Source: reuters // Reuters
مقتدي الصدر يعود من قم إلي النجف ويستأنف نشاطه بزيارة مصالحة للسيستاني
النجف ــ علي الشمري:
عاد زعيم التيار الصدري مقتدي الصدر امس الي مقره في النجف، بعد اربع سنوات قضاها في ايران، كما اعلن مصدر في التيار الصدري الذي أضاف ان "مقتدي الصدر وصل الي النجف برفقة عدد من كبار مساعديه بينهم مصطفي اليعقوبي ومحمد الساعدي وحيدر الجابري". وتزامنت عودة الصدر مع زيارة ابراهيم الجعفري رئيس التحالف الوطني الي طهران التي لا يزال فيها.
* Lawmakers, Iraqis celebrate Sadr's homecoming
* Some apprehension over Sadr's role in Iraq
* For key facts about Sadr, click on [ID:nLDE704198] * Factbox on outlook for Sadr, Iraq, click [ID:nLDE7050TH] (Adds U.S. general's comments, paragraphs 7-8)
By Muhanad Mohammed
NAJAF, Iraq, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A mixture of euphoria and cautious hope greeted anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Thursday, a day after his return to Iraq from exile, and many Iraqis looked to him to help stabilise their war-torn country.
Hundreds of Sadr's followers in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf celebrated his homecoming from Iran, and the possible transformation into a mainstream politician of a man once associated with black-clad death squads that roamed Iraq.
Sadr, who led two uprisings against U.S. forces after the 2003 invasion, cemented his movement's position in the new coalition government after playing a crucial role in putting Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki back in power for a second term.
His return was possible also because of declining U.S. clout ahead of a full military withdrawal by the end of this year.
Sadr's support of Maliki is thought to have been brokered in part by Iran, and his years in exile under Iranian patronage may have increased Tehran's influence on him. But diplomats say he is ultimately an Iraqi nationalist, and an unpredictable and enigmatic leader unlikely to heed the wishes of others.
His followers were seen to be behind much of the violence at the height of fighting in 2006-07 between majority Shi'ites and once dominant Sunnis, and are still regarded with suspicion by many, particularly Washington.
"I believe that he's here based on political purpose and that's the appropriate way to participate in the political process," said Lieutenant General Robert Cone, the U.S. deputy commanding general for operations in Iraq.
"We know what Moqtada al Sadr's political statements have been in regard to turning away from violence."
In Baghdad's sprawling Shi'ite slum of Sadr City, a Sadr stronghold, many rejoiced.
"We Iraqis are delighted at the return of Sayyed and leader Moqtada al-Sadr, above all because he is now part of the political process," said Sadr City resident Salih al-Daraji, giving Sadr the title accorded in the Islamic world to descendants of the Prophet Mohammad.
"The Sayyed does not differentiate between Sunnis and Shi'ites or Christians; all Iraqis are equals."
SADR TELLS FAITHFUL TO CALM DOWN
Sadr, who met some tribal leaders on Thursday, chastised his followers for the jubilant welcome he received on Wednesday, saying it could hurt his reputation.
His statement suggested that he wanted to put what critics called his rabble-rousing past behind him and anchor himself and his movement in a more mainstream position.
"The lack of discipline of some of you during my performance of religious rituals and public matters bothers me and harms me, so I hope that you will exercise discipline and stop the excessive chants and stampedes," Sadr said in a statement.
Sadrist officials said he had indicated he planned to remain in Iraq, but Sadr himself made no announcements. His officials say the government has guaranteed his safety and freedom from arrest.
Politicians, both allies and former foes, welcomed Sadr, saying his return showed his support for the government.
"The return of the Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr to Iraq shows evidence of peace and security in the Iraqi political atmosphere generally," said Mustafa al-Hiti, a leader in the Iraqiya bloc, which is heavily supported by minority Sunni Muslims.
The Sadrist movement secured 39 seats in the new parliament and has seven ministries in Maliki's new government.
Sadr's Mehdi Army militia was once seen by the United States as the biggest threat to Iraq's security.
The group, which says it has laid down its arms, was crushed by Iraqi and U.S. forces in 2008 and Sadr has forbidden it to commit violence against other Iraqis.
"I am sure there are people who are trying to taint the reputation of the Mehdi Army and the Sadr movement because we entered the political process," said Fadhil Issa, 50, a jobless Baghdad resident who travelled to Najaf to see Sadr.
"We, as the Mehdi Army and the Sadr movement, support the security forces, and things of the past will not be repeated."
Maliki warned in Baghdad in a speech marking armed forces day no one would be allowed to "tamper" with Iraq's security.
"Our (security) apparatus, our army, our political forces, our citizens, all stand ready to confront any challenge or any breach of our internal security or external security," he said, without naming any person or group.
While diminished in stature by years of self-imposed exile, Sadr retains a zealous following among the young and poor. He fled Iraq in 2006 or 2007 to escape an old arrest warrant, and is believed to have pursued religious studies in Shi'ite Iran.
