In a Meeting with Delegation of Political, Tribal and Public Figures from Al Midaina District in Basra, Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim Calls for Being Wise and Fair in Dealing with the Essential Demands of Al Midaina Citizens
Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, met on July 28, 2015 at his office in Baghdad a delegation representing Al Midaina district and composed of tribal seniors, leaders and public figures led by the governor of Basra, Dr. Majid Nasrawi and the head and members of the provincial council as well as the family of the martyr Muntazer al Halfi who was shot dead during the last demonstrations that took place in Al Midaina district in Basra province demanding improved services and job opportunities in the oil companies. His Eminence said the peaceful assembly is a legitimate right guaranteed under the constitution to the citizens and must not be violated, urging the security forces to provide protection for the demonstrators and to deal with them as citizens claiming their legitimate rights. The head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq maintained that the demands of the district inhabitants are neither impossible nor unachievable, and there is possibility to come up with acceptable and satisfying solutions for the district citizens by exerting efforts and promoting collaboration between the ministries and the local government of the province. He said a province like Basra requires great governmental effort to be made by the federal ministries and some problems related to the old laws to be resolved. According to him, probably the powers of 9 governmental ministries will be transferred next month to the provincial councils, thus limiting the administrative and technical problems that impede the job of the governor and of the service staff in the province to facilitate the providing of services and resolve lots of the problems Basra is facing in general and Al Midaina district in particular.
Moreover, his eminence lauded the sacrifices made by a large number of martyrs from the district in the battles that our security forces are fighting against the terrorist ISIS gangs, despite the small size of the district. He expressed his hope that this issue would be taken into account and he thanked the delegation for the valuable remarks, and commended their understanding and their awareness of the responsibility of the governor, the local government and the federal government. His eminence considered in fact that this is very important for knowing who the real neglectful entity is and seeing what are the areas of deficiency in the provision of services and resolution of the problems of Al Midaina. Sayyid Ammar Al Hakim hoped that the issue would not be politicized and the demands would not be deviated from their path and turned into a political conflict. He also called on the attendees to monitor the insinuators who are hunting the problems and to prevent those who want to sow discord between the Iraqis from reaching their goal, warning against the statements that impede any solution to the problems of the province in general and of Al Midaina district in particular. His eminence finally promised the attendees to personally follow up on the problems and coordinate with the ministers of oil and transport and other ministries with respect to the issues of the lands that contain oil, the incoming labor, unemployment and others.
