|
Iraq Shi'ite leader calls for own region in south
11.8.2005
By Khaled Farhan
|
|
|
|
NAJAF (Reuters) -
An Iraqi Shi'ite leader said on Thursday Shi'ites
should have their own federal region taking in all
of the Shi'ite areas in oil-rich southern Iraq.
"Regarding federalism, we think that it is necessary
to form one entire region (in the central and
southern part )of the south," said Abdul Aziz
al-Hakim, leader of one of the Shi'ite parties
leading the government.
His comments came shortly after the commander of his
Iranian-trained Badr movement militia said Shi'ites
should have their own federal zone in the south.
"Federalism has to be in all of Iraq. They are
trying to prevent the Shi'ites from enjoying their
own federalism," Hadi al-Amery, head of the Badr
movement, told tens of thousands of Shi'ites
gathered in the sacred southern city of Najaf.
"We have to persist in forming one region in the
south or else we will regret it. What have we got
from the central government except death?" he said.
The calls for a southern Shi'ite region come at a
critical time when Iraqi leaders are scrambling to
finish a draft constitution to submit to parliament
before a self-imposed August 15 deadline.
Federalism is one of the most volatile issues in
talks on the constitution, which the Shi'ite-led
government and their U.S. allies hope will defuse
the Arab Sunni-led insurgency.
"We must have federalism in the south in order to
guarantee our rights, which enemies are trying try
to prevent us from having," Amery said.
Government spokesman Laith Kubba has said leaders
are expected to deliver a framework for a
constitution and resolve tough issues later, to the
dismay of some parties eager to entrench federalism
in the charter quickly.
The calls for federalism were made to an emotional
crowd commemorating the second anniversary of the
death of Hakim's brother, Ayatollah Mohammed Bakr
al-Hakim, who was killed by a car bomb in Najaf in
2003 along with 83 other people.
The Badr movement, former Iraqi army soldiers who
turned against Saddam Hussein in the war with Iran
in the 1980s, are resented by many Sunnis, who were
dominant under the toppled Iraqi leader but
sidelined in January elections.
Kurds have enjoyed a de facto state in the north
since 1991, when American troops set up a no-fly
zone to protect them from Saddam Hussein's army.
Sunnis favour a strong central government with tight
control over oil resources in the Kurdish north and
Shi'ite south. Southern Iraq is home to the
country's biggest oil reserves.
Reuters
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 