Iran Press/Middle East: Iraq’s top Shiite cleric issued a statement emphasizing three important points. Firstly, protests in Iraq must be peaceful and there should be no violence in such protests. Secondly, peaceful protesters must not be assaulted, and permission for peaceful protests must always be given. It is the right of the Iraqi people to hold peaceful protests.
Thirdly, the new government in Iraq must be able to calm down the situation and show its authority. The new government must also take all the necessary steps for early elections to take place, ending months of political wrangling in the country.
Iraq’s top religious authority also emphasized that the protracted political crisis and uncertainty in the country must end.
Iraqi President Barham Saleh on Saturday appointed Mohammad Tawfiq Allawi as prime minister after squabbling parties failed to name a candidate in the two months since Adel Abdul Mahdi was ousted by mass protests.
Allawi, who will run Iraq until early elections can be held, must form a new government within a month and will likely get stuck between powerful parties vying for cabinet posts, prolonging the political deadlock.
The new prime minister has already said he would resign if political blocs attempted to impose candidates for cabinet jobs.
Soon after the president’s announcement, protesters gathered in Baghdad and southern cities expressing opposition to Allawi’s appointment, and violence flared once again in protests throughout the country. The violence comes despite the fact that Allawi was actually one of the names put forward by the protesters for the post of prime minister.
Most of the violence seems to be between the supporters and opponents of top Iraqi politician and cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. For example, last Wednesday in the city of Najaf, violence flared between the 'blue hats' (supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr) and the 'red hats' (opponents of Muqtada al-Sadr). At least 8 people were killed and over a hundred others were injured.
Rather cleverly Muqtada al-Sadr has supported the new prime minister Mohammad Tawfiq Allawi, telling his supporters to end the protests. Sadr has put clear distance between himself and vandals and rioters who seem hell-bent on violence. They cannot accept Sadr's demand, because they want a regime change in Baghdad -- they want to install a US-puppet government in Baghdad, similar to governments in some small Arab countries, such as Jordan.
It should be noted that Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani has called for a strong new government to end the political vacuum in Iraq. The top Shiite cleric has also called for a strong bond between the Iraqi people, the security forces and the government, saying this powerful triangle is essential for ending violence and return of stability to the country.
Crucially, the Iraqi public hugely welcomed the statement by Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, as did most political parties in Iraq. After Friday prayers in Baghdad, Basra, Najaf, and Nasiriyah, the Iraqi people demonstrated showing their full support for top religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali al-Sistani. Another influential Iraqi politician, Qais Khazali also threw his weight behind the statement by the Grand Ayatollah.
Writer Seyyed Reza Emadi
Translator Mehran Derakhshandeh
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