KARBALA, Dec 15, 2010 (AFP) - Dozens of Iraqi pilgrims chanted anti-corruption songs during Ashura ceremonies in the shrine city of Karbala on Wednesday, criticising the country's anti-graft watchdog.
Their shouts came as hundreds of thousands of Shiite Muslims poured into the city for the climax of Ashura, to commemorate the killing of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, by armies of the caliph Yazid in 680 AD.
"Tell us how many thieves have been presented to the integrity commission," one group of pilgrims chanted, reciting a poem written by their procession leader, referring to Iraq's anti-corruption agency, the Public Integrity Commission, which was created in January 2004.
"We swear by your name, oh Hussein, that we are not afraid to speak, to express ourselves, to publicly denounce these wolves!"
Another group shouted: "Integrity commission, you must do your duty, you must denounce all the thieves who steal the wealth of Iraq! You must denounce all of them, whatever their rank, and break their necks!"
Transparency International rated Iraq the fourth-most corrupt country in the world in its 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index out of 178 surveyed. It ranked ahead of only Afghanistan, Myanmar and Somalia.
"We are now allowed to recite these poems once again, after the fall of the former regime," said Hamid Meeri, one of the men chanting, referring to the 2003 overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein, who barred the vast majority of Ashura commemorations throughout his rule.
"But the problem now is the officials do not listen to us."
Since US-led troops ousted Saddam, pilgrims have used Ashura poems as a way of expressing their anger over current issues.
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Copyright AFP 2010.
