A grand memorial ceremony was held on the morning of August 31 in Baghdad for head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim, who was killed in the August 29 explosion of the Imam Ali mosque in Najif, one of the most holy shrines for Shiite Muslims in Iraq. More than ten thousand people attended the gathering, including Hakim's younger brother Abdel Aziz, commander of "Badr" (a military organization under SCIRI) and member of the Governing Council, and Shalabi, also a member of the Council and chairman on duty of the next month.
The attendees, full of indignation for Hakim's death, waved their fists and shouted slogans of revenge, demanding the US-British coalition forces to shoulder up responsibility for the shocking tragedy. The gathering was held under extremely tight security by Iraqi policemen and "Badr" forces. After that Hakim's body will be transported to Karbala City for another homage in his memory, and then be buried in Najaf, Hakim's birthplace, on September 2.
The bloody blast, which claimed some 300 lives, reminds people what former Syrian President Bashar said to Austrian media before the Iraqi war-a war towards Iraq will surely open the gate of hell. Now the raging flames in the purgatory have burnt down the Saddam Regime, together with Iraqi people's hope for democracy, freedom and peace. The coalition army also attracted the fire and got bogged down in the turmoil.
The US and Britain willfully launched the war, and toppled the Saddam government by their absolutely superior military might. However, during a post-war period as long as four months, the US, due to its serious mistakes in Iraq policy, made too many enemies and incurred unceasing guerrilla attacks. For US forces stationed in Iraq, the nation has become a "hell on earth". Now the coalition army confronts an armed attack in every two hours on average, with soldiers living in constant dismay and a causality number long ago exceeding that of the Gulf War in 1991.
For Iraqi people, they have been living in extreme misery for four months. The nation remains in post-war anarchy, the recovery of war-ravaged infrastructures being slow, not to mention deliberate terrorist destruction. Under a scorching temperature of 50 to 60 Celsius, the Iraqi people are suffering serious shortage of water, electricity, medicine and basic healthcare facilities.
The social disorders worsened still, with three tragedies of suchlike as the Ali mosque blast happened within a single month. The targets for attack have shifted from coalition army and civil facilities to diplomatic mission, UN institutions and holy sites. This is doubtless a great challenge on the US ability for Iraqi reconstruction and other policies.
The blast in front of the Jordanian embassy in Iraq on August 7 washed out much of the diplomatic efforts made by the Governing Council to win Arabic support and recognition; the attack against UN office in Baghdad on August 19 seriously damaged the work done by the UN and the international community to help Iraq reconstruction and provide humanitarian aids. A batch of international institutions and organizations including the World Bank, IMF, Red Cross and UN Children's Fund withdrew from Iraq, and the UN also cut its staff in its Iraqi office. While the mosque blast on August 29 could only serve to put Iraq stability in a shaky position, tighten the internal relations of the Shiite group and widen the cleft between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
Facing the disorder and terror, Iraqi people feel disappointed and worried. They hope the UN could play a leading rule in their post-war reconstruction, and elect a government through a democratic, transparent way for self-governing. This is also a wish of Hakim. The Iraqi people believe that the US army should shoulder full responsibility for all the happenings and close the "gate of hell" it obstinately opened.
(People's Daily September 3, 2003)
