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| Iraq |
| US must quit Iraq before vote, say Sunnis |
| 2004-01-26 |
| An influential Sunni Muslim group in Iraq said yesterday it was opposed to partial elections scheduled for the summer and wanted a vote taken only when American forces had left the country. The opposition of the newly organised Council for Sunnis in Iraq represents another dilemma for the US-led administration in Baghdad, which is already under pressure to rewrite its political programme in Iraq a second time. This isn’t a dilemma, it’s an opportunity. We can teach the Sunnis the elemental parts of cause-and-effect. Earlier this month, officials at the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) began to reconsider their idea of regional caucuses to select a new government because of criticism from a powerful Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who demanded democratic direct elections. At the same time, the authority must balance the mounting frustration of the Sunni community, which although smaller than the Shia, has traditionally formed the ruling class and feels excluded from the political process. Only way to get the power back is civil war, and that won’t happen while we’re there. Sabah al-Qaisi, one of the founders of the Sunni council, told the Guardian that his members would not accept any elections organised by the US-led authority. "That’s ’cause we’re a minority and we want our power back!" The council, formed last month, is one of the first political groups to have emerged to represent the Sunni community since the Baath party was outlawed last year. It comprises around 160 Sunni clerics, from moderates to extreme Islamists, although it cannot claim to speak for the entire community. I doubt they can speak for all 160 of them. "Trying to push the Sunnis away from their political rights will leave the country in a mess," said Mr Qaisi, a cleric who spent two years and three months in jail under Saddam Hussein for following the hardline Salafi school of Islam. "We want real, free and decent elections. Elections under occupation are not the correct way to do it. We want the Americans to leave and then we will hold elections." Demands for democratic elections by a Salafist? What’s next, charity from a banker? One of the reasons that the CPA has said it is impractical to hold direct elections in Iraq this summer is the poor security situation. Military commanders say that insurgents are expected to launch attacks to disrupt the process. Polling stations in the Sunni heartland north and west of Baghdad, which has proved the most violent area of Iraq, are likely to be particularly vulnerable. That might further discourage Sunnis from voting and produce a government even more heavily weighted in favour of the Shias. Awwwh, wouldn’t that be too bad? "Because of the security situation, I am telling you the elections will not succeed," said Mr Qaisi. "There will not be elections and the Sunnis will not participate in any elections." No problem, you won’t mind a new parliament that’s 65% Shi’a and 35% Kurd. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 Don't get your rag in an uproar, pal. It's just the Shi'a - it could be worse. If the horris Sufis got in, why, they might MOCK you or somethin', and then your head would probably explode from humiliation... |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-1-26 11:51:34 AM |
| #5 Time for a good old sack party for Sistani, Kadr, and the likes of Qaisi. |
| Posted by: Hyper 2004-1-26 10:52:30 AM |
| #4 Next the Kurds will be making election demands too? This is a direct result of our not telling Sistani to STFU. We have not struck sufficient fear into them to gain necessary respect. |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-1-26 8:39:28 AM |
| #3 It's not hard to imagine a future in which the Sunnis are begging us for protection from the Kurds and Shia's. "Your transmission is breaking up, Fallujah. Say again." |
| Posted by: Matt 2004-1-26 7:48:10 AM |
| #2 "...wanted a vote taken only when American forces had left the country." This makes me think that they don't want elections,since the removal of U.S. troops would leave the Sunies surounded by the Kurds and Shias with one hell of a mean axe to grind. |
| Posted by: Raptor 2004-1-26 7:25:56 AM |
| #1 Clueless! is entirely inadequate to describe these people. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2004-1-26 5:25:19 AM |