By Xinhua,
Baghdad : Iraq’s anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr asked Tuesday his followers to hold weekly protests against an envisaged Iraq-U.S. agreement which would lead to a long-term U.S. military presence in the country.
In a statement issued by his office, the radical cleric urged that “Iraqis across the country to hold demonstrations every week after Friday prayers until further notice or until the agreement is canceled.”
He also called on all Iraqi political blocs to join force to reject the pact, demanding referendums for any agreement with Washington.
Washington and Baghdad are currently engaged in negotiations with an aim to work out an document by summer.
Details of the planed agreement remains unclear, but according to a principle reached by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and U.S. President George W. Bush, bilateral security cooperation would be discussed.
Iraqi politicians have made clear that Iraq needs the U.S. troops to help defend the country for years, although they did not seek a permanent U.S. role.
Sadr leads a political bloc as well as the powerful Mahdi Army militia, which has fought bloody battles with the U.S. troops in Iraq. But he announced a ceasefire last August and extended it early this year.
The U.S. military praised his freeze of force, but has been cracking down on what it calls Special Groups, which it believe are breakaways from Sadr’s gunmen.