"God willing, the political process will continue with his return, and reconstruction will begin because of it," said Sadr City resident Mohammed Khalef. (Additional reporting by Khaled Farhan in Najaf, and Aseel Kami and Suadad al-Salhy in Baghdad; Writing by Serena Chaudhry; editing by Tim Pearce and Jason Neely)
======
Return of the kingmaker
After four years of self-imposed exile in Iran, radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr returns to an Iraqi political scene where his clout has never been greater.
Shiite cleric and political leader Moqtada al-Sadr addresses supporters in the southern city of Basra on February 26, 2006, shortly before his self-imposed exile in Iran. (ESSAM AL-SUDANI/AFP/Getty Images)
By Daniel W. Smith, Ben Van Heuvelen, and Staff
Published January 5, 2011
BAGHDAD - The cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is back in Iraq. The populist Shiite leader has spent four years in self-imposed exile in Iran, and now returns more influential than ever, after his political bloc gave decisive support to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s bid for a second term.
Sadr landed at Najaf airport on Wednesday afternoon, according to a senior Sadrist official, and made an evening visit to the shrine of Imam Ali. Footage broadcast on the state-run Iraqiya channel showed Sadr surrounded by hundreds of supporters who shouted his name and jostled to get a glimpse of the religious leader.
“The return of Sayyed Moqtada to Iraq means a lot of things to Iraqis,” said Sadrist MP Awad Mohsim al-Awadi. “It means the stability of Iraq and the political process.”
The cleric is a staunch nationalist who has called for a review of all oil contracts with foreign oil companies. On his website he recently counseled a follower not to accept a job from a British oil services company because that country had participated in the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Sadr’s return underscores his growing and increasingly mainstream political profile. As recently as 2008, Sadrist militias were targeted by Iraqi security forces in a high-profile campaign spearheaded by Prime Minister Maliki. Now, in a remarkable turnaround, Sadr has gained considerable political capital with his erstwhile foe by leading his electoral bloc – among the largest and most cohesive in Iraq – into Maliki’s coalition.
A signature achievement of Maliki’s first term was his administration’s ability to broker 11 contracts with the world’s largest oil companies, which aim to increase Iraqi production capacity from under 3 million barrels per day (bpd) to more than 13 million bpd in seven years. Those plans have drawn criticism from populist leaders, Sadr foremost among them, who charge that foreign companies threaten Iraq’s economic sovereignty.
The Sadrists won 43 seats in the March 7, 2010 elections – more than any other single party – on a platform that criticized foreign, and especially western, intervention in Iraq.
Sadrists have called for a review of the past year’s oil contracts, pointing out that they were signed in the absence of constitutionally mandated (and perpetually stalled) legislation that would clarify the lines of authority over the oil sector. The party has also opposed the extension of agreements with American and British forces designed to support and train a fledgling Iraqi military.
Sadr’s return likely signals his intensifying bid to solidify his political clout. The formation of Iraq’s new government is a work in progress, with several leadership positions still undecided. A Sadrist MP has already been named deputy speaker of Parliament, yet key posts remain up for grabs, including leadership of the Ministry of State for National Security and positions on a newly formed, high-level policy council whose power could potentially check the prime minister.
“His eminence (Sadr) played an important role in the forming of the national government,” said Awadi. “He will be like the safety valve to the national sharing government and to the whole political blocs and process.”
Leaders from the rest of Iraq’s political spectrum have offered guarded expressions of hope that the return of such a politically charged figure will not destabilize the fragile unity of the new governing coalition.
“He is one of the main players in Iraq now,” said Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish MP. “He was influencing the political process before. Now he is back, and will be able to use his influence even more, whether it is negatively or positively. I hope it will all be positive.”
“We hope from the return of Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr for the continuing support to the national government and the joined political process,” said Shaker Kitab, an Iraqiya MP. “In addition to that, (his) return will give also push forward to our brothers the Sadrists to have easier channels of contacts with their leadership.”
Iraq Oil Report called nearly a dozen officials within Maliki’s State of Law coalition, but none were answering their phones. Neither Maliki’s office nor State of Law has issued any public statement on Sadr’s return.
On the topic of Sadr, State of Law’s one public gesture today was a visit by Ali al-Dabbagh, a close Maliki ally and official government spokesman, to a delegation of tribal leaders in Baghdad’s Sadr City, where they discussed “ways of cooperation with the government to make it… a government of real national partnership,” according to a statement from Dabbagh’s office.
Sadr had been studying in Qom, the Iranian hub of Islamic scholarship, to become an ayatollah like his father, Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr – an iconic figure of Shiite nationalism who was assassinated in Najaf in 1999 after leading a resistance movement against Saddam Hussein. In the aftermath of the 2003 invasion, the younger Sadr capitalized on his family name to become a prominent force against the American-led occupation.
