Senior Sunni cleric says they advised of abuses!

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Senior Sunni cleric urges Iraqis to resist foreign troops; blames terror attacks on foreigners



Cairo, Iraq Press, May 11, 2004 – Iraqi Muslim Sunnis’ most senor cleric says resistance of US-led occupation troops will continue even after the June deadline for the handover of power to Iraqis.



Harith al-Dhari, the General Secretary of the Council of Sunni Ulema, or theologians, said resistance of occupation troops in Iraq was mainly carried out by Iraqis and will not stop when the United States passes over sovereignty to an interim government.



Dhari has emerged as one of the most powerful figures among the restive Sunni population in Iraq.



The council he leads exercise tremendous influence among the Sunnis and was behind the current ceasefire in the city of Falluja.



Dhari distanced Iraqi resistance fighters from attacks targeting civilians and the country’s infrastructure.



“Foreigners working for international intelligence agencies and those of neighboring countries are wandering through the country,” Dhari said.



Refusing to give names, Dhari estimated that “some 15,000 armed foreigners are in Iraq whose only task is disturbing internal peace.”



Dhari is in Cairo where he met Arab League Secretary General Amr Mossa.



On the horrific abuses of Iraqi prisoners by US and British guards, Dhari said: “These violations are not strange for us. We were aware of them and there are acts much worse than what has been published.



“We informed occupation authorities of the abuses before the pictures were published but nobody paid any attention.”



Dhari said his council has asked the fighters in Falluja to hand in their weapons, namely Rocked Propelled Grenades. “This is what we told them (the fighters) and it is what the collation (forces) had demanded,” he said.



Analysts say the Sunnis’ insurrection against US rule in Iraq is because of fears that they will be sidelined in any new Iraqi government after decades of dominance.



But Dhari said his council had no political ambitions. “We take part in the delegation negotiating with the people of Falluja but we are not negotiating with the occupation authorities,” he said.



On the new interim government to emerge by the end of June, Dhari said: “This is an illegitimate government because it is being formed by the occupation forces. Therefore we are not going to take part in it and will only cooperate in a way that services our country and avoids hardships.”



Asked about the council’s stand vis-à-vis the anti-American Muslim Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Dhari said: “Sadr is an Iraqi citizen and has his own followers who harbor national aspirations.



“Most Iraqis agree with (al-Sadr’s) aspirations and therefore he has become one of the leaders of Iraq.”



Dhari warned the United States against harming the cleric, saying that any attempt to “assassinate him or detain him will have grave consequences.”



Dhari in collaboration with other senior Shiite clerics has spearheaded a movement that strives to unite the two major branches of Islam in the country against foreign occupation.



He said Shiite holy shrines in Iraq were revered by all Muslims in the country and warned any attack on the sanctuaries “will have dangerous consequences both with regard to the economy and security of the country.”



An attack on holy shrines, Dhari said, will turn Iraq “into a hell which neither its inhabitants nor its enemies will be able to bear.”



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http://www.iraqpress.org/english.asp?fname=ipenglish\2004-05-11\4.htm