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Shiite leader endorses division of Iraq
14.10.2007
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October
14, 2007
Baghdad, Iraq,-- The Shiite heir
apparent to a key U.S. political ally added his
voice Saturday to calls for the division of Iraq
into semi-autonomous regions based on sect and
ethnicity, throwing down a gauntlet on an issue that
has stirred fierce emotions in Iraq.
Ammar Hakim’s appeal before hundreds of supporters
gathered for prayers marking the end of the Muslim
holy month of Ramadan came just weeks after passage
of a nonbinding Senate resolution calling for a
devolution of power to three self-governing regions
for Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
Iraqi politicians responded angrily to the
resolution, which was sponsored by Sen. Joseph R.
Biden Jr., a Delaware Democrat who is a candidate
for president. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
, a Shiite, called the measure an infringement on
Iraqi sovereignty
Others accused officials in Washington, D.C., of
plotting to partition Iraq.
But the idea of building strong regions has the
support of Kurdish leaders, including President
Jalal Talabani, and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi
Council, one of the two largest Shiite formations,
led by Hakim’s father, Abdelaziz Hakim.
The Kurds have a self-governing state in the north,
which they hope to expand by annexing the oil rich
city of Kirkuk and other disputed areas.
Abdelaziz Hakim has called for uniting the nine
provinces in the south with a Shiite majority into a
similar region.
“I call on this holy day for the people of my
country to form the (self-governing) regions,
starting with the region south of Baghdad,” Hakim’s
son said in a sermon delivered outside the party
headquarters in Baghdad, the capital. “It is an
Iraqi interest, wish and decision.”
But he also stressed the need to preserve Iraqi
unity and said federalism was the best way to
achieve this.
The principle of federalism is enshrined in the
Iraqi constitution, but politicians have yet to
agree on a bill outlining the relationship between
central and provincial authorities, one of the
benchmarks for continued U.S. support.
latimes com
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