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Anti-occupation rally draws Iraqi crowds
Source: Agencies |
April 10, 2009, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TENS of thousands of supporters of an anti-American Shiite cleric rallied yesterday at a main downtown square in Baghdad to protest the United States military presence and mark the sixth anniversary of the fall of the Iraqi capital to American forces.
One of the speakers urged US President Barack Obama, who made a brief visit to Baghdad this week, to remove all US troops "to fulfill the promises he made to the world."
Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had urged all Iraqis to turn out for the protest at Firdous Square - where Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled on April 9, 2003. The crowd burned an effigy of Obama's predecessor George W. Bush as it hung from the pillar where Saddam's statue once stood.
"We demand that President Obama stand with the Iraqi people by ending the occupation to fulfill his promises he made to the world," al-Sadr aide Assad al-Nassiri told the crowd.
The aide read out comments by al-Sadr, who lives in Iran, in which he described the US presence as a "crime against all Iraqis" and demanded the release of all detainees.
Security was tight with police blocking off streets leading to the square, mindful of the threat of car bombs, which have struck the city in recent days.
Al-Sadr had called for a "march of the millions" but it appeared the crowd numbered no more than 30,000.
Protesters waved Iraqi banners and carried pictures of al-Sadr, chanting: "No, no occupation" and "Long live al-Sadr!" Huge Iraqi flags decorating the square hung drenched after heavy rain yesterday morning.
Iraqi police guarded the rally but kept away from the main square. Armored Iraqi and American vehicles were parked a few blocks away.
One of the protesters, Ammar Mahdi, 23, said he walked eight kilometers to join the rally to demand the "immediate withdrawal of the US soldiers who brought destruction to Iraq instead of freedom."
Obama has pledged to remove combat troops by September 2010 and the rest of the US force by the end of 2011.
Despite the anti-US comments, the tone of the speeches seemed less hostile than before Obama's election, when Sadrists would avoid referring to Bush as president.
Salah al-Obeidi, spokesman for the movement, said the change in tone was intentional and an overture to the new US administration.
"We see some change in Obama's language," he said. "It seems to us that Obama does not want to use Iraq as a base to fight al-Qaida."
One of the speakers urged US President Barack Obama, who made a brief visit to Baghdad this week, to remove all US troops "to fulfill the promises he made to the world."
Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had urged all Iraqis to turn out for the protest at Firdous Square - where Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled on April 9, 2003. The crowd burned an effigy of Obama's predecessor George W. Bush as it hung from the pillar where Saddam's statue once stood.
"We demand that President Obama stand with the Iraqi people by ending the occupation to fulfill his promises he made to the world," al-Sadr aide Assad al-Nassiri told the crowd.
The aide read out comments by al-Sadr, who lives in Iran, in which he described the US presence as a "crime against all Iraqis" and demanded the release of all detainees.
Security was tight with police blocking off streets leading to the square, mindful of the threat of car bombs, which have struck the city in recent days.
Al-Sadr had called for a "march of the millions" but it appeared the crowd numbered no more than 30,000.
Protesters waved Iraqi banners and carried pictures of al-Sadr, chanting: "No, no occupation" and "Long live al-Sadr!" Huge Iraqi flags decorating the square hung drenched after heavy rain yesterday morning.
Iraqi police guarded the rally but kept away from the main square. Armored Iraqi and American vehicles were parked a few blocks away.
One of the protesters, Ammar Mahdi, 23, said he walked eight kilometers to join the rally to demand the "immediate withdrawal of the US soldiers who brought destruction to Iraq instead of freedom."
Obama has pledged to remove combat troops by September 2010 and the rest of the US force by the end of 2011.
Despite the anti-US comments, the tone of the speeches seemed less hostile than before Obama's election, when Sadrists would avoid referring to Bush as president.
Salah al-Obeidi, spokesman for the movement, said the change in tone was intentional and an overture to the new US administration.
"We see some change in Obama's language," he said. "It seems to us that Obama does not want to use Iraq as a base to fight al-Qaida."
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