Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim announces “Dhi Qar Province: the Cradle of Civilizations and the Gate to the South”

Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq confirmed during a public event organized by the Citizen Alliance 411 in Dhi Qar Province on Friday, April 5, 2013, that the Citizen Alliance is totally aware that the South is one block and that its cities and provinces are complementary to each other, considering Dhi War as the strategic heartland of the South, which thanks to its location, natural resources and fertile lands, constitutes one of the essential supports for the development of the disadvantaged South. “The main obstacle to the development of this rich and strategic province is the inadequate budget allocated to it and which is incompatible with its historical and strategic weight”, he uttered, stressing the need for a new strategic move that puts the province right on the track of the economic integrity with the rest of the Southern provinces. Here he announced having launched the “Dhi Qar Province: the Cradle of Civilizations and the Gate to the South” initiative based on a global vision on development that focuses on each of our beloved provinces while remaining connected to the other provinces by a well-perceived strategic planning away from improvisation, perplexity and confusion.
Dhi Qar: the Cradle of Civilizations and the Gate to the South
His Eminence maintained that the new move for Dhi Qar, as planned by the Citizen Alliance, will not materialize through the annual projects covered by the budget of ministries or that of the province, which is already insignificant and not enough to meet the basic provincial needs. That is why he launched the “Dhi Qar Province: the Cradle of Civilizations and the Gate to the South” initiative as part of his electoral platform, the most important components of which are to set up a fund designed for the projects that fall within the initiative and which will be financed by a 20% deduction from oil proceeds of the province, to create the free zone authority in Dhi Qar, in charge of opening free zones related to the project of Basra, the economic capital, as well as to build the biggest southern medical center ever in Iraq which includes all medical specialties, state-of-the –art laboratories and a specialized school of medicine. According to him, the initiative also consists of building a whole complex for oil and petrochemical industries, accommodating oil refinery with a 300,000- barrel capacity; rehabilitating the province marshlands; creating fisheries; demining the lands in cooperation and coordination with Maysan province. Establishing Al Habobi cultural center which comprises a special museum to conserve the city’s history and ruins throughout the different periods of time and civilizations; promoting specialties in Dhi Qar universities to build more specialized schools and institutes since Dhi Qar is the world’s richest city in archeological items; regulating the tourism industry and building of hotels to attract tourists; inviting Pope Francis to visit Ur as well as the State leaders and the world celebrities for the purpose of highlighting the importance of this ancient city and to lure investments and building the Southern Gate highway which links Dhi Qar to Maysan province from one hand, and to Wasit province from the other, thus making Dhi Qar an interconnection of highways, are also part of the initiative which envisions, he said, the creation of the Southern Gate residential city with a capacity of 100,000 units, providing appropriate lodgings for the province citizens, especially for the low-income and impoverished individuals.
The Martyr of the Niche movement is fully responsible for the its officials’ and candidates’ acts
His Eminence explained that the nations are built with action and planning, not with wishes, and that in order to build a nation, it is not only important to develop the capital, but also all the provinces, cities and villages. His view is that in any building process, one must select qualified individuals capable of planning and making dreams come true, and this responsibility lies with the Dhi Qar people who are the decision makers and have the final say on who should be in the forefront and who should not. The motto of the Citizen Alliance is crystal clear: it doesn’t matter if we win or not, the important is that the Dhi Qar, as a province, succeeds in the reconstruction and development process with the help of its citizens, and that it achieves the position it deserves. “The Martyr of the Niche movement pledged before Allah and our people that it will protect the choices of our people, and will inflict the right punishment on whoever fails to perform his obligations”, he maintained, declaring that the Martyr of the Niche is fully responsible for its officials’ and candidates’ acts, and that it has a duty of following up, controlling and punishing with severity, and not only submitting candidacies because it is about the destiny of a people and a province, and the future of a nation, and there is no way to show favoritism or nepotism.
