BASRA, Iraq, 11 May 2003 — The head of Iraq’s main Shiite movement returned home yesterday from 23 years of exile in Iran promising to push for an Islamic state, in a move that threatens to complicate US reconstruction plans for the war-torn country. Thousands of Iraqis thronged near Basra to welcome him, hours after the United States introduced a UN resolution to end sanctions and give Washington and its allies control over Iraqi oil revenues.
Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Hakim, leader of Iraq’s biggest Shiite group, crossed the border from Iran to a jubilant welcome from crowds of emotional supporters near the southern city of Basra. His close ties to Iran and the armed militia known as the Badr Forces which he commands have aroused some alarm in Washington, but Baqer has sought to play down those fears.
However, he said before he left Tehran that the presence of foreign forces in Iraq, where Shiites are a majority, was “a very big problem which must be dealt with”. He also said he would address living standards in Iraq, try to re-establish order and security, and work to allow Iraqis to choose a government which would represent all Iraqi factions.
Baqer’s return also came as a letter purportedly from deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, his nemesis, called on Iraqis to transform mosques into centers of resistance to coalition forces, according to the Dubai-based Al-Qods Al-Arabi daily. Baqer, the head of the Iran-backed Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI), crossed the border early yesterday. He is expected to tour southern Iraq in the coming days before returning to his birthplace, the Shiite holy city of Najaf.
In an interview with Iranian state radio broadcast earlier in the day, he said “all of the people of Iraq” can realize their aspirations for “reconstructing and creating a developed and independent country under the banner of Islam.” He also called the presence of coalition forces unjustified and called for their departure
In a speech Friday, he had said: “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.” His return is to be closely watched by US officials, who have said they would not accept an Iran-style Islamic regime in Iraq, but analysts said Baqer would not seek center stage for the moment and will keep SAIRI involved in US-brokered efforts to set up an interim government.
SAIRI is a member of the seven-member council of former opposition groups which are spearheading the process, but has made its participation conditional on Washington respecting the Iraqi people’s wishes and on an agenda that was not contrary to their interests. The group attended the April 29 meeting under the chairmanship of US civil administrator Jay Garner that agreed to hold a national congress within one month to start setting up an interim government in the country.
