Sadr calls Iraq sit-in, urges action against corruption
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s powerful Shiite
preacher Moqtada al-Sadr called for a sit-in at the gates of Baghdad’s
heavily fortified government district, stepping up pressure on Prime
Minister Haider al-Abadi to deliver on promised anti-corruption reforms.
The protest, that Sadr said would start Friday, threatened to escalate tensions over a long-awaited economic overhaul in the strife-torn oil producer.
Graft is eating away at Baghdad’s resources even as it struggles with falling revenue due to rock-bottom oil prices and high spending due to the costs of the war against Daesh (ISIS) militants.
“I address this historic call to every reform-loving Iraqi … so that he rises up to begin a new phase,” read the statement posted online Saturday from Sadr.
Abadi signaled Friday willingness to agree that the political parties have a say in appointing members of a Cabinet he plans to form to fight corruption and optimize state spending to better cope with the sharp decline in oil revenue.
The protest, that Sadr said would start Friday, threatened to escalate tensions over a long-awaited economic overhaul in the strife-torn oil producer.
Graft is eating away at Baghdad’s resources even as it struggles with falling revenue due to rock-bottom oil prices and high spending due to the costs of the war against Daesh (ISIS) militants.
“I address this historic call to every reform-loving Iraqi … so that he rises up to begin a new phase,” read the statement posted online Saturday from Sadr.
Abadi signaled Friday willingness to agree that the political parties have a say in appointing members of a Cabinet he plans to form to fight corruption and optimize state spending to better cope with the sharp decline in oil revenue.
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