BASRA, 10 May 2003 — The chief of Iraq’s main Shiite opposition group is to return home today after 23 years of exile in neighboring Iran to take up the struggle for an Islamic Iraq, he and aides said. Mohammed Baqer Al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Assembly for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, will arrive in Basra this morning and address the population on the “great day that we have all awaited for so long,” SAIRI official Seyyed Abdul Karim Al-Jazairi told AFP.

There had been rumors in Basra, which is Iraq’s main southern city and is under British military control, that the British had opposed Baqer ‘s return. Asked about that, Jazairi said simply that there was an “agreement” between SAIRI and the British Army.

The welcoming ceremonies are set for 9:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) and are to be held at SAIRI offices recently set up in a former Basra theatre. Afterward, Baqer is expected to travel on to his birthplace of Najaf, one of two Shiite holy cities in Iraq along with Karbala.

In Tehran yesterday, as Baqer prepared to return home, he made what was meant to be his final speech in exile during weekly prayers, telling the faithful that Iraq’s future belongs to Islam. “There is no time now for me to talk to you in detail about the future of Iraq, but I tell you the future of Iraq belongs to Islam,” he said, committing himself to that struggle. “Independence is our greatest priority ... Iraqis must be able to decide on their future, something they have not been able to do up to now,” he added.

The opposition chief had originally been set to return to Iraq on April 28, but his trip was canceled without explanation. Shiite Muslims form about 60 percent of Iraq’s population and are most highly concentrated in the south. They went virtually unrepresented in the regime of former president Saddam Hussein.

Baqer ‘s brother and deputy, Abdul Aziz, has been in the country since April 16 and has represented the movement at meetings of the former Iraqi opposition working toward setting up an interim government in Iraq.

While SAIRI objects to the presence of US and British forces in Iraq, it has taken the pragmatic decision to participate in the process, which is being steered by Washington.

The group is a member of the so-called Council of Five former opposition groups that are spearheading the process. The council also includes the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the Iraqi National Congress and the Iraqi National Accord. But SAIRI’s involvement in the process has not been unconditional, and its participation was not always certain.

Meanwhile, the armed Iranian opposition based in Iraq, a listed “terrorist organization,” handed over all its checkpoints to US forces yesterday under a previously arranged ceasefire agreement, US officers said. But the People’s Mujahedeen, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), are still occupying some five base camps defended by tanks, artillery and armored vehicles near the Iranian border, they said.

The group is classified as a terrorist organization by the US State Department, the European Union and the Iranian government, but claims it is merely fighting oppression under the government in Tehran. US officers have been tight-lipped about their discussions with the Mujahedeen and the future of their fighters in Iraq.

Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the US 4th Infantry Division, which moved into MEK areas this week, said the checkpoints were being taken for the MEK’s own security. But he refused to comment on the group’s future in Iraq or any ongoing negotiations which may be taking place, amid US sensitivity over allegations that Washington is striking deals with a “terrorist” group.