The military face of Sadr’s movement was the Mahdi Army, which not only targeted American and coalition soldiers but also engaged in sectarian warfare and extortion. The political wing of the movement joined Maliki’s coalition after the 2005 elections, but withdrew in 2007 as Sadr himself left for Iran – ostensibly to pursue religious studies, but also likely for fear that Maliki, in concert with the American “surge,” would pursue the enforcement of a long-standing arrest warrant against him.
In early 2008, the prime minister led a campaign dubbed “Operation Charge of the Knights” against Mahdi Army strongholds in Baghdad’s Sadr City and in Basra. That action hardened the enmity between Maliki and Sadr.
With last year’s national election, however, the political equation changed. The Sadrist movement deliberately pivoted to become a political powerhouse, ordering the Mahdi Army to lay down its arms and elevating experts in political organizing to lead the organization’s electoral resurgence.
After the election, the two top blocs were State of Law and the Sunni-backed Iraqiyya coalition, which together had enough votes to form a governing majority – yet their two respective leaders, Maliki and former prime minister Ayad Allawi, were locked in a months-long stalemate. As the figurehead of the next-largest parliamentary bloc, Sadr was the potential kingmaker.
American officials tried hard to mediate a deal between Maliki and Allawi, in large part because they feared any scenario that would give leverage to Sadr, whom they view as an element of Iranian influence. In the end, although Allawi’s Iraqiya party did finally join Maliki’s coalition government, it was Sadr who broke the stalemate by partnering with Maliki, in a deal reportedly brokered by Iran.
In exchange for their support, the Sadrists have already gotten several big wins. They garnered the release of imprisoned allies, and secured three governorships as well as positions across government ministries. At a minimum, Sadr’s return increases his party’s clout as they jockey for the remaining pieces of the leadership pie. In the longer term, it gives the Sadrists a figurehead – and a bully pulpit – for advocating their policies.
Sadr is staying at his family home in the al-Hanana district in Najaf city. Nobody close to Sadr has provided information on the status of Sadr’s religious training, or whether he plans to return to Qom. Some Sadrist officials have indicated that the cleric is here to stay, while others have declined to say.
“As long as he is an active part of the government,” said Othman, the Kurdish MP, “then I think that is better that he be inside (Iraq), rather than outside.”
Iraqi staff reporting from Baghdad are anonymous for their security. Daniel W. Smith contributed from Baghdad. Ben Van Heuvelen and Ben Lando contributed from New York.
====
Radical Iraqi cleric urges resistance against US Buzz up! .. AP – A supporter of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr chants slogans as followers gather to watch the …
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NAJAF, Iraq – Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is calling the U.S., Israel, and Britain "common enemies" against Iraq and is urging his Shiite followers to resist what he called "the occupiers" by all means.
The radical cleric's comments Saturday came in his first public speech in Iraq since his self-imposed exile to Iran nearly four years ago.
He told the crowd of thousands to "reject America" and urged his followers to "target only the occupier with all means of resistance."
He said Iraqis should not kill Iraqis.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
NAJAF, Iraq (AP) — Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is giving his first speech to followers since returning to Iraq from nearly four years of self-imposed exile in Iran.
The powerful cleric was greeted by shouts of "Long live the leader" outside his ancestral home Followers and detractors alike will be watching his speech for signs of what direction he'll take his political movement.in the holy Shiite city of Najaf.
Thousands of Iraqis crowded the streets to see the firebrand leader, an influential figure in Iraq who heads a fearsome militia as well as an organized political movement.
===
"We still resist the occupier, by military resistance, and all the means of resistance," he told the crowd of thousands of his followers, saying the Iraqi people should protect their countrymen, AFP reported.
"Our hand will not touch any Iraqi... we only target the occupier, by all means of resistance. We are one people. We don't agree with some groups that carry out assassinations," Sadr went on to say.
"Yes, yes for Moqtada! Yes, yes for the leader!" the crowd responded to Sadr while waving Iraqi flags.
The Iraqi cleric further called for unity and urged the nation to give the new government a chance to serve them.
Sadr's predominantly Shia bloc aired off a strong show of power in last year's parliamentary elections and later gave key support to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who was finally re-elected and formed a new cabinet.
According to a deal between Sadr movement and Maliki, the group, with 39 seats in parliament, has been given seven ministerial posts in the cabinet.
Sadrist supporters from Baghdad, including top-ranking officials in his political faction, streamed to Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of the capital, for the occasion.
His group said that Sadr is not visiting Iraq, but is back here to stay.
2.Reidar Visser said
Friday, 7 January 2011 16:57 at 16:57
Amagi, I think that would happen if the issue that is most vital to Iraq’s economic well-being, the oil sector and how to run it, came on the political agenda in a real way. That would separate the rabble-rousers(A leader or speaker who stirs up the passions of the masses; a demagogue.
) and opportunists from those with a true long-term vision for the people of Iraq.
