Iraq's top Shiite cleric refuses to meet Bremer

A spokesman for the Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Sistani rejected any contact between the Ayatollah and American occupiers, UAE's al-Bayan newspaper said on its website Saturday, quoting Abdolmehdi Karbalaei, the Ayatollah's spokesman. 

Speaking to people gathered for Friday prayers, the spokesman noted that the Iraqi cleric refuses any meeting with the American governer, Paul Bremer, or any other American official. "Americans are not trustworthy, because they have occupied Iraq," he said. 

© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)