Iraqis unite for anti-US march
Religious voices are getting stronger in the reshaping of Iraq
Thousands of Shia and Sunni Muslims have marched through Baghdad protesting against the US occupation, and demanding a say in the new Iraqi Government.
Up to 10,000 people gathered in front of a Sunni Muslim mosque in northern Baghdad, then marched across a bridge over the Tigris to the Kadhamiya quarter, home to one of Iraq's holiest Shia shrines.
The march - one of the largest since the war ended - shows how religious voices from the two main branches of Islam are getting stronger as negotiations for an interim authority take shape, says the BBC's Barbara Plett in Baghdad.
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One of Iraq's largest Shiite political groups accused the United States' new civilian administrator today of reneging on promises to support the rapid creation of an Iraqi-led interim government.
"We were talking about an interim government, with authority to make decisions," said Adel Abdel Mahdi, political adviser to the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. But, he continued, a draft resolution sponsored by the United States at the United Nations is "clearly something else."
In a telephone interview this evening, Mr. Abdel Mahdi of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq said his group was particularly worried about language in a draft United Nations resolution that the United States is supporting to formalize its status as an occupying power in Iraq.
Mr. Abdel Mahdi said his organization objected to three aspects of the resolution that appear to limit the role of Iraqi representatives in the new interim authority.
The first issue, he said, is the reference to an Iraqi "authority" rather than a government. A second and more concrete issue, he said, is that the resolution would channel oil revenues as well as other sources of money into a fund that would be for the benefit of Iraqi people but managed by American and British leaders.
"The occupying forces will make the decisions, and the Iraqi people will only be consulted," Mr. Abdel Mahdi said. "We think it should be the opposite, that Iraqi groups make the decisions and consult with the occupying forces."
A third issue, he said, is that the draft resolution is unclear about the duration of the American administration here. Although the resolution would be valid for 12 months, it could be renewed and extended for more time after that.
"Good intentions and friendly relations are good," he said. "But we want to hear something very clear about the sovereignty of the Iraqi people."
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