seruriermarshal
05-11-2004, 05:07 AM
Sadr trial would be delayed if he disbands militia: governor
NAJAF, Iraq, (AFP) - Legal proceedings against cleric Moqtada Sadr over the murder of a rival will be delayed until after June 30, when Iraq (news - web sites) assumes sovereignty, if he disbands his militia, the governor of Najaf says.
"My hope is that the Americans won't go into Najaf further than they have already. From my meetings with (US overseer) Paul Bremer and other coalition officials, I felt that they were positively predisposed to solve the matter (of legal proceedings against Sadr) peacefully," Adnan al-Zorfi said.
"There is room to solve the case of Sayyed Moqtada on condition that the militia be disbanded," he added.
At a meeting between the recently appointed Najaf governor and tribal leaders, clan elder Sheikh Hamid al-Shibli proposed that any proceedings against Sadr be postponed until after June 30.
Zorfi confirmed that that was possible, but said the Mehdi Army militia must first be disbanded all over Iraq.
"We will not go back on our demand that the militia must be disbanded," he told reporters after the meeting with tribal elders
"The sanctity of the city and its mosques has been trampled upon," he added.
Mehdi militiamen fired into the air Tuesday to try to disperse demonstrators who were demanding they leave their positions near a sacred Shiite shrine in Najaf, an AFP correspondent witnessed.
Bremer appointed Zorfi as the new governor of Najaf province on Thursday as US troops moved to secure the governor's office in the city. The new governor met US military commanders Sunday at a nearby coalition base.
Bremer has called on Najaf's religious and tribal leaders to pressure Sadr to call off his month-old rebellion, accusing the Mehdi Army of operating "outside the law."
Mehdi Army forces have been bunkered down near the Imam Ali mosque in the centre of the city, 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of Baghdad, where they have stockpiled weapons and clash almost daily with US forces in the area.
Sadr is wanted over the murder of a rival cleric last year but he has vowed to lead his followers to martyrdom.
NAJAF, Iraq, (AFP) - Legal proceedings against cleric Moqtada Sadr over the murder of a rival will be delayed until after June 30, when Iraq (news - web sites) assumes sovereignty, if he disbands his militia, the governor of Najaf says.
"My hope is that the Americans won't go into Najaf further than they have already. From my meetings with (US overseer) Paul Bremer and other coalition officials, I felt that they were positively predisposed to solve the matter (of legal proceedings against Sadr) peacefully," Adnan al-Zorfi said.
"There is room to solve the case of Sayyed Moqtada on condition that the militia be disbanded," he added.
At a meeting between the recently appointed Najaf governor and tribal leaders, clan elder Sheikh Hamid al-Shibli proposed that any proceedings against Sadr be postponed until after June 30.
Zorfi confirmed that that was possible, but said the Mehdi Army militia must first be disbanded all over Iraq.
"We will not go back on our demand that the militia must be disbanded," he told reporters after the meeting with tribal elders
"The sanctity of the city and its mosques has been trampled upon," he added.
Mehdi militiamen fired into the air Tuesday to try to disperse demonstrators who were demanding they leave their positions near a sacred Shiite shrine in Najaf, an AFP correspondent witnessed.
Bremer appointed Zorfi as the new governor of Najaf province on Thursday as US troops moved to secure the governor's office in the city. The new governor met US military commanders Sunday at a nearby coalition base.
Bremer has called on Najaf's religious and tribal leaders to pressure Sadr to call off his month-old rebellion, accusing the Mehdi Army of operating "outside the law."
Mehdi Army forces have been bunkered down near the Imam Ali mosque in the centre of the city, 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of Baghdad, where they have stockpiled weapons and clash almost daily with US forces in the area.
Sadr is wanted over the murder of a rival cleric last year but he has vowed to lead his followers to martyrdom.