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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Under Syria's watchful eye, voters sample democracy |
| 2005-01-30 |
| The buses stopped a few yards away from the polling center and dozens of men and women spilled out. Carrying Iraqi flags, they started chanting: "We are proud of Iraq. . . . Kick all the evil people out and Iraq is the best place in the world." As they marched toward the entrance of the station, the Iraqis, including a couple of turbaned clerics, started clapping. A few women were crying. "I have never voted in 60 years, this is the happiest day in my life," said a woman who gave her name as Layal. "I've been living in Lebanon since 1986 and I hope that my vote today will bring me one step closer to going home to Iraq." For the second time in just over a week, this group of Iraqis had traveled from neighboring Lebanon, first to register and, yesterday, to cast their ballots. One man had brought his young children with him and said he wanted them to witness this "historic day." The scene was viewed with some apparent unease by nearby Syrian security agents, who are not used to such spontaneous, popular outbursts. Syria remains a tightly controlled country, ruled by the Ba'ath party. Syria is one of 14 countries where Iraqis have been casting ballots since Friday. In Damascus, they did so under the watchful eyes of Syria's president, Bashar Assad, whose picture, along with that of his late father Hafez, hangs in every classroom. But outside the schools, in neighborhoods with large Iraqi communities, hundreds of posters of Iraqi candidates from a dizzying range of political and religious backgrounds lined the walls. The pictures illustrated the choice available to Iraqis now that the Ba'ath party no longer rules Iraq, but it made the Syrians acutely aware of the lack of variety they have in their own elections. It's perhaps to try to avoid this rare exercise in democracy on their territory, albeit by proxy, that Syrian authorities first appeared sluggish in approving the Iraqi polls in Damascus. The agreement with the International Organization for Migration, which organized the absentee vote, was only signed on Jan. 2, weeks after preparations for the polls had started in the other 13 countries. "The Syrians expressed their political will to support the Iraqi elections, but it took them some time to understand the operational needs," said Luis Martinez-Betanzos, head of the IOM's operation in Syria. "This is a new exercise for them, but since the agreement cooperation has been excellent." Billboards from the IOM calling on Iraqis to register were displayed on the main streets of Damascus, and lists of polling stations as well instructions to Iraqi voters were published in the state-controlled newspaper. Heavy security was deployed near the polling stations and nearby streets were closed off. But coverage by the local state-controlled media was minimal... Syria has as much to fear from a democratic Iraq as from an unstable one. The United States has repeatedly accused Damascus of trying to stop the emergence of a stable Iraq by encouraging the insurgency against American troops. Syria denies the allegations and says that chaos in Iraq is not to its advantage, as the violence could eventually spill across the border. Other Arab governments are also watching today's election warily. One main worry is the rise of a Shi'ite state. Sunni Gulf rulers are worried the vote will embolden Shi'ite minorities in their own countries, from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. King Abdullah of Jordan even openly raised the specter of a "Shi'ite crescent" from Iran to Lebanon through Iraq and Syria. The king has accused Iran, where Shi'ites are in the majority, of trying to influence elections in Iraq, an allegation denied by Tehran... It isn't Shiites you should be worrying about. Democracy can spread faster than influenza. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #4 --The king has accused Iran, where Shi’ites are in the majority, of trying to influence elections in Iraq, an allegation denied by Tehran...-- Then it's in your best interest that they give up the nukes, isn't it? |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2005-01-30 9:27:07 PM |
| #3 Depends, I think, on the veracity of the ballots which are in the hands of the Syrians and Iranians. Would anyone with 2 neurons to rub together believe they would not tamper, at the very least, or more likely replace the ballots with a set heavily favoring whichever parties are actually agents of the Mad Mullahs? I believe all of the "expat" voting is bullshit and insane. Consider who was allowed to go abroad in large numbers... first and foremost: faithful Ba'athists, second: Sunnis. The odd exile, such as Allawi himself, were one-offs, not a large community. I worked with an Iraqi in Saudi at Aramco - he was allowed to study abroad, decided to stay abroad, and was working toward getting his family out - this was pre-Iraq War. Now he can get them out with ease, etc. His family are the proverbial faithful Ba'athist Sunnis from a tribe allied with Saddam in the Baghdad area. Even though he has acquired some Western-ish phrases (He loves to say "bloody hell", for instance...) and loves freedom - he would vote for the restoration of power to those who would favor his family. Period. Full stop. The quickest way to find out if that Arab friend of yours, who seems so Western and modern and all gushy about freedom and rights and such, is your peer or not - just ask him about Palestine. Stand back and have a towel handy. They spittle really flies. Sorry to burst so many bubbles, for your "friends" are not rational, on average. They have been permanently indoctrinated from Day One. Their children (or grand children) might be rational, but only if you take them away and raise them sans the Islamic / Arab indoctrination. Life's a real bitch, at times. Eventually, the West will realize the nasty fact: you have to either take their children away at birth, or fry 'em up. Otherwise, the shit will go on exactly as it has for century upon century, age upon age. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-01-30 5:38:36 PM |
| #2 Shhhh, Richard. LOL |
| Posted by: true nuff 2005-01-30 5:35:31 PM |
| #1 I really want to know something. The Iraqi expats in Syria and Iran got to vote. Syria and Iran are our enemies. Syria and Iran are threatened by democracy in Iraq. Whose balls got twisted how to force those two countries to cooperate in their own destruction? |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2005-01-30 5:24:01 PM |