammar al-Hakim inherited enough political wits to keep the Shiite alliance from splintering.
Ammar al-Hakim made a thinly veiled call to al-Maliki's Dawa Party to join the alliance, although the prime minister has declined because of differences over the allocation of power and a desire to reach out to more prominent Sunnis and Kurds.
"I call upon those who have not decided to join ... to reconsider their stance in order to unite all national parties under one group that will work to defend the rights of this nation," he said.
Iraq's biggest Sunni political party, Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, also has expressed condolences over al-Hakim's death, warning it "will create a big political vacuum at this delicate stage of Iraq's history."
Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi was among hundreds of dignitaries receiving the casket at the airport.
Iraq's political leaders have been accused of failing to take advantage of security gains to achieve national reconciliation after years of brutal sectarian bloodshed.
A roadside bomb killed two American soldiers Friday in eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The deaths raised the monthly U.S. toll to seven, putting it on track to be one of the lowest since the war started in March 2003.
In all, at least 4,337 members of the U.S. military have died in the conflict, according to an Associated Press count.
MyWay
Al-Hakim's death from lung cancer comes at a time of disarray among Iraqi Shiites. Just this week, his party formed a new political grouping to contest January's parliamentary elections that excludes the Iraqi prime minister, setting up a showdown between the two former allies.
Rivalries were put aside as al-Hakim's body was flown back to Iraq from Iran, where he died Wednesday, but tensions were clear as he was remembered in memorial services.
"We have lost you while we are undergoing a delicate and sensitive period, and in a time when we are in need of strong men with experience and who have made great sacrifices," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said at the airport upon the arrival of al-Hakim's coffin. "We are still confronting the remnants of a dictatorship and terrorism by those who want to hurt Iraq."
Islamic tradition usually requires the dead to be buried swiftly, preferably within hours. But political factors were at play in the case of al-Hakim - one of Iraq's most influential power brokers - and his body was taken on a three-day mourning tour starting with memorials Thursday in Iran and ending with burial Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Najaf in southern Iraq.
Iraq is holding parliamentary elections on Jan. 16 in which competition over the Shiite vote will be stiff because of the split among Shiite parties. In regional elections this year, al-Hakim's party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, did poorly in many parts of the south. A show of masses of supporters turning out to mourn al-Hakim could boost the party, and the bloc it formed this week with other parties called the Iraqi National Alliance.
"I think they wanted to use such a procession to give an emotional boost to the Iraqi National Alliance ahead of the coming elections and maybe to show those who didn't join the new alliance the size of popularity and support they enjoy," said Qassim Nassir, the 35-year-old owner of an electrical appliance store in Baghdad.
Officials with his party defended the decision to delay the burial, citing al-Hakim's stature and demands from supporters in different provinces to be allowed to pay last respects.
The body was taken to two mosques in northern Baghdad before being transported to the holy city of Karbala. Followers pressed around the casket, striking their heads in grief as it was carried through the crowd in the capital, at one point tearing off the Iraqi flag that had been draped over it.
Al-Hakim, who died at the age of 59, was a symbol for many of the re-emergence of Iraq's Shiite political majority after decades of oppression under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led regime. He worked with Americans after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion even while maintaining his ties to Iran, where he lived in exile for 20 years.
His death comes as insurgents have stepped up attacks, including coordinated bombings last week against government ministries in Baghdad that claimed about 100 lives. Security was tight in the capital on Friday, and many major roads were closed, reflecting fears that his funeral procession could become a prime target for insurgents hoping to stoke sectarian tensions.
Iraqi state television broadcast the service, which also was carried live on a number of other Arabic stations.
Many Sunnis and some Shiites distrusted al-Hakim, seeing him as a tool of Iran in his calls for self-rule in the Shiite heartland that is also home to most of Iraq's oil.
Al-Hakim's death, however, seems to have prompted more worry that instability could ensue without a strong figure at the helm of Iraq's biggest Shiite party.
Al-Hakim had been grooming his son, Ammar, to take over his party. But it was unclear whether the young and untested Ammar al-Hakim inherited enough political wits to keep the Shiite alliance from splintering.
Ammar al-Hakim made a thinly veiled call to al-Maliki's Dawa Party to join the alliance, although the prime minister has declined because of differences over the allocation of power and a desire to reach out to more prominent Sunnis and Kurds.
"I call upon those who have not decided to join ... to reconsider their stance in order to unite all national parties under one group that will work to defend the rights of this nation," he said.
Iraq's biggest Sunni political party, Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, also has expressed condolences over al-Hakim's death, warning it "will create a big political vacuum at this delicate stage of Iraq's history."
Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi was among hundreds of dignitaries receiving the casket at the airport.
Iraq's political leaders have been accused of failing to take advantage of security gains to achieve national reconciliation after years of brutal sectarian bloodshed.
A roadside bomb killed two American soldiers Friday in eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The deaths raised the monthly U.S. toll to seven, putting it on track to be one of the lowest since the war started in March 2003.
In all, at least 4,337 members of the U.S. military have died in the conflict, according to an Associated Press count.
MyWay
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