Posted by Reidar Visser on Thursday, 6 January 2011 14:30
The media is full of speculation about the return of Muqtada al-Sadr and what it means for Iraqi politics. The truth of the matter is we probably won’t know for some time yet. What is worse, though, is that whereas all the discussion of problems in Iraqi politics right now seems focused on Sadr and what it means for Iranian power in Iraq, the more gradual and less spectacular destruction of the Iraqi state in the name of a system of ethno-sectarian quota-sharing favoured by Iran continues on a daily basis.
In other words, Iraqi politicians don’t need Sadr’s help in order to disassemble their own nation. They’re doing quite fine in that respect already. Take the lingering issue of the deputies of the president.
The case of the deputies of the president and the way it gets overshadowed by Muqtada al-Sadr just underlines how Iran’s sophisticated strategy of achieving influence in Iraq is succeeding thanks to American misreadings of what that strategy is. Alarm clocks appear to go off in Washington whenever there is mention of Muqtada; however Iran’s more basic strategy of keeping the Iraqis preoccupied with the game of ethno-sectarian quotas is promoted and even celebrated by the Americans. It should be a hint to Washington that Muqtada is not the sole VIP traveller between Iraq and Iran right now: This week also sees visits to Iraq by the Iranian foreign ministers and Kurdish leaders plus Ibrahim al-Jaafari of the Shiite alliance going to Iran.
The key question going forward is more than what Sadr will do. Rather it is about whether the new government can stop thinking about silly quotas, dozens of useless deputy president positions and made-up interpretations of the constitution aimed at perpetuating the system of sinecures, and instead build a strong and coherent government capable of confronting whatever cards Muqtada may have up his sleeve.
ANALYSIS-Iraq cleric's clout(influence) does not bode well for US presence08 Jan 2011
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Sadr's return pressures Maliki to keep to US withdrawal
* Shi'ite cleric still fiercely anti-American
By Serena Chaudhry
BAGHDAD, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The political power of anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr increases the pressure on Iraq's new government to reject any effort to extend a U.S. military presence after the last U.S. soldier leaves this year.
Sadr, a firebrand still capable of rousing millions of Shi'ite supporters, told a rapturous audience on Saturday to oppose the United States, using his first speech since returning from self-imposed exile in Iran to reaffirm his anti-U.S. credentials. [ID:nLDE70701J]
The scion of a powerful Shi'ite family led two uprisings against U.S. soldiers and his Mehdi Army militia was at the forefront of much of the sectarian violence unleashed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
His militia has since laid down its arms and Sadr's movement has turned its sights on the political arena, garnering seven ministries in the new government and proving instrumental in securing a second term for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
That clout, and Sadr's presence, is likely to give Maliki even less room to manoeuvre at the end of 2011, when all U.S. forces must withdraw under a bilateral security pact but Iraq will not be ready to fully defend its borders from attack.
"Sadr will try to use his presence to stiffen the resolve of as many other Iraqi players as possible, including Maliki, to stick with the stated commitment that the United States should leave as planned," Wayne White, adjunct scholar from the Middle East Institute, said.
Maliki has said the joint security pact will not be renegotiated and that all U.S. troops, now numbering fewer than 50,000 compared to a peak of 170,000, must leave, but he has held open the possibility that the Iraqi parliament might approve some sort of extended presence if needed.
Iraq has built up sizeable new ground forces, under U.S. tutelage, but its fledgling air force will not be ready to defend the country until after it receives its first expected fighter jets in 2014.
Its military also continues to struggle against a stubborn insurgency, while Kurd-Arab tensions remain unresolved,
leading to speculation that Maliki may have little choice but to ask the U.S. military, and particularly the U.S. Air Force, to stay on.
Any inclination by Maliki to extend the U.S. military presence would turn Sadr -- and Shi'ite voters -- against him.
"The Maliki government and most Iraqis will want to have a relationship with the United States that serves Iraq's national interests, while demonstrating at the same time that they are fully sovereign and independent," said David Mack, a former U.S. Ambassador and Middle East Institute scholar.
POLITICAL ROLE
Since his arrival in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf on Wednesday, Sadr has projected a more statesmanlike manner, removed from his role as a militant agitator in the past.
But his anti-U.S. rhetoric was unchanged.
The Shi'ite cleric called the United States, Britain and Israel "common enemies" and demanded that the government stick to its pledge to make all U.S. forces leave this year.
His stance will likely stir apprehension amongst Iraqis and Americans hoping the United States will be a powerful ally to the country it has had a significant foothold in, and spent considerable blood and money over, since ousting Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein.
U.S. officials say a military presence will be less important than a substantial diplomatic one in the future, but diplomatic interactions may also be constrained by Sadr's anti-U.S. influence over the government.
"The U.S. diplomatic, and security, presence will remain considerable for some years to come, but if Sadr does become a major political figure, as is likely, then this will make it less and less likely that the U.S. can exert influence from a position of strength," said Paul Rogers, a professor of peace studies at Britain's Bradford University.
