Shiite uprising erupts against US occupation of Iraq

Shiite uprising erupts against US occupation of Iraq
By James Conachy
5 April 2004

The trigger for the outbreak of hostilities was the decision a week ago by Coalition Provisional Authority head Paul Bremer to begin a crackdown on supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr—a fundamentalist critic of the occupation who is demanding the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq and the establishment of an Islamic state. Sadr is also one of the many Shiite religious leaders who have publicly declared they will not accept as legitimate the “sovereign” Iraqi government the US is planning to install on June 30. Sadr City is his main base of support.

On March 28, in the first step toward outlawing Sadr’s movement, Bremer closed down his newspaper Al Hawza, alleging it was “inciting violence.” Over the course of last week, thousands of furious Sadr supporters protested.

Interpreting the closure of his paper as the first step toward his arrest, Sadr announced on Friday that he would issue a call for a citywide indefinite general strike in Baghdad if the ban on Al Hawza were not lifted. On Saturday, in a show of strength, 5,000 members of his “Mehdi Army” militia marched in military formation, but unarmed, through the streets of Baghdad. The editor of Sadr’s paper told Associated Press: “It’s not just a question of closing down Al Hawza. If we don’t resist by all means now, they’ll close our offices and ban our Friday prayers.”

Later that day, Bremer pushed tensions to breaking point by ordering the arrest of Mustafa al-Yacoubi, one of Sadr’s leading aides. The American military alleges he was involved in the April 2003 killing of a moderate Shiite cleric—an accusation al-Yacoubi and Sadr have both consistently denied.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/apr2004/iraq-a05.shtml

<In the clearest indication that the situation will not be brought easily under control, the main Shiite cleric, Ali al-Sistani, issued a statement late yesterday that, while appealing for calm, condemned the US-led coalition and declared that the actions of Sadr’s militiamen were “legitimate.”>

So now we are suppressing the freedoms that we fought for in the first place?
I wonder what if there is an election in Iraq, and they elect an extremely anti-american government, is Bush going to cancel it just like he cancelled that newspaper?