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Iraqi Opp rejects theocratic govt
Iraqâs Islamic groups do not want a theocratic government like that in Iran, a leader of the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI) said on Saturday. âIn general, Iraqi Islamic groups do not think that a theocratic regime would be appropriate for Iraq,â Akram Al Hakim told AFP. His statements came on the second day of a three-day meeting of Iraqi opposition parties and civil society members on political representation for Iraqâs Shiites in the south and autonomy for Kurds in the north, among other thorny issues.
| "You guys get your theocratic state, us Kurds get our independence. Think about it." |
In response to statements by US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that Washington would not permit a pro-Iranian regime in Baghdad, Hakim said that Washington was mixing up demands from different Iraqi groups. Hakim emphasised the difference between the religious and non-political demands as seen at Kerbala and âthe appearance of doctrinal Islamic forces that have nothing to do with the previous regime (of Saddam Hussein) and whose emergence was not sufficiently anticipatedâ.
| "Yeah. Really. We were talking about, ummmm... something else." |
Most of the recent anti-American demonstrations in Baghdad were organised by supporters of Mohamed As-sadr, a Shiite leader assassinated by Saddamâs regime in 1999, Hakim said, adding that this situation was âdangerous for the Americans, dangerous for the Iraqis, with the risk of destabilising the whole regionâ.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-04-27 |