Sadr's ties to U.S. foe Iran, which hosted him during his self-imposed exile and helped broker a deal between the Sadrists and Maliki, also unnerves those hoping for deep U.S. influence over Iraq in the coming years. (Additional reporting by Rania el Gamal; Editing by Michael Christie)
==============
Al-Khoei Family Threaten to Internationalize Murder Case if al-Sadr Not Arrested
06/01/2011
By Maad Fayad
London, Asharq Al- Awsat – The family of Abdul Majid al-Khoei, the former secretary-general of the Imam al-Khoei Foundation in London who was assassinated in 2003 in Najaf has threatened to internationalize this case if the Iraqi judiciary fails to take legal action against Moqtada al-Sadr, whom the family consider to be "the prime suspect in the murder of al-Khoei." Al-Khoei was killed in the holy city of Najaf on 10 April 2003 at the hands of followers of Moqtada al-Sadr.
Haidar al-Khoei, who is the son of the late Imam, spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat in London on Wednesday, following news that Moqtada al-Sadr had returned to Najaf after spending almost four years in Iran. Haidar al-Khoei told Asharq Al-Awsat that "our family trusts the Iraqi judiciary. However the Iraqi judiciary and government are facing an important practical test today to undertake legal proceedings and enforce the law by arresting Moqtada al-Sadr, as an arrest warrant was issued for him by an investigative judge in Najaf in 2004. If this does not happen, we will be forced to go to the United Nationals, on the basis that the
Imam al-Khoei Foundation has a seat at the UN, as a non-governmental organization. We will also go to human rights organizations and the European judiciary. We are also relying on the leaders of sisterly and friendly Arab and Islamic states to activate this case."<
Al-Khoei added:
"We have verified that a leading figure in the Sadrist movement, a member of the Iraqi parliament, has requested one of the investigative judges in Baghdad to change the course of the case, via false witnesses, in order to steer the blame away from the leader of the [Sadrist] trend [Moqtada al-Sadr] and instead implicate other members of the [Sadrist] trend. This is in order to move closer to al-Sadr, and also win the internal conflict within the Sadrist movement, between the Mullahs and other members. We will disclose the name of this member of parliament, as well as those of the investigative judge, and the false witnesses, who have been involved in perverting this case."
He went on to say "we have kept the original copy of the investigation, and the case file, in addition to video footage of the death of my father. There are also dozens of witnesses who have vowed to testify before the judiciary."
Al-Khoei categorically denied that "Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's involvement in the process of falsifying the case file, and we have confirmed that this file was not included in the coalition deal between the Sadrist trend and al-Maliki's State of Law bloc."
Al-Khoei also called on the Iraqi Prime Minister to involve himself in this case, saying "we call on the [Iraqi] Prime Minister [Nouri al-Maliki] who heads a bloc called the 'State of Law' to apply this slogan in practice. It is imperative to apply laws when dealing with my father’s murder case, whether the suspect is a [religious] cleric, or the leader of a political movement with ministers in the cabinet. If the law is not applied in this case, how can the people of Iraq respect the law?"
Al-Khoei also told Asharq Al-Awsat that “our family will continue to wait for legal proceedings to be enforced. We recall that the judiciary pressed charges against Saddam Hussein, and he was a former President. Thus, the fact that al-Sadr has ministers in the cabinet does not give him the right to close this file, which concerns the murder of the son of one of the most famous cleric in Shiite history, Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei”.
For his part, a senior Iraqi judicial source confirmed that "an arrest warrant, especially in a criminal case, does not have a statue of limitations [in Iraq] even if it was issued more than 100 years ago.
statute of limitations
n., pl., statutes of limitations.
A statute setting a time limit on legal action in certain cases.
This is the case whether this arrest warrant is issued against Moqtada al-Sadr or anyone else, as the Iraqi Law of Criminal Procedure does not place a statue of limitations on arrest warrants, but considers all such warrants to be active until they have been applied."
The judicial source, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, also stressed that "No Iraqi government or official has the right to nullify an arrest warrant, or close a murder case, regardless of the name, or names, or number of the defendants”.
The judicial source also revealed that "[Abdul Majid] al-Khoei’s death is considered to be a murder, and as such it is a major criminal case. The case does not have a statue of limitations and no official is entitled to close this, unless authorized to do so by the judiciary. To the best of my knowledge, the Iraqi judiciary has not issued any order to close this case. Even if the victim’s family dropped the charges, and I do not believe al-Khoei’s family would consent to this, there is still a public right [to prosecute], which cannot be waived."
=====
Sadr's Return to Najaf
Hyder al Khoei article in today's Guardian:
"Moqtada al-Sadr has finally returned to Najaf in Iraq after almost four years of self-imposed exile. Senior Sadrists claimed that the reason he left Iraq was to continue his theological studies in Iran. However, there was another thorny issue behind his absence: Sadr is still wanted by the Iraqi judiciary for his alleged involvement in my father's murder eight years ago." [More...]
