Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday called on Iraq's Parliament to reject a U.S.-Iraqi security pact as tens of thousands of his followers rallied in Baghdad against the deal. The mass public show of opposition came as U.S. and Iraqi leaders face a December 31 deadline to agree on the deal to replace an expiring U.N. mandate authorising the U.S.-led forces in Iraq. Mr. Al-Sadr's message was addressed to the crowd as well Iraqi legislators and read by his aide Sheikh Abdul-Hadi al-Mohammadawi in Baghdad before a huge crowd of mostly young men waving Iraqi and green Shia flags and chanting slogans, including "No, no to the agreement" and "Yes to Iraq."
"The Iraqi government has abandoned its duty before God and its people and referred the agreement to you knowing that ratifying it will stigmatise Iraq and its government for years to come," he said.
"I am with every Sunni, Shia or Christian who is opposed to the agreement ... and I reject, condemn and renounce the presence of occupying forces and basis on our beloved land."
Mr. Al-Sadr, who is living in Iran, also cast doubt on the Iraqi government's argument that the security pact is a step toward ending the U.S. presence in Iraq. The deal would require U.S. forces to leave by December 31, 2011 unless Iraq asked some of them to stay. "If they tell you that the agreement ends the presence of the occupation, let me tell you that the occupier will retain its bases. And whoever tells you that it gives us sovereignty is a liar," he said in his message, adding: "I am confident that you brothers in Parliament will champion the will of the people over that of the occupier ... Do not betray the people."