Iraq Shiite leaders look to dominate with pact
Sunday, 7 October 2007
BAGHDAD, Oct 7 (AFP): A pact forged by Iraq's two most powerful Shiite leaders demonstrates their determination to avoid conflict and take advantage of their dominant positions, observers said on Sunday.
After jockeying for position since the 2003 US-led invasion, Moqtada al-Sadr and Abdel Aziz al-Hakim have decided to try to end the bloodshed between their movements that was threatening to undermine their pursuit of power.
"They realised the atmosphere of not having armed conflict would be to their political advantage," leading Kurdish politician Mahmud Othman told AFP.
Sadr's movement backed by a militia known as the Mahdi Army -- rogue elements of which he is trying to rein in -- enjoys the broadest popular support of any grouping in Iraq.
Hakim leads the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), a pillar of the ruling coalition that along with its armed wing the Badr Brigade commands the second biggest following.
The two clerics are direct competitors for control of Iraq's majority Shiite community, creating a culture that has led to clashes, assassinations and fears of wider conflict, in particular in the oil-rich south as the British withdraw.
A low-point came in late August when running street battles erupted between their militias at a major Shiite festival in the holy city of Karbala, killing at least 52 people and wounding up to 300.
After the carnage, Sadr ordered his militiamen to observe a six-month ceasefire, including a halt to attacks on US forces.
Both Sadr and Hakim hail from families that have been active in Iraq's political and religious life for generations.
Their three-point accord, announced Saturday, ordered an end to bloodletting, the linking of media and cultural efforts, and the setting up of a joint committee with provincial branches to keep the peace.
They are unlikely bedfellows: Sadr presents himself as a strong Iraqi nationalist but Hakim is seen as closer to Tehran, where he spent a number of years in exile while Iraq was under the rule of Saddam Hussein.
Hakim's party returned to Iraq in the aftermath of the US invasion and last year, after winning 30 seats in the 275-member parliament, joined Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki coalition government.
After jockeying for position since the 2003 US-led invasion, Moqtada al-Sadr and Abdel Aziz al-Hakim have decided to try to end the bloodshed between their movements that was threatening to undermine their pursuit of power.
"They realised the atmosphere of not having armed conflict would be to their political advantage," leading Kurdish politician Mahmud Othman told AFP.
Sadr's movement backed by a militia known as the Mahdi Army -- rogue elements of which he is trying to rein in -- enjoys the broadest popular support of any grouping in Iraq.
Hakim leads the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), a pillar of the ruling coalition that along with its armed wing the Badr Brigade commands the second biggest following.
The two clerics are direct competitors for control of Iraq's majority Shiite community, creating a culture that has led to clashes, assassinations and fears of wider conflict, in particular in the oil-rich south as the British withdraw.
A low-point came in late August when running street battles erupted between their militias at a major Shiite festival in the holy city of Karbala, killing at least 52 people and wounding up to 300.
After the carnage, Sadr ordered his militiamen to observe a six-month ceasefire, including a halt to attacks on US forces.
Both Sadr and Hakim hail from families that have been active in Iraq's political and religious life for generations.
Their three-point accord, announced Saturday, ordered an end to bloodletting, the linking of media and cultural efforts, and the setting up of a joint committee with provincial branches to keep the peace.
They are unlikely bedfellows: Sadr presents himself as a strong Iraqi nationalist but Hakim is seen as closer to Tehran, where he spent a number of years in exile while Iraq was under the rule of Saddam Hussein.
Hakim's party returned to Iraq in the aftermath of the US invasion and last year, after winning 30 seats in the 275-member parliament, joined Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki coalition government.