I also gave an interview to al-Sharq al-Awsat, which was later translated.
The real tragedy is that Moqtada and his men have killed thousands of innocent Iraqis and yet there exists only one arrest warrant with his name on it. There should be an arrest warrant issued to him and his thugs for every single Iraqi whose blood their hands are stained with.
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عائلة الخوئي تهدد بتفعيل قضية اغتياله دوليا إذا لم يحاسب القضاء الصدر
مصدر قضائي: لا يحق لأي مسؤول إلغاء مذكرة اعتقاله
لندن: «الشرق الأوسط»
هددت عائلة عبد المجيد الخوئي، الأمين العام السابق لمؤسسة الإمام الخوئي الخيرية في لندن، الذي اغتيل على يد أتباع مقتدى الصدر في مدينة النجف في العاشر من أبريل (نيسان) 2003 بتفعيل القضية دوليا إذا لم يتخذ القضاء العراقي إجراءات قانونية بحق الصدر الذي تعتبره «المتهم الأول بقتل الخوئي». وقال حيدر الخوئي، نجل عبد المجيد الخوئي لـ«الشرق الأوسط» في لندن، أمس، إثر التأكد من وصول الصدر إلى مدينة النجف، إن «عائلتنا تثق في القضاء العراقي، وهذا القضاء والحكومة العراقية اليوم أمام اختبار عملي مهم لاتخاذ الإجراءات القضائية وتطبيق القانون لإلقاء القبض على مقتدى الصدر، تنفيذا لمذكرة قضائية صدرت عن قاضي تحقيق النجف في 2004، وبعكس ذلك فإننا سنلجأ إلى الأمم المتحدة، باعتبار أن مؤسسة الإمام الخوئي لها مقعد في الأمم المتحدة كمنظمة غير حكومية، وإلى منظمات حقوق الإنسان والقضاء الأوروبي، كما أننا سنعتمد على قادة دول إسلامية وعربية شقيقة وصديقة لتفعيل القضية».
وتابع الخوئي: «لقد تحققنا من أن أحد قادة التيار الصدري، وهو عضو في البرلمان العراقي، طلب من أحد قضاة التحقيق في بغداد تغيير مجريات القضية اعتمادا على شهود زور لإبعاد التهمة عن زعيم التيار وتثبيتها على عدد من أعضاء التيار المتهمين وذلك من أجل التقرب من الصدر أولا، والفوز في الصراع الداخلي الدائر داخل التيار بين المعممين وغير المعممين، وسوف نكشف اسم عضو البرلمان وقاضي التحقيق وشهود الزور الذين تورطوا في تزييف الملف»، منبها إلى «أننا نحتفظ بالنسخة الأصلية من التحقيق وملف القضية، إضافة إلى تصوير فيديو لحادث مقتل والدي وأن هناك العشرات من شهود العيان الذين تعهدوا بالإدلاء بشهاداتهم أمام القضاء».
ونفى الخوئي أن «يكون نوري المالكي، رئيس الحكومة العراقية، متورطا في عملية تزييف ملف القضية، حيث تأكدنا أن هذا الملف لم يدخل ضمن صفقة تحالف التيار الصدري مع كتلة دولة القانون التي يتزعمها المالكي، لكننا في الوقت ذاته، نطلب من رئيس الكتلة التي تحمل اسم دولة القانون، ورفع شعار تطبيق القانون، بأهمية تطبيقه في قضية مقتل والدي، سواء كان المتهم رجل دين أو زعيم تيار سياسي وله وزارات في الحكومة، فإذا لم يتم تطبيق القانون في هذه القضية فكيف سيحترم المواطن العراقي القانون ويطبقه؟»، مشيرا إلى أن «عائلتنا ستنتظر تطبيق الإجراءات القضائية، ونذكر بأن القضاء نفذ إرادته بحق صدام حسين الذي كان رئيسا للجمهورية، وأن وجود وزراء للصدر في الحكومة لا يمنحه الحق في إغلاق ملف يتعلق بجريمة قتل نجل أشهر مرجع في تاريخ الشيعة في العالم، أبو القاسم الخوئي».
