BAGHDAD (AFP) -
Iraqi Shiite leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, the head of
parliament's largest bloc, has told AFP that he
favours extending an amnesty to insurgents who may
have killed US troops.
He also accused US-led coalition troops of
contributing to the worsening security by being
"sucked into a quagmire" they were unqualified to
handle.
"Yes, they should be covered regardless of their
religious or ethnic affiliations," Hakim said when
asked if he would support extending a reconciliation
and amnesty plan unveiled by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
to those who may have attacked US-led troops.
Although the insurgency in Iraq is being fueled by
Sunni Arabs, partisans of radical Shiite cleric
Moqtada Sadr also fought US troops in 2004.
Hakim's position would contradict that of his
government ally Maliki, also a Shiite, who said on
Wednesday that there would be no amnesty to those
who killed US troops, foreigners or journalists.
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Iraqi Shiite leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, the head of
parliament's largest bloc, has told AFP that he
favours extending an amnesty to insurgents who may
have killed US troops.
Photo:AFP |
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At the same time Hakim said he would oppose dialogue
with "Saddamists and takfeeris", catchall terms used
by hardline Shiites to refer to loyalists of ousted
leader Saddam Hussein and extremist Sunni Arab
militants who regard Iraq's majority Shiites as
apostates.
In the same breath, the black-turbaned cleric,
revered by his followers as a descendant of Prophet
Mohammed's family, dismissed the insurgency and
accused it of crimes against Iraq.
"If there was a true resistance movement, then it
should unmask itself so that we can sit down and
negotiate with it, but I have seen no proof that
such a movement actually exists," he said.
Hakim, who also heads the Supreme Council for the
Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) party, visited
Tehran last month. After meeting him, Iran's supreme
leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on US and other
foreign troops to leave Iraq.
Before Saddam's fall, Hakim spent two decades in
Iran, where SCIRI was based and where its
paramilitary wing the Badr Brigades was formed with
Tehran's help.
Hakim was among the first to return to Iraq after
the US-led invasion in March 2003 toppled Saddam. He
was appointed to the US-formed Governing Council
during the US occupation administration that lasted
until June 2004.
In an interview at his heavily guarded Baghdad
office, Hakim blamed the actions and policies of
US-led coalition forces for the deteriorating
security situation in Iraq, which in addition to a
raging insurgency is besieged by violent
sectarianism pitting the newly empowered Shiites
against the once-ruling Sunni Arab elite.
"They were not qualified to protect society. They
were sucked into a quagmire and made many mistakes
that have brought us to the present unfortunate
stage. They must give more opportunities to Iraqis
to take control," he said.
But Hakim was guarded when asked whether he
supported an immediate withdrawal of the 150,000
foreign troops, 130,000 of them American.
"This is a matter for the Iraqi government to study
and to make the decision that would be in the
interest of Iraqis, be it a timetable for withdrawal
or an immediate pullout," he said.
He dismissed accusations by Sunni Arab leaders
outside the government that militia linked to his
party and elements within the Shiite-dominated
security forces were kidnapping and killing Sunnis.
He said Shiite militiamen should be integrated into
the security forces.
"Those who fought the previous regime should have
the priority in ensuring security and stability,"
Hakim said.
AFP
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