IRAQ: AYATOLLAH MOHAMMED BAQIR AL-HAKIM A SENIOR SHI'ITE CLERIC RETURNS FROM DECADES OF EXILE

Record ID: 649218

  • Title: IRAQ: AYATOLLAH MOHAMMED BAQIR AL-HAKIM A SENIOR SHI'ITE CLERIC RETURNS FROM DECADES OF EXILE
  • Date: 12th May 2003
  • Summary: (W6) BASRA, IRAQ (MAY 10, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. SLV PEOPLE OUTSIDE HALL (INSCRIPTION READING: "THE HIGHER COUNCIL FOR ISLAM IN IRAQ"); SLV PEOPLE OUTSIDE HALL (3 SHOTS) 0.13 2. SLV INTERIOR HALL; SLV HAKIM ON PLATFORM; IRAQIS CHANTING: "YES, YES." 0.30 3. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AYATOLLAH MOHAMMED BAQIR AL-HAKIM, SAYING "At this stage, we want Iraq to be for all Iraqis so that the needs of Iraqis are met and they are free to express the position they are in. There should be an open dialogue for all Iraqis (CUTAWAY OF CROWD) so that they can choose what they need and desire." 0.49 4. (CUTAWAY OF CROWD) The first aspect of this (new) regime, (BACK TO HAKIM) and which is something which we must strive for, is that it must be 'free'. (CUTAWAY OF MAN'S FACE) "This regime must respect Islam. And I emphasise that it must respect the fundamental aspects of Islam. It must respect islamic sentiments in that the religion in Iraq must be Islam. This regime shall represent the unity of Iraq through its people, its rule and on its land. Iraq must be united and bring together all Iraqis. Once the new regime meets these characteristics, I believe that the new regime will be an Islamic regime of this age. A regime which will adapt to this age and these times." 2.16 5. SCU HAKIM WALKING THROUGH CROWD 2.25 6. SLV EXTERIOR VIEW / CROWD OUTSIDE STADIUM (2 SHOTS) 2.33 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 27th May 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BASRA, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Reuters ID: LVA78MGE2TYJMEBNJIEJN355XJAS
  • Story Text: Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, a senior Shi'ite
    cleric returning to Iraq from decades of exile, has called for
    a government free of foreign influence. Hakim's address came
    hours after the United States presented a U.N. resolution
    ending sanctions and giving Washington wide-ranging powers in
    post-war Iraq.

    Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, leader of Iraq's
    biggest Shi'ite Muslim group, crossed the border from Iran
    near the southern city of Basra on Saturday (May 10) to a
    jubilant welcome from crowds of emotional supporters.

    Later Hakim addressed a crowd inside a hall where he
    called for an independent government chosen wholly by Iraqis
    to replace ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, who was toppled by
    U.S.-led forces in a war launched on March 20. Outside the
    building read the inscription: "The Higher Council For Islam
    in Iraq".

    "We want Iraq to be for all Iraqis so that the needs of
    Iraqis are met and they are free to express the position they
    are in. There should be an open dialogue for all Iraqis so
    that they can choose what they need and desire," said Hakim.

    Hakim's close ties to Iran and the armed militia known as
    the Badr Forces which he commands have aroused some alarm in
    Washington, but he has sought to play down those fears.

    Earlier in New York, the 15-nation Security Council
    discussed the U.S.-drafted resolution mapping out who controls
    post-war Iraq.

    Co-sponsored by Britain and Spain, the draft resolution
    establishes an interim authority to rule Iraq, and lifts
    sanctions imposed after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, leaving
    an arms embargo in place.

    France and Germany queried on Friday (May 9) the limited
    and advisory U.N. role set out in it and on Saturday Russia's
    deputy foreign minister expressed his country's unease at the
    draft resolution.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin last month spurned
    British Prime Minister Tony Blair's attempts to win him over
    to an early end to sanctions, saying the question of alleged
    Iraqi stocks of banned weapons had to be cleared up first.

    Hakim's triumphant return to Iraq signals a jostling for
    position in a power vacuum that a diverse and fractious former
    Iraqi opposition is scrambling to fill. His powerful Muslim
    group belongs to a U.S.-backed Iraqi council which meets
    regularly to map out a future government.

    Referring to a future government of Iraq, Hakim said the
    "regime (future government) must respect Islam".

    "This regime shall represent the unity of Iraq through its
    people, its rule and on its land. Iraq must be united and
    bring together all Iraqis. Once the new regime meets these
    characteristics, I believe that the new regime will be an
    Islamic regime of this age. A regime which will adapt to this
    age and these times," added Hakim.

    The influential cleric, who was jailed and tortured in the
    1970s for opposing Saddam, has headed the Supreme Council of
    the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) since 1980 in exile in
    Iran.


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