من جهته، أكد مصدر قضائي عراقي بارز أن «مذكرة إلقاء القبض وخاصة في قضية جنائية لا تسقط بالتقادم حتى لو مرت عليها أكثر من مائة عام، سواء كان المعني مقتدى الصدر أو غيره، فقانون المحاكمات الجزائية العراقي المعمول به لا يضع أي سقف زمني لمذكرة إلقاء القبض، بل يعتبرها نافذة حتى يتم تطبيقها». وشدد القاضي، الذي فضل عدم نشر اسمه لأسباب تتعلق بأمن حياته، لـ«الشرق الأوسط» عبر الهاتف من بغداد، أمس، على أنه «ليس من حق أي حكومة عراقية أو أي مسؤول عراقي ومهما كان منصبه إسقاط مذكرة إلقاء القبض أو غلق قضية قتل بغض النظر عن اسم أو أسماء أو عدد المتهمين»، مشيرا إلى أن «قضية مقتل الخوئي تعد جريمة قتل، وهي قضية جنائية كبرى، لن تسقط بتقادم الزمن، ولا يحق لأي مسؤول إسقاطها أو غلقها إلا بقرار من القضاء وعلى حد معرفتي، فإنه لم يصدر عن القضاء العراقي أي قرار بغلق القضية، وحتى لو تنازلت عائلة الضحية، وعلى حد علمي، أن عائلة الخوئي لم تتنازل عن حقها ورغم ذلك، فإن هناك الحق العام الذي لا يمكن التنازل عنه».
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Nibras Kazimi wrote a post on his blog shortly after the elections showing the number of Sadrist voters; this should go some way towards explaining the so called "mass popularity" of the Sadrists:
Quote:
Thursday, April 01, 2010
About Those Sadrist Numbers
Sixty-eight candidates from the Iraqi National Alliance made it to parliament, 38 of whom are Sadrist (alternatively called Tayyar Al-Ahrar) candidates. (Two ‘compensation’ seats were also awarded to the INA, but I don’t know who got them.)
That means that Sadrists got 55.8 percent of the seat allocation of the INA. However, an examination of the numbers reveals that the total tally received by Sadrist candidates was only 32.4 percent of the INA total.
By now it is clear to most how the Sadrists did it: they spread out their votes among multiple candidates, propelling them to the top of the INA slate as the number ordering got reshuffled according to the highest vote earners. Then, the candidates highest on the reshuffled list got topped off from the total slate tally until they reached the threshold number of votes in each province, calculated as the total number of voters divided by the number of seats in parliament assigned to each province.
The way the Sadrists did that was to mobilize their ground operation for individual candidates based on locality. For example, they would ask their voters in certain sectors of Sadr City to vote for one candidate, while voters in other sectors would vote for some other Sadrist candidate.
Here’s a summary of how they performed in 11 of Iraq’s 18 provinces (I only considered the provinces were Sadrist candidates were competitive):
Wasit: Sadrist candidates (3) received a total of 44,746 votes out of an INA total of 129,188 (34.6 percent). 3 of the INA’s 4 MPs are Sadrists (11 MPs represent this province in parliament). Sadrists received 11.8 percent of the overall vote in Wasit.
Diwaniyya (Qadisiyya): Sadrist candidates (3) received a total of 32,755 votes out of an INA total of 133,821 (24.5 percent). 2 of the INA’s 5 MPs are Sadrists (11 MPs represent this province in parliament). Sadrists received 8.7 percent of the overall vote in Diwaniya.
Nassiriyya (Dhi Qar): Sadrist candidates (4) received a total of 78,994 votes out of an INA total of 244,818 (32.3 percent). 4 of the INA’s 9 MPs are Sadrists (18 MPs represent this province in parliament). Sadrists received 13.8 percent of the overall vote in Nassiriyya.
Maysan (Amara): Sadrist candidates (3) received a total of 51,511 votes out of an INA total of 135,319 (38 percent). 3 of the INA’s 6 MPs are Sadrists (10 MPs represent this province in parliament). Sadrists received 18.8 percent of the overall vote in Maysan.
Diyala: Sadrist candidates (2) received a total of 19,046 votes out of an INA total of 85,821 (22.2 percent). 2 of the INA’s 3 MPs are Sadrists (13 MPs represent this province in parliament). Sadrists received 3.8 percent of the overall vote in Diyala.
Muthana (Samawa): Sadrist candidates (2) received a total of 15,490 votes out of an INA total of 71,699 (21.6 percent). 1 of the INA’s 3 MPs is a Sadrist (7 MPs represent this province in parliament). Sadrists received 6.7 percent of the overall vote in Muthana.
Karbala: Sadrist candidates (2) received a total of 27,688 votes out of an INA total of 81,794 (33.9 percent). 2 of the INA’s 3 MPs are Sadrists (10 MPs represent this province in parliament). Sadrists received 8.3 percent of the overall vote in Karbala.
Najaf: Sadrist candidates (3) received a total of 49,736 votes out of an INA total of 152,698 (32.6 percent). 3 of the INA’s 5 MPs are Sadrists (12 MPs represent this province in parliament). Sadrists received 12 percent of the overall vote in Najaf.
Basra: Sadrist candidates (3) received a total of 65,039 votes out of an INA total of 237,010 (27.4 percent). 3 of the INA’s 7 MPs are Sadrists (24 MPs represent this province in parliament). Sadrists received 8 percent of the overall vote in Basra.
Baghdad: Sadrist candidates (16) received a total of 221,533 votes out of an INA total of 561,659 (39.4 percent). 12 of the INA’s 17 MPs are Sadrists (68 MPs represent this province in parliament). Sadrists received 8.7 percent of the overall vote in Baghdad.
