Grand Ayatollah Sistani calls on reforms to save Iraq’s national unity

Ayatollah Sayed Ali al-Sistani warned that the country faces dire consequences including possible “partition” if real reform is not carried out.

Ayatollah Sayed Sistani has made several calls for reforms this month that have played a major role in a wide-ranging anti-corruption drive by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

It was Sistani’s most direct warning yet on the possible consequences if reforms he has advocated are not carried out.

Sistani said that corruption had already cost Iraq dearly in the conflict with the so-called Islamic State terror group, which overran around a third of the country last year.

Without rampant corruption, especially in the security forces, and misuse of power by top officials, “the Daesh terrorist organization would not have been able to control a large part of the territory of Iraq,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for the terror group.

Abadi rolled out a reform program this month in response to popular pressure from weeks of protests against rampant corruption and terrible services, and a call from Sistani for drastic change.

Thousands of people have turned out in Baghdad and other cities to vent their anger and pressure the authorities to make changes.