Sadr says Hakim wants “occupation” forces to stay

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr termed as “illogical and unacceptable” calls by Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), to bring Baathists to participate in the elections. Sadr accused Hakim of “not recognizing the resistance” on the grounds that the SIIC leader “wants occupation forces to stay in Iraq”. “Sayyed Ammar al-Hakim indicates the injustice and persecution practiced by the Baathists and in the same time calls for having them participate in the elections. This is illogical and unacceptable,” Sadr said in a statement handed out during the Friday prayers. Sadr’s statement came in response to a question on his stand regarding Hakim’s statements in Lebanon, where he said “the resistance in Iraq is just some groups of killers that are not clear in identity”. Hakim had called during a press conference held at the Iraqi embassy in the Jordanian capital Amman late last year for “letting the Baathists who do not have Iraqi blood on their hands to participate in the political process”. AmR (P) 2