|
Iraqi Minister Says Election Delay Might Be Needed
Iraqi Defense Minister Hazim Al-Shaalan said yesterday he favored delaying elections beyond Jan. 30 if Sunni Muslims are not planning to take part.
| Do you intend to delay them forever if they never take part? |
Shaalan, in Cairo for medical treatment, told reporters that Iraq was asking Egypt to intervene to try to persuade the Sunnis to vote. He was speaking after talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. "If there is any difficulty in them (Sunnis) taking part, then the question of postponing them (the elections) for another period arises. That I believe is the safest and most proper way so that all sectors and the full spectrum of Iraqi society can take part in elections on one day," he said.
| I, on the other hand, feel that when a segment of the population digs in its heels and announces that elections are un-Islamic and that they're not going to vote and they'll kill anyone who tries to vote, they should be taken at their word. And exterminated. |
Several Iraqi groups, mainly Sunnis, have argued in favor of postponing the elections. The once-privileged minority faces the prospect of the vote cementing the newfound political power of the long-oppressed Shiite majority. But Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, like Shaalan a secular Shiite, has said he wants the elections to go ahead on time. Shiites, led by Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, their most influential cleric, have also insisted the polls go ahead, as have the United States and Shiite neighbor Iran.
Posted by: Fred 2005-01-04 |
