Moqtada rallies Shia to demand withdrawal of foreign troops
It used to be said that it was only the Sunnis who opposed the American occupation of Iraq and that the Shia were happy to have someone restore their natural superiority in a country where, despite their larger numbers, they had always been the underdog because of Saddam's rule.
Yesterday, as hundreds of thousands of Shias took to the streets to demand an end to the American occupation, it became impossible to argue that this remained the case.
One wonders how long Bush can continue to pretend that his occupation is popular amongst "ordinary Iraqis" now that he appears to have lost the support of the Shias as well.The huge procession of mainly men and young boys had braved the roads from Baghdad - and towns across southern Iraq - to march from the holy city of Kufa to Najaf, one of Shia Islam's most sacred sites. Flanked by hundreds of Iraqi police, they shouted "Yes! Yes! Iraq. No! No! America" amid a sea of banners and Iraqi flags. "We were liberated from Saddam. Now we need to be liberated again," read one placard. "Stop the suffering, Americans leave now," demanded another.
The march was a show of strength by the powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who had called for a peaceful mass protest to express opposition to "Iraq's occupiers". Ali Hussein, a member of Mr Sadr's al-Mahdi militia from Baghdad, said that about 1m-1.5 million supporters of Mr Sadr had taken part, though police estimates gave a figure of less than a million.
I know that Bush's supporters have long believed, as their master does, that the situation in Iraq can be overcome by sheer willpower and the determination to see their task through, but surely even they must now pause for thought.
If the Shia population have turned against the occupation, then who exactly do the Americans think are supporting them? This is the proof that the whole of Iraq now wants them to leave. The Sunnis have always opposed the occupation, and it was only by pointing to the Shia that the Americans could claim to have any legitimacy. Now, even that has gone.
Hazim al-Araji, Mr Sadr's representative in the Baghdad district of Khadimiya, said: "There are people here from all different parties and sects. We are all carrying the national flag, which is a symbol of unity. And we are all united in calling for the withdrawal of the Americans."The US attempted to put the best possible spin on the day's events, but one couldn't help feeling that they had missed the significance of what had just taken place.
Despite the hostile sentiment of yesterday's protest, US commanders in Iraq appeared relaxed. Lieutenant Colonel Steven Boylan, a US military spokesman, said the demonstration had been well-organised and peaceful. "This is the right to assemble, the right to free speech, they didn't have that under the former regime," he said. "This is progress, there's no two ways about it."He appears to be asking us to ignore the fact that they are protesting and celebrate the fact that, under American occupation, protest is even possible.
I take his point but rather feel he is ignoring another more prescient issue at hand: There are almost A MILLION people on the streets PROTESTING. And they are not doing so simply to celebrate the fact that they can. They are protesting because they want the occupation to end.
There's no way the US can spin that story. To say that they are better off under our rule than they were under Saddam's is simply to miss the point. Just as they didn't want Saddam, now they don't want the US. It really is time to go.
Click title for full article.
No comments:
Post a Comment