Leading Iraqi politician joins the diplomatic community responding to the Haiti tragedy and calls for the Middle East to unite and give what they can to the ongoing rescue efforts
Thursday, 14 January 2010 20:30
"The magnitude of the tragedy in Haiti is overwhelming. It is shocking and it has left me and all the Iraqi people truly saddened. Political and religious differences are irrelevant when such a catastrophic loss of life occurs in these freak circumstances.
I am calling on all the people of Iraq and the whole Middle-East to unite and do what they can to support the ongoing rescue efforts and the relief and rebuilding that follows."
- Ahrar Party Leader Ayad Jamal Aldin
Canada's Haitian-born Governor General Michaelle:
"Like me, Haitian communities across Canada are heartbroken and overwhelmed by the magnitude of this catastrophe. The images and news reports are unbearable to watch,"
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown:
"I am deeply saddened and worried about the reported scale of the earthquake in Haiti. I am sending a message of sympathy and support to President Preval and we are sending a team from the Department for International Development to assess the humanitarian needs. We stand ready to provide whatever humanitarian assistance is required."
For further information, contact:
Ahrar Media Bureau
Tel: +964 (0)790 157 4478 / +964 (0)790 157 4479 / +964 (0)771 275 2942
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About Ayad Jamal Aldin:
Ayad Jamal Aldin is a Shia cleric, best known for his consistent campaigning for a new, secular Iraq. He first rose to prominence at the Nasiriyah conference in March 2003, shortly before the fall of Saddam, where he called for a state free of religion, the turban and other theological symbols. In 2005, he was elected as one of the 25 MPs on the Iraqi National List, but withdrew in 2009 after becoming disenchanted with Iyad Allawi's overtures to Iran. He wants complete independence from Iranian interference in Iraq. He now leads the Ahrar party for the 2010 election to the Council of Representatives, to clean up corruption and create a strong, secure and liberated Iraq for the future.