The Citizen Alliance is not making plans for the present, but for the future
His Eminence explained that the “Dhi Qar Province: the Cradle of Civilizations and the Gate to the South” initiative saw the light after an analysis showing that Dhi Qar is one of the keys to the history of human being and civilization and that religions find its roots in this province: It is the main gate of our disadvantaged South, and the bridge connecting between present and history, and between our Arabic and Islamic provinces and the pre-Islamic civilizations. “It is through the gate of Dhi Qar that we will be able to walk into the planned real development process”, he confirmed, adding “the project designed for Basra, the economic capital of Iraq, requires a backup of basis projects and infrastructure, and this can be found in Dhi Qar”. The rehabilitation of Maysan can only be achieved by rehabilitating the marshlands of Dhi Qar and clearing the mines, he continued, stressing that “in order for the Iraqi citizen to restore his self-confidence, it is necessary to bridge the gap between his present and past and put an end to this disconnection which makes our citizens lose self-confidence, strength and pride”. He confirmed that the Citizen Alliance is not making plans for the present, but for the future and is aware of the need of the initiative for detailed, short-term and long-term planning, counting on the awareness, culture and sense of responsibility of Dhi Qar citizens which encourage them to strongly support this project, because it is made for their service, the service of their children and the future of their province.

The Martyr of the Niche movement is not a power seeker; it has a project in mind and will work on it with patience and vigor
According to his Eminence, the fact that the Martyr of the Niche movement admitted its mistakes is an act of bravery, as it feels satisfaction for any achievement it attains and takes the courage to admit its mistakes whenever it screws up, trying to improve its performance and mechanisms and keep moving on. He reiterated that the Martyr of the Niche movement is not a power seeker; it has a project in mind and will work on it with patience and vigor and never let its people down. Sayyid Ammar Al-hakim is confident that his country needs sense of responsibility more than it needs officials, and that the Alliance will be at the service of the nation and the citizens considered as its first bulwark, because the real power is that emanating from citizens and harnessed to their best interest. “Dhi Qar deserves the best and the beloved Nasiriyah expects from us to work hard in order for it to redeem its glory and greatness, and be able to stand up again, thanks to its various natural resources, fertile lands, ancient history, historical location, scientific skills and men of science, action, authenticity and pride.
Dhi Qar is where the monotheistic thought emerged and spread to all over the world
The head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq stated that Dhi Qar province is the light spirit, culture and legacy of Iraq, and Nasiriyah is the mother of all cities and the source of civilizations, from Ur and Eridu, to Uruk , witnessing the civilizations of Iraq taking form from Sumer. It is in this place that religions emerged when the prophet Ibrahim proclaimed the Oneness of Allah, and that the monotheistic thought spread to all over the world. In his opinion, Nasiriyah has always stood by Iraq and its people and defended Islam and the Islamic references: It is from this city that Islam made his way towards the East since it was the link between Kufa and Basra. His Eminence addressed Dhi Qar citizens saying, “Your provinces symbolize the ancient history of Iraq and tells the story of its modern history; the lawmaking there started hundreds of years before the Code of Hammurabi could be enacted, such as Code of Ur-Nammu in the Third Dynasty of Ur and Lipit-Ishtar “. He reminded that the Dhi Qar citizens are lawmakers by nature notwithstanding the policy of ignorance, impoverishment, neglect and combating the regimes used to adopt against, fearing their superiority, evolution, advanced education, self-confidence and self-esteem. “Dhi Qar is an important stronghold of Islamic and national intellectual and political movements and a prominent center of sciences, arts and literatures, and will remain a symbol of glory and an Adnanite land and its authentic clans will never give up the course of Rabi’ah”, he continued. His Eminence sees that he is connected to Dhi Qar by kinship, blood and destiny, considering himself one of its people and citizens who were his comrades-in-arms in the past and are today the builders of Iraq. For him, Dhi Qar would always be in the vanguard whenever it had to make sacrifices. He felt sorry that Dhi Qar did not get its due, though many uprisings took place from that province and its men were among the best rebels and leaders. “The name Dhi Qar brings to mind Muhammad Saeed Al Habobi, the master of Mujahideen, who was martyred during the battles against the British occupation in 1914″, he stated.”And no one can disregard the fact that Dhi Qar is renowned through history for its nationalism and its proud and strong men and clans”.