Two members of the communist party were killed in Baghdad al-Seistani demands halting anti- occupation demonstration
The higher Shiite clergy Ayatullah Ali al-Seisatni in his yesterday ( Friday) sermon called for immediate halting to all anti- occupation demonstration in Iraq. He said that these demonstrations will be stopped until a resolution is issued by the UN on making direct elections.
This call, however, coincides with demonstrations which took yesterday in the streets in various parts of Iraq in support of al-Seisatni's demands to transfer sovereignty to Iraq through direct elections. Several Iraqi cities witnessed all along last week demonstrations of support for these demands.
News reports in Baghdad said that al-Seisatni wants to give all sides a grace period to "appear, as known to people, a moderate man searching for a solution satisfactory for all sides..." According to leaked news, al-Seistani had given the Governing Council a one week grace period on Thursday to reach a solution over the extent of the possibility to make these elections.
The reports explained that member of the Governing Council and the chairman of the "higher council for the Islamic revolution in Iraq," Abdul Aziz al- Hakim, contacted al-Seistani and asked for more time.
This, however, coincides with the declaration made by the secretary general of the UN, Kofi Annan, yesterday in Davos, Switzerland, that he will announce shortly sending a UN reconnaissance mission to Iraq in order to discuss the issue of organizing general elections and to transfer sovereignty to the Iraqis by the fall of June this year.
Meantime, the high ranking official at the UN, Elakhder al-Ibraheimi, whom the Americans want to play a strong role in Iraq, held on Thursday in the White House a meeting with the US secretary of state Colin Powell, the US national security advisor Condoleezza Rice.
Al-Seistani's call to halt the demonstrations came at a time when security conditions on the ground are deteriorating. More Iraqis and Americans were killed. two members of the Iraqi communist party were killed in a bomb explosion at the party's headquarters in Baghdad.
In a statement, the party deplored the attack and accused what it described as forces of terrorism and darkness of being behind it. The statement also called on sides concerned to move urgently to disclose the identity of the attackers and bring them to justice.
Meantime, the Spanish foreign ministry said that the commander of its security forces in Iraq was taken to the country after he has suffered complete coma.
The Spanish army commander was hit in a bullet in his head during a joint attack carried out by his forces and the Iraqi police on Thursday, in Homsa town to the south of al-Dewaneyah, where some 1300 Spanish soldiers are stationed. The campaign aimed at arresting what is described by the coalition forces of leaders of terrorist groups.
Moreover, the escalated attacks carried out by Iraqi resistance in what has become to be known the Sunni triangle resulted on Wednesday and Thursday in killing 11 persons, including two American soldiers in Baqouba, and 8 Iraqis in al-Falouja, including two policemen and four women, in two armed attacks as well as killing two Iraqi security men by the occupation fire.