Cleric demands Iraq for Iraqis

The ayatollah's followers are jubilant at his return

Iraq's best-known Shia leader has continued his triumphant homecoming by again calling for independence for Iraq and demanding that US-led troops leave the country.

Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim told thousands of his followers in the city of Nasiriya to reject any imposed government.

On Saturday, the 63-year-old cleric returned after 23 years in exile in neighbouring Iran to a tumultuous reception.

He was a fierce opponent of Saddam Hussein and many Shias consider him their most important leader.

Iraq needed "complete independence", Ayatollah Hakim told the crowd in Nasiriya, echoing his speech a day earlier in Basra.

A group of US Marines stood close to the podium as he spoke.

A US officer said they were there to protect the ayatollah, who heads the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri).

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Who are Iraq's Shias?

"We need an Iraqi governor ruling the Iraqi people...We don't accept a foreign military ruler, we do not accept a local military ruler, we do not accept an imposed government," the ayatollah said.

He vowed to defend the rights of all Iraqis and insisted he would not seek a Shia government.

"Some say Shias want to seize power in Iraq but this is not true, although we are the majority. But it was all Iraqis who sacrificed their blood. We don't want a tribal government," AP quoted him as saying.

Islamic vision

After speaking in Nasiriya, the ayatollah was due to head for his home town - the holy city of Najaf.

His movements are likely to be closely watched by US and British officials, who are concerned that he might push for an Islamic state in Iraq.

In Basra, Ayatollah Hakim told supporters that Iraq should have a modern Islamic government.

But the BBC's regional analyst, Sadeq Saba, says he chose his words carefully and made a point of opposing religious extremism.

He outlined a vision of a future Iraqi government which would be freely elected, modern and tolerant towards all Iraq's ethnic and religious groups.

The ayatollah is well aware that the idea of an Islamic government based on the divine rule of a supreme religious leader is not popular in Iraq, our correspondent says.

Ayatollah Hakim and other Iraqi clerics returning from Iran have also had the chance to see at first hand the shortcomings of political Islam there.