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News Analysis
By
Hassan Hadad
August 12, 2004
- At the request of the UN,
the Iraqi government delayed the National Conference, which was scheduled for July 31,
by two weeks. The UN is applying considerable pressure
on the conference organisers to ignore the results of
recent elections, conducted around Iraq to select 550
of the 1000 representatives for the conference. The UN
is not happy with the fact that the majority of winning
candidates are Shia Arab, although in a country which
is two-thirds Shia this doesn't seem to be that surprising.
Instead, the UN is trying to force Iraq to ignore election
results and accept candidates of the UN's choosing - notably
excluding many election winners and considerably reducing
Shia participation. If the UN is allowed to get away with
this then Iraqis will lose faith in future elections and
the entire democratic process.
On a more positive note,
the small round of elections that took place to select
candidates for the conference were successfully conducted
in every city in Iraq, including hotspots such as Fallujah,
Al-Ramadi and Tikrit. This is encouraging news for Iraq's
upcoming January elections and it weakens arguments
that elections cannot take place in volatile regions.
-
The interim Iraqi Government
and Coalition have been caught in a catch-22 of their
own making, as battles rage on in Najaf and other cities
with Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army. If excessive force is used against the
Mehdi Army a significant portion of Iraqi society will
be alienated and turn against the government and the
Coalition. However, the militiamen cannot be allowed
to continue to cause such unrest if lawlessness is to
be averted. This continuing problem was created by the
active exclusion of all Sadr followers, who possibly
make up the largest single group in Iraqi society, from
all central and local government posts by the US-led
Coalition since Saddam's fall despite the fact that
Moqtada was very positive of the US-led Coalition before
July 2003.
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Continued focused unrest
in the Northern Triangle has reiterated the failures
of re-Ba'athification, which was an attempt to compromise
with terrorists to try and calm the situation, as bombings, kidnappings and executions have shown. This tactic only brings back
former regime members who are soaked with innocent blood
and disregard any efforts to maintain public safety.
Church bombings exemplify the disrespect that Ba'athists and
Wahabi terrorists have for Iraqis of any religion and
culture.
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