“Very anxiously, the Shia Muslim Supreme Religious Authority is following up with status quo of the city of Basrah,” said sheikh Abdul-Mehdi Elkerbela’i, representative of the Shia Muslim Supreme Religious Authority, Friday, September 7, 2018.
He also said, “The Supreme Religious Authority is expressing deepest regret for what has happened in Basrah,” indicating that the Supreme Religious Authority already warned of this issue, but no-one took that into consideration.
He added, “The Supreme Religious Authority confirms his absolute condemnation of what has happened to the peaceful protesters, such as assault and battery, and especially shooting them, which resulted in killing some of them and injuring many others, in addition to strongly condemning the attack on the security forces – tasked with securing the governmental buildings and enterprises –, by throwing stones and incendiary bottles at them, as well as arson.”
Elkerbela’i called on all parties to stop these acts of violence, especially excessive violence in tackling the protests.
He mentioned that the Iraqi people have lost patience, for the politicians dispute over political gains and positions for a long time, let foreigners interfere Iraq’s affairs and expose it to regional and international political gravity, and show indifference to the Iraqis' rightful demands.
“The lack of basic needs of life, unemployment, and endemic corruption in the government are what the people of Basra and other cities have been suffering from. It is impossible to change Iraq’s miserable situation if the new government follows the same steps the previous one did. The new government has to be different and uphold competence, integrity, and loyalty to Iraq and its people,” added further Elkerbela’i.
He then disclosed the drinking-water issue of Basrah, saying, “Under the supervision of the delegation of the Supreme Religious Authority, it turned out that this issue was possible to deal with; it could have taken some efforts and affordable expenses to fix, but not dealing with this crisis indicates the negligence of those in charge.”
Elkerbela’i concluded his speech by calling on the decision makers and those in charge to constantly follow up with the strategic projects – especially those concerning infrastructure –, in addition to immediately responding to the critical issues that might happen in order for the Iraqi people to see determined steps taken and officials attend and listen to their demands, which would intrinsically ease their tension.
By: Wela’ Esseffar
Translation: Mohammed Alobaidi
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