Baghdad, Aug 05: Baghdad officials feted Iraq's Asian
Cup win with music and dancing for a second day at the city's
most fortified compound on Saturday before their heroes beat a quick
exit from the war-torn nation.
Youth and Sports Minister Jassem Jaafar hosted
politicians and dignitaries at a party for the team at a
luxury hotel inside Baghdad's green zone, the often-shelled
city district that houses the Iraqi government and US Embassy.
Guests cheered to the beat of folk music, waved giant
Iraqi flags and congratulated the squad on last Sunday's
victory that has been celebrated as a rare moment of national
solidarity by most of Iraq's war-weary population.
But as with homecoming festivities yesterday, ordinary
Iraqis were kept at bay. Instead, government officials,
members of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, football officials and
lawmakers were prominent among the crowd.
President Jalal Talabani expressed hope that the victory
would encourage politicians to unite against the discord that
saw the largest Sunni bloc withdraw from the Shiite-dominated
government on Wednesday.
"This victory will help to patch up and strengthen
alliances between groups on the basis of national
reconciliation," he told a separate news conference.
But just hours later, various squad members flew out of
Iraq, bound for the relative peace of Jordan and other Arab
states where many of them play their club football far from
the killing fields of home.
Bureau Report
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