Fadlallah urges Iraqis to resist US attempts at stirring tensions

Source: Daily Star, 25-04-2008
BEIRUT: Senior Shiite Muslim cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah urged the Iraqi government on Thursday to preserve the people's security and prevent the US occupation from exploiting chaos to deepen suffering. "The Iraqi government is called upon to make wise and effective initiatives that bring the different Iraqi parties together in a bid to protect their country," he said.
He also warned against the US attempts to stir divisions among Iraq's sects.
"The US is not only working on stirring tensions among various sects in Iraq, they are also instigating major rifts among the same sect," Fadlallah said in his statement.
Also on Thursday, Higher Shiite Muslim Council vice president Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan urged Lebanon's politicians to cooperate with each other to save their country.
"Politicians are called to deal with people's affairs with a national and religious responsibility which requires that they stay away from hatred and reject elements of division," he said.
Qabalan also called for increasing the minimum wage in Lebanon "in a way that does not wear employers out."
"We should not widen the gap between social classes," the sheikh said. "We should support people with low income so they enjoy a dignified life."
Qabalan met on Thursday with a delegation from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He stressed the need to "deepen" cooperation among Palestinian factions and strengthen their unity in the face of the "‘Israeli' terrorism."