Al-Sadr says resistance to continue against outside forces in Iraq

"We have put down our arms. Arms will not be raised, especially against the Iraqi soldiers," Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr, was quoted as saying by AP during a visit representatives have described a contribution to Iraq's future.

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"However the resistance will continue," he said adding that "There is economic, political and cultural resistance against the outside forces who are invading our land."

 

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, al-Sadr’s Shiite militia fought U.S. troops intermittently until a ceasefire last May. Despite his wide appeal to segments of Iraq's Shiite poor, al-Sadr was viewed as troublesome by the Shiite-led government and hundreds of his supporters were arrested on suspicion of involvement in Iran-linked militant cells.

 

Although al-Sadr shunned the media at Saturday's event at a hotel, his visit to Turkey, which is raising its own profile as a mediator in the region, is assessed as a departure from his customary reclusiveness.

 

He was last seen in the media when he gave a television interview with Al-Jazeera on March 29, 2008. The last time he appeared in person in public was May 25, 2007, when he delivered a sermon in the Iraqi Shiite holy city of Kufa.

 

ANKARA VISIT AHEAD OF ELECTIONS

Anti-U.S. cleric al-Sadr, a symbolic figure of the Shiite resistance, also met with Turkish officials Friday for political consultations ahead of the December parliamentary elections in Iraq.

 

The visit is said to be part of Turkey's policy of seeking dialogue with all political and religious factions in Iraq to promote reconciliation and stability.

 

After the local elections in January, Iraq is now heading toward parliamentary polls, and Ankara is urging Iraqi ethnic and religious groups to actively participate in their country's politics.

 

General elections are expected toward the end of this year, and Iraq’s 275-member parliament has about 30 al-Sadr loyalists.