MESSAGE
| DATE | 2005-08-20 |
| FROM | From: "Steve Milo"
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Message to Texas .... and this is how it happens
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This ofcourse runs counter to why the sunni's originally boycotted the elections. Unfortunately everyone played into the hands of the religious zealots to embed religion into the constitution.
Steve
> To a degree the sunni clerics were right, if there is no speration of church and state the constitution and in larger scheme of things the government may very well be a farce.
>
> Steve M
>
> > Next Time, Sunnis Intend to Be Heard
> > * Many regret boycotting the parliamentary election in Iraq. They say
> > they won’t repeat the mistake when it comes to a new constitution.
> > By Edmund Sanders, Times Staff Writer
> >
> > BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Suhail Najim spent Iraq's last Election Day holed up at
> > home, watching television and joining other Sunni Muslims who boycotted
> > the polls to protest the presence of U.S. troops in his country.
> >
> > Today the former tourism official is so eager to vote, he has visited
> > three registration sites to ensure his name is on the rolls for the
> > planned October referendum on a new constitution.
> >
> > ADVERTISEMENT
> > Click Here
> > "It's such a huss and fuss," said an exasperated Najim, 56, after being
> > sent from one polling center in his predominantly Sunni neighborhood in
> > Baghdad, the capital, to another one nearby. "But I'll go. I'll do it,"
> > he vowed, adding that leaders at his mosque had urged him to sign up.
> > "This time I want to be sure to vote."
> >
> > In stark contrast to the Jan. 30 parliamentary election, when Sunni Arab
> > turnout was as low as 2 percent in some areas, Iraq's once-ruling ethnic
> > minority is mobilizing for a much stronger showing this time around.
> >
> > The January boycott, now viewed as a political blunder, left Sunni Arabs
> > underrepresented in the National Assembly and with a limited role in the
> > committee charged with crafting the new constitution. Instead, both
> > bodies have been dominated by Shiites and Kurds.
> >
> > Determined to regain some of their clout, leading Sunni Muslim clerics
> > who once called elections under occupation a "farce" and condemned
> > voting as an act against Islam, are now using the same mosque pulpits to
> > urge followers to register.
> >
> > On Friday, Sheik Mohammad Salih, cleric at Baghdad's Bilal al-Habishi
> > mosque and once a staunch critic of elections, called upon "every honest
> > and honorable Iraqi citizen to go to these centers and register," and
> > then to "participate in the elections and referendum with enthusiasm."
> >
> > The Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's leading Sunni Arab political
> > party, has dropped its previous boycott and is pushing an aggressive
> > get-out-the-vote campaign, blanketing its newspaper and broadcast
> > outlets with information about registration, lobbying tribal leaders and
> > passing out registration pamphlets door-to-door.
> >
> > Party officials are even pressing for permission to set up a
> > registration booth inside Abu Ghraib prison, where they are betting that
> > the votes of thousands of detainees -- mostly young, Sunni Arab men --
> > will swing in their favor.
> >
> > "We are making a great effort to push people to register," said Alaa
> > Makki, a senior party official.
> >
> > But the new push among some Sunnis to participate in the elections is
> > being met with violent resistance.
> >
> > In Mosul on Friday, eight carloads of gunmen kidnapped three Iraqi
> > Islamic Party members as they were hanging voter-registration posters..
> > After driving to the public square, the gunmen cursed the party
> > officials as "infidels" and "defectors of Islam" before shooting all
> > three to death in front of horrified bystanders, witnesses said.
> >
> > A day earlier in Ramadi, the governor of Al Anbar province and other
> > Sunni leaders came under fire by unidentified attackers as they entered
> > a mosque for a meeting about the upcoming election. Four were injured..
> >
> > In Samarra recently, Sunni neighborhoods have been receiving dueling
> > fliers from groups claiming to represent insurgents, some threatening to
> > attack anyone registering to vote and others condemning the election but
> > vowing not to harm civilians who participate.
> >
> > The Muslim Scholars Association, a conservative group of clerics,
> > refuses to endorse a vote as long as U.S. troops remain in Iraq.
> >
> > "Our stand (on the illegitimacy of elections) has not changed," said
> > Sheik Husham Barony, spokesman for the group's Mosul chapter. "But this
> > time we are leaving it up to the people to decide. We will not interfere
> > with the decision to participate or not."
> >
> > Iraqi Islamic Party officials said they have been attempting to
> > negotiate with Sunni-based insurgent groups, urging them to halt
> > election-related attacks and trying to convince them that a strong Sunni
> > turnout is vital.
> >
> > "We are trying to get them to stop the attacks, at least during the
> > registration period, and show them that (voter registration) could even
> > be helpful for the opposition," Makki said.
> >
> > At stake is Iraq's first democratic constitution in about 50 years.
> > Political leaders have been debating the contents of the historic
> > document, which is supposed to be finalized Monday and submitted to
> > Iraqi voters for approval on Oct. 15.
> >
> > Although the draft is not yet complete, Sunni leaders say they will
> > refuse to accept certain proposed elements, such as semi-autonomy for
> > the Shiite-dominated south or special recognition of Shiite religious
> > leaders.
> >
> > To defeat the constitution, Sunnis must persuade two-thirds of voters in
> > at least three of Iraq's 18 provinces to mark their ballots "no." If
> > Sunnis stay home, the constitution probably would pass because the
> > document is expected to have strong support among majority Shiites as
> > well as Kurds.
> >
> > Election officials say they are encouraged by the growing participation
> > by Sunnis and doing what they can to support it.
> >
> > Among the four provinces that have received the highest number of
> > registration forms, two have large Sunni Arab populations: Salahuddin,
> > home of Saddam Hussein's birthplace of Tikrit, and Diayla, which
> > includes the insurgent hotspots of Baqubah and Samarah. The other two
> > areas with high participation are the northern province of Al Tamim,
> > which has a mix of Kurdish, Turkman and Arab residents and includes the
> > city of Kirkuk, and the predominantly Shiite southern province of
> > Maysan.
> >
> > Security remains a hurdle in bringing Sunni Arabs to the polls,
> > particularly in Al Anbar province. Violence and the U.S. military
> > presence in Fallujah prevented more than half of the city's registration
> > centers from opening until this weekend, according to election
> > commission spokesman Fareed Ayar. As a result, fewer than 150 people had
> > filled out registration forms as of Wednesday. But Ayar said he expected
> > a surge in the second half of the month.
> >
> > To address security concerns, tribal leaders in Al Anbar agreed to
> > provide 20 security guards at each registration center, and U.S.
> > military commanders promised to steer clear of polling sites to avoid
> > alienating potential voters, election officials said.
> >
> > Voter registration is scheduled to end Aug. 31, but Sunni leaders have
> > requested an extension for areas that got a late start.
> >
> > Despite the threats of violence, many Sunni Arabs vow to cast their
> > votes Oct. 15 and say they regret their decision to boycott the last
> > election.
> >
> > "I didn't realize the consequences," said Litfi Saad, 44, a contractor
> > in Mosul, interviewed at a polling center. "Even if it's dangerous, it's
> > worth the sacrifice (to vote)."
> >
> >
>
>
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