Iraq's main opposition leader has called for the international community to intervene to oust Saddam Hussein but has warned against military action and any attempt to impose a puppet regime.
The international community should convince Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to step down, the leader of the main Iraqi Shi'ite opposition group, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim said in remarks published today.
"We believe the United Nations, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) can prevent a war against Iraq if they assume their responsibilities toward the Iraqi people and opt for [regime] change," Ayatollah Hakim told the Saudi-owned pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat.
He heads the Tehran-based Supreme Assembly for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
"They have two options to save the Iraqi people: Convince Saddam to step down and allow Iraqis to choose who will govern them through free and fair elections, or implement UN Security Council Resolution 688 that bans Saddam from using heavy weapons to crush any internal move against the regime," he said.
The latter option would enable the Iraqi people to bring about a change of regime, said Ayatollah Hakim.
"We believe the departure of the Iraqi regime would be in the interest of the Iraqi people and the other peoples of the [Gulf] region, and we believe that real change must be effected by the Iraqi people themselves," he said.
"We also refuse to see a foreign side imposing a governor on Iraq by force, even if he is Iraqi," he said.
The Shi'ite cleric warned against any US "military action" against Iraq, claiming such a move would cause great harm to the Iraqi people that could spill over to other peoples of the region. AFP