Press TV
"Moqtada al-Sadr has called for a protest campaign against a proposed deal that will extend the US troop presence in Iraq beyond 2008.
Iraqi anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said the proposed Status of Forces Agreement, aimed at giving a legal basis to US troops after the December 31 expiry of a UN mandate defining their current status was "against Iraqi national interests".
"After every Friday prayers, everyone must protest and demonstrate until the agreement is cancelled," he said in a statement.
Sadr noted his powerful movement planned to send delegations to neighboring countries and the West and international bodies such as the United Nations, the Arab League and the European Union to explain its position.
He said the Iraqi government should consult the people before entering into any deal with Washington, AFP reported.
The mandate of US troops in Iraq will expire in December 2008 and al-Maliki's government is under US pressure to sign 'a mutual security agreement' which would allow the long-term presence of US troops in Iraq.
The draft security agreement between the US and Iraq was prepared in June 2008 and signed in March and it will reportedly be finalized in early July.
There are currently about 150,000 US troops deployed in Iraq, which was invaded by US-led forces in March 2003.
The proposed pact has come under fire from other religious and political leaders in Iraq.
Iraq's most revered Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has also objected to the security accord and reiterated that he would not allow Iraq to sign such a deal with "the US occupiers" as long as he was alive. "
"Moqtada al-Sadr has called for a protest campaign against a proposed deal that will extend the US troop presence in Iraq beyond 2008.
Iraqi anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said the proposed Status of Forces Agreement, aimed at giving a legal basis to US troops after the December 31 expiry of a UN mandate defining their current status was "against Iraqi national interests".
"After every Friday prayers, everyone must protest and demonstrate until the agreement is cancelled," he said in a statement.
Sadr noted his powerful movement planned to send delegations to neighboring countries and the West and international bodies such as the United Nations, the Arab League and the European Union to explain its position.
He said the Iraqi government should consult the people before entering into any deal with Washington, AFP reported.
The mandate of US troops in Iraq will expire in December 2008 and al-Maliki's government is under US pressure to sign 'a mutual security agreement' which would allow the long-term presence of US troops in Iraq.
The draft security agreement between the US and Iraq was prepared in June 2008 and signed in March and it will reportedly be finalized in early July.
There are currently about 150,000 US troops deployed in Iraq, which was invaded by US-led forces in March 2003.
The proposed pact has come under fire from other religious and political leaders in Iraq.
Iraq's most revered Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has also objected to the security accord and reiterated that he would not allow Iraq to sign such a deal with "the US occupiers" as long as he was alive. "
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