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| Iraq protests signal growing tension between Sunni and Shia communities | Iraq protests signal growing tension between Sunni and Shia communities |
| (4 months later) | |
| Thousands of Iraqis protested in a Sunni-dominated province west of Baghdad on Wednesday, determined to keep up the pressure on a Shia-led government that many accuse of trying to marginalise them. | Thousands of Iraqis protested in a Sunni-dominated province west of Baghdad on Wednesday, determined to keep up the pressure on a Shia-led government that many accuse of trying to marginalise them. |
| It was the third major protest in less than a week in Anbar, Iraq's largest province, once the heart of the deadly Sunni insurgency that erupted after the US-led invasion in 2003. | It was the third major protest in less than a week in Anbar, Iraq's largest province, once the heart of the deadly Sunni insurgency that erupted after the US-led invasion in 2003. |
| The unrest is part of broader sectarian conflicts that threaten the stability of the country, a year after the last US troops left. | The unrest is part of broader sectarian conflicts that threaten the stability of the country, a year after the last US troops left. |
| The demonstrations follow the arrest last week of 10 bodyguards assigned to Iraq's finance minister, Rafia al-Issawi, who comes from Anbar and is one of the government's most senior Sunni officials. The arrests have exacerbated tensions with Iraq's Sunnis, who see the detentions as politically motivated. | The demonstrations follow the arrest last week of 10 bodyguards assigned to Iraq's finance minister, Rafia al-Issawi, who comes from Anbar and is one of the government's most senior Sunni officials. The arrests have exacerbated tensions with Iraq's Sunnis, who see the detentions as politically motivated. |
| Protesters turned out near the provincial capital of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. The city and nearby Falluja were the scenes of some of the deadliest fighting between US troops and Iraqi insurgents. | Protesters turned out near the provincial capital of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. The city and nearby Falluja were the scenes of some of the deadliest fighting between US troops and Iraqi insurgents. |
| Demonstrators gathered along a road linking Baghdad with neighbouring Jordan and Syria. They held banners demanding Sunni rights be respected and calling for the release of Sunni prisoners. "We warn the government not to draw the country into sectarian conflict," read one. Another declared: "We are not a minority." | Demonstrators gathered along a road linking Baghdad with neighbouring Jordan and Syria. They held banners demanding Sunni rights be respected and calling for the release of Sunni prisoners. "We warn the government not to draw the country into sectarian conflict," read one. Another declared: "We are not a minority." |
| Issawi made an appearance at the rally, arriving in a long convoy of black SUVs protected by heavily armed guards. He condemned last week's raid on his office and listed a series of grievances aimed at the prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia, and his government. | Issawi made an appearance at the rally, arriving in a long convoy of black SUVs protected by heavily armed guards. He condemned last week's raid on his office and listed a series of grievances aimed at the prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia, and his government. |
| "Injustice, marginalisation, discrimination and double standards, as well as the politicisation of the judicial system and a lack of respect for partnership, law and constitution … have all turned our neighbourhoods in Baghdad into huge prisons surrounded by concrete blocks," he said. | "Injustice, marginalisation, discrimination and double standards, as well as the politicisation of the judicial system and a lack of respect for partnership, law and constitution … have all turned our neighbourhoods in Baghdad into huge prisons surrounded by concrete blocks," he said. |
| Iraq's Shia majority rose to power after the downfall of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime. Members of the Sunni and Kurdish minorities hold a number of posts in the current government. | Iraq's Shia majority rose to power after the downfall of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime. Members of the Sunni and Kurdish minorities hold a number of posts in the current government. |
| Many Sunnis see the arrest of Issawi's guards as the latest in a series of moves by Maliki against their community and other perceived political opponents. Vice-president Tariq al-Hashemi, one of Iraq's highest-ranking Sunni politicians, lives in exile in Turkey after receiving multiple death sentences for allegedly running hit squads – a charge he dismisses as politically motivated. | Many Sunnis see the arrest of Issawi's guards as the latest in a series of moves by Maliki against their community and other perceived political opponents. Vice-president Tariq al-Hashemi, one of Iraq's highest-ranking Sunni politicians, lives in exile in Turkey after receiving multiple death sentences for allegedly running hit squads – a charge he dismisses as politically motivated. |
| "This sit-in will remain open-ended until the demonstrators' demands are met, and until the injustice against ends," cleric Hamid al-Issawi said at the protest. He accused Maliki's government of trying to create rifts between the Sunni and Shia communities. | "This sit-in will remain open-ended until the demonstrators' demands are met, and until the injustice against ends," cleric Hamid al-Issawi said at the protest. He accused Maliki's government of trying to create rifts between the Sunni and Shia communities. |
| "These practices are aimed at drawing the country into a sectarian conflict again by creating crisis and targeting prominent national figures," he said. | "These practices are aimed at drawing the country into a sectarian conflict again by creating crisis and targeting prominent national figures," he said. |
| Maliki has defended the arrests of his finance minister's guards as legal and based on warrants issued by judicial authorities. He also recently warned against a return to sectarian strife in criticising the responses of prominent Sunni officials to the detentions. | Maliki has defended the arrests of his finance minister's guards as legal and based on warrants issued by judicial authorities. He also recently warned against a return to sectarian strife in criticising the responses of prominent Sunni officials to the detentions. |
| In a recent statement, he dismissed them as posturing ahead of provincial elections scheduled for April and warned his opponents not to forget the dark days of sectarian fighting "when we used to collect bodies and chopped heads from the streets". | In a recent statement, he dismissed them as posturing ahead of provincial elections scheduled for April and warned his opponents not to forget the dark days of sectarian fighting "when we used to collect bodies and chopped heads from the streets". |
| The political tensions are rising at a sensitive time. Iraq's ailing president, Jalal Talabani, suffered a serious stroke last week and is being treated in a German hospital. The 79-year-old ethnic Kurd is widely seen as a unifying figure with the clout to mediate among the country's ethnic and sectarian groups. | The political tensions are rising at a sensitive time. Iraq's ailing president, Jalal Talabani, suffered a serious stroke last week and is being treated in a German hospital. The 79-year-old ethnic Kurd is widely seen as a unifying figure with the clout to mediate among the country's ethnic and sectarian groups. |
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