'No truce with the occupier'

2004-07-05 08:27

Baghdad - The militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has pledged to resist "oppression and occupation" and called the new interim Iraqi government "illegitimate".

Al-Sadr made the declaration on Sunday in a statement distributed by his office in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, where his al-Mahdi militia battled American troops until a ceasefire last month.

"We pledge to the Iraqi people and the world to continue resisting oppression and occupation to our last drop of blood," al-Sadr said. "Resistance is a legitimate right and not a crime to be punished."

Previously, al-Sadr had made conciliatory statements to the new government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a fellow Shiite, and members of his movement had suggested they might transform the al-Mahdi Army into a political party. Also, Al-Mahdi fighters accepted ceasefires in most Shiite areas after suffering huge losses at the hands of the Americans.

However, in his statement on Sunday, the young cleric said, "There is no truce with the occupier and those who cooperate with it."

"We announce that the current government is illegitimate and illegal," al-Sadr said. "It's generally following the occupation. We demand complete sovereignty and independence by holding honest elections."

On June 12, al-Sadr issued a statement saying he was ready for a dialogue with the new government if it worked to end the US military presence.

It was unclear what prompted his apparent reversal, though al-Sadr has made contradictory statements in the past. Earlier on Sunday, Allawi told America's ABC television that he had met with al-Sadr representatives "who want to try and mediate".

"The position of the government is very clear," Allawi said. "There is no room for any militias to operate inside Iraq. Anything outside law and order is not tolerated, cannot be tolerated. The rule of law should prevail. Every one of us, every individual, starting from the president downward should be answerable to the law."

Al-Sadr launched his rebellion after the US-led coalition administration closed his newspaper, arrested a top aide and announced a warrant charging him in the April 2003 murder of a rival cleric.

After nearly eight weeks of fighting, the Americans announced that they would leave it to the Iraqi government to deal with al-Sadr, including serving the arrest warrant.

The harsh statement on Sunday suggested the government might be taking a hard line with al-Sadr, insisting he abolish his militia and submit to the warrant.

- AP