Babil (Hilla): Sadrist candidates (4) received a total of 46,633 votes out of an INA total of 180,193 (26 percent). 3 of the INA’s 5 MPs are Sadrists (16 MPs represent this province in parliament). Sadrists received 8 percent of the overall vote in Babil.
The total number of votes received by the 45 candidates that the Sadrists fielded in the provinces above was 653,171 out of an INA total of 2,014,020 (32.4 percent). The total number of votes cast in these provinces was 7,015,008. So the Sadrist percentage of the overall vote in the Shia ‘heartland’ plus Baghdad and Diyala is 9.3 percent.
Those 653,171 votes Sadrists got from all the 11 provinces should be compared to the 622,961 votes Nouri al-Maliki got for himself in Baghdad province; so almost the same number of voters ticked off Maliki’s name in a single province as the number of Sadrist voters from all over. The proportionality doesn't seem quite fair: the Sadrists get 12 seats in Baghdad with 221,533 votes, while Maliki's Baghdad slate has 903,360 votes (four times as many) but only gets 26 seats in the province. That’s something to mull over.
Theoretically, the predominately Shi’a, pseudo-slummy districts of Sadr City, Shu’la, Hurriya, Washash, Baya’, Seydiyya, Ur, Sha’ab, and Husseiniya, where Sadrists claim their ‘stronghold’, should account for over 50 percent of Baghdad’s population. But the Sadrists only pulled off 8.7 percent of the vote in Baghdad.
Same goes for Basra (8 percent). And even Maysan (19 percent), which the Sadrists liked to portray as ‘their’ province.
It seems that some Western journalists (…and some strategists in Tehran) would like to think of the Sadrists as a Hezbollah-like organization, tailor made for Iraq; they seem to view the Sadrists as a dynamic, revolutionary movement that is supported by millions of poor, destitute Shi’as, or so the narrative goes. One even detects the same type of romanticizing of Hezbollah among some analysts and media people writing in English being applied to the Mahdi Army. ‘Armed freedom fighters against America, now savvy politicians’ and that all that noise. It is true that the Sadrists pulled off a neat political trick by turning minority numbers of votes within the INA into a majority seating. But their real appeal among Shi’a Iraqis has also been revealed: the Sadrists are a small minority of the Shi’a population (10 percent isn’t much, so who speaks for the other 90 percent of Shi’as?), and they can’t even claim to represent the Shi’a slums anymore.
I hope more journalists and analysts will pay attention to these numbers before they speak of a Sadrist ‘groundswell’.
posted by Nibras Kazimi نبراس الكاظمي at 6:56 PM
http://talismangate.blogspot.com/201...t-numbers.html
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Saturday, December 25, 2010
Hyder al Khoei
Al-Tayarat al-Sadriya
Here are some quotes from an article by The National on the Mehdi Army criminals recently released from jail because of a deal between Maliki and his former enemies (although of course both Da'wa and the Sadrists deny this).
Sadrist MP Amir al-Kinani:
"These prisoners are not going to go back to military operations, they are going to take their place in peaceful civilian life... They are going to teach religion, not extremism, just peaceful Islam."
Jalal Kahdem, Militant #1:
"I was happy to be in jail for Muqtada... It was part of our battle. We now have an important role in the government. Now we are waging a peaceful resistance against our enemies, not a military war, but I am ready to return to [violent] resistance at any moment if Muqtada asks me to."
Abu Islam, Mitlitant #2:
"I will spend the rest of my life begging forgiveness from God and from the families of the Americans and Iraqis I helped to kill... Muqtada and his leadership have a magic way of influencing the young and naive, people with pure hearts and fragile minds, they misled us."
Abu Sadiq, Militant #3:
"I will always be ready to follow Muqtada's orders, my life is for him and I'm ready to fight the Americans again,"
Interestingly, Kinani says "the violent criminals who pretended to be with the Mahdi Army are still in jail, only the innocent Mahdi Army members who did nothing wrong have been released."
This seems to be part of an ongoing attempt to differentiate between the "criminals" and the "good guys". Last week there was a war of words between the Sadrists and Asa'ib Ahlil Haq led by Khazali.
With Moqtada still in neighbouring Iran, the Sadrists have been trying to restyle themselves as a solely political movement with no interest in armed insurgency anymore. The only problem is they have a bloody past. There is still an arrest warrant that has Moqtada's name on it and not even the Prime Minister can wave a magic wand and make it disappear.
Moqtada's role in my father's murder still haunts him and his close advisors. For now, they are trying to make the distinction between the "criminals" and the "good guys" that may one day be their biggest defence in an Iraqi courtroom. Kais al-Khazali, who was a spokesman for Moqtada when he led my wounded father to Moqtada's office, is now an enemy who has formed a rogue element that has nothing to do with the Sadr Movement.
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