Al-Maliki calls for 'caution' amid escalating anti-government protest

PM al-Maliki fears 'al-Qaeda and Ba'thist plots' within protests Baghdad – Jaafar Al Nasrawi As demonstrations spread through Iraq’s provinces, Sadrist Movement Chief Muqtada al-Sadr declared his support for demonstrators’ demands while visiting a Baghdadi church on Friday, while criticising

the revoking of the de-Baathificationlaw. "The Iraqi Spring will arrive if Maliki continues his policies," he claimed.Speaking at a press conference held at the Our Lady of Salvation church in downtown Baghdad, al-Sadr offered Iraqi Christians his Christmas wishes, adding: "Christians and ourselves are brothers in this country and it is our duty to band together to achieve its safety and security."
Al-Sadr supported the Anbar province protestors, he admitted, calling all of their demands “legitimate.” However the Sadrist Movement Chief spoke critically of their calls to abolish the Accountability and Justice Law [previously known as “de-Ba’athification”]. A Sadrist delegation would visit demonstrators in Anbar soon, he said.
On Friday Iraqi protestors renewed demands for the release of female prisoners, the cancellation of the Article 4 counter-terrorism law and an end to disenfranchisement by state institutions. Thousands of demonstrators took part in a collective prayer, dubbed the “Friday of Steadfastness,” on the international highway between Fallujah and Anbar, displaying banners and placards criticising the government’s competence.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office has meanwhile released a statement warning of "armed terrorist groups planning to infiltrate the Fallujah and Anbar demonstrations to carry out terrorist acts against demonstrators [in order to] instigate chaos and draw the armed forces into conflict.”
The PM's office also called on "peaceful demonstrators" to "exercise caution." The statement claimed police and armed forces would take “all necessary measures” to protect demonstrators from “al-Qaeda and Ba’athist plots."
Anbar, Nineveh and Saladdin provinces have witnessed mass demonstrations since Christmas Day, attended by clerics, tribal chiefs and officials including Governor of Nineveh Atheel al-Nujaifi and Finance Minister Raffi al-Issawi.
In a January 1 appearance on the al-Iraqiya satellite channel, al-Maliki had threatened to use force to break up "unconstitutional" protests and re-open the Fallujah-Anbar international highway. The Prime Minister also accused those behind the escalating protests of “aiming to destabilise the state.”
The Speaker of Iraq's House of Representatives, Osama al-Nujaifi, has called for an emergency parliamentary session to be held on Sunday to discuss the ongoing crisis, demanding all MPs attend. Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq also joined calls for demonstrators' demands to be met, calling on political blocs to work with parliament and the cabinet to implement those demands.