Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused protesters of promoting 'sectarianism' Baghdad – Jaafar Al Nasrawi The Coordinating Committee for anti-government demonstrators in Anbar has announced the replacement of Iraqi flags with Husseini banners in cities across Iraq. The action is a response to statements made by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki , accusing protesters of aiming to promote "sectarianism" inside the country.
The committee in charge of coordinating today's sit-ins issued a statement read to protesters in the city of Ramadi. They claimed Maliki's statements were themselves sectarian in nature and were an attempt to ignite conflict between Iraqis. "We accuse al-Maliki and his party of dragging the country into sectarian clashes," the statement claimed. One spokesman for the protesters, Sheikh Saeed Lafi, told Arabstoday how "dozens of Husseini banners and slogans chanting for unity and harmony were raised today."
According to Lafi, the protest group decided to name Wednesday's sit-in "We are far from humiliation" while Thursday's will be named "I came only to ask for reform."
He added that these were the motto raised by Imam Hussein in his "uprisings against injustice."
Observers believe this recent shift inside Iraq could threaten the Maliki government, with demonstrations expected to expand to southern Shiite cities.