Shiite Good Will May Be Eroding in Iraq
Tuesday January 13, 2004 2:46 PM
The Guardian
By HAMZA HENDAWI
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The good will of Iraq's Shiite majority, so crucial to the success of U.S. policy, may be eroding. Strong opposition by a top Shiite cleric to key parts of a U.S. political blueprint for Iraq and the spread of violent protests in Shiite areas suggest a dangerous trend.
The U.S.-led coalition, which has already dropped one political plan for Iraq in the face of opposition by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, sought to downplay the significance of the cleric's latest objections, saying they were part of a healthy democratic climate in which political and religious leaders freely express their views.
L. Paul Bremer, chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, said Tuesday that implementation of a transition agreement signed in November remained on track and insisted the differences with al-Sistani were only ``technical.''
Appearing on CBS's ``The Early Show,'' Bremer said the use of local caucuses to pick members of a transitional National Assembly - the method denounced by al-Sistani - ``is not as good as an election.'' But, he said, ``There are none of the things that you need to conduct a legitimate and effective election here.''
``We've had over 600 meetings across the country in December to discuss democracy,'' Bremer said. ``Democracy is already afoot in this country and we're going to do a lot to encourage more of it in the next five months.''
Bremer said he has ``great respect'' for al-Sistani, caling him ``a great leader.''
Al-Sistani, who refuses to meet Bremer, hardened his opposition to the plan in comments issued by his office Sunday and repeated in a newspaper advertisement Monday. He demanded the provisional assembly - which will pick an interim government - be chosen by national elections.
He also said the elected assembly should ratify the ``basic law'' - or interim constitution - being drafted by the Iraqi Governing Council and approve security accords governing the continued presence of U.S.-led coalition troops in Iraq beyond July 1.
That is the designated day for the occupation's formal end and the coming to office of a sovereign Iraqi government, under the plan approved by the U.S.-appointed Governing Council on Nov. 13.
Coalition officials say lengthy preparations are needed for any credible election and some members of the Governing Council believe a direct vote held prematurely may not ensure the participation of eligible voters among some 5 million Iraqis living abroad.
Under the November plan, Iraqis will go to the polls twice - early next year to elect delegates to draft a permanent constitution and again before the end of 2005 to elect a government. The provisional assembly that's to select a sovereign government by July 1 will be chosen in caucuses held in Iraq's 18 provinces, according to the November formula.
``The ideal mechanism is an election, which many experts believe is possible to hold within the next months with an acceptable level of transparency and credibility,'' al-Sistani said Sunday.
Shiite Muslims have welcomed Saddam Hussein's ouster despite their misgivings about the Americans, whose arrival delivered them from decades of oppression by Iraq's Sunni Arab minority, to which Saddam belongs. Shiites have generally refrained from attacking U.S. forces, leaving that to the Sunnis. Shiites assume they will soon translate their superior numbers into formal political power.
But the relatively slow pace of reconstruction, soaring unemployment, fuel shortages, inadequate services and widespread charges of corruption have steadily eaten into that goodwill. Al-Sistani's thinly veiled warnings that more violence could beset Iraq if elections are not held may feed the rising frustration.
In Kut, a mainly Shiite city 95 miles southeast of Baghdad, Ukrainian troops fired in the air Monday to disperse about 400 Iraqis who rioted to demand jobs. One Ukrainian soldier, four Iraqi policemen and one protester were wounded.
British troops and Iraqi policemen clashed with Iraqi demonstrators Saturday in the southern, predominantly Shiite city of Amarah, killing six people and injuring 11. People in both cities were protesting the absence of jobs and alleged favoritism by Iraqi authorities in hiring practices.
Many Iraqi Shiites, who revere their top clerics as saints and look to them for guidance in all matters, say they still feel betrayed by the United States for not coming to their aid when they rose in 1991 against Saddam, whose army killed tens of thousands of them. They say they would take up arms against the Americans if clerics like al-Sistani so order.
etc.
Tuesday January 13, 2004 2:46 PM
The Guardian
By HAMZA HENDAWI
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The good will of Iraq's Shiite majority, so crucial to the success of U.S. policy, may be eroding. Strong opposition by a top Shiite cleric to key parts of a U.S. political blueprint for Iraq and the spread of violent protests in Shiite areas suggest a dangerous trend.
The U.S.-led coalition, which has already dropped one political plan for Iraq in the face of opposition by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, sought to downplay the significance of the cleric's latest objections, saying they were part of a healthy democratic climate in which political and religious leaders freely express their views.
L. Paul Bremer, chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, said Tuesday that implementation of a transition agreement signed in November remained on track and insisted the differences with al-Sistani were only ``technical.''
Appearing on CBS's ``The Early Show,'' Bremer said the use of local caucuses to pick members of a transitional National Assembly - the method denounced by al-Sistani - ``is not as good as an election.'' But, he said, ``There are none of the things that you need to conduct a legitimate and effective election here.''
``We've had over 600 meetings across the country in December to discuss democracy,'' Bremer said. ``Democracy is already afoot in this country and we're going to do a lot to encourage more of it in the next five months.''
Bremer said he has ``great respect'' for al-Sistani, caling him ``a great leader.''
Al-Sistani, who refuses to meet Bremer, hardened his opposition to the plan in comments issued by his office Sunday and repeated in a newspaper advertisement Monday. He demanded the provisional assembly - which will pick an interim government - be chosen by national elections.
He also said the elected assembly should ratify the ``basic law'' - or interim constitution - being drafted by the Iraqi Governing Council and approve security accords governing the continued presence of U.S.-led coalition troops in Iraq beyond July 1.
That is the designated day for the occupation's formal end and the coming to office of a sovereign Iraqi government, under the plan approved by the U.S.-appointed Governing Council on Nov. 13.
Coalition officials say lengthy preparations are needed for any credible election and some members of the Governing Council believe a direct vote held prematurely may not ensure the participation of eligible voters among some 5 million Iraqis living abroad.
Under the November plan, Iraqis will go to the polls twice - early next year to elect delegates to draft a permanent constitution and again before the end of 2005 to elect a government. The provisional assembly that's to select a sovereign government by July 1 will be chosen in caucuses held in Iraq's 18 provinces, according to the November formula.
``The ideal mechanism is an election, which many experts believe is possible to hold within the next months with an acceptable level of transparency and credibility,'' al-Sistani said Sunday.
Shiite Muslims have welcomed Saddam Hussein's ouster despite their misgivings about the Americans, whose arrival delivered them from decades of oppression by Iraq's Sunni Arab minority, to which Saddam belongs. Shiites have generally refrained from attacking U.S. forces, leaving that to the Sunnis. Shiites assume they will soon translate their superior numbers into formal political power.
But the relatively slow pace of reconstruction, soaring unemployment, fuel shortages, inadequate services and widespread charges of corruption have steadily eaten into that goodwill. Al-Sistani's thinly veiled warnings that more violence could beset Iraq if elections are not held may feed the rising frustration.
In Kut, a mainly Shiite city 95 miles southeast of Baghdad, Ukrainian troops fired in the air Monday to disperse about 400 Iraqis who rioted to demand jobs. One Ukrainian soldier, four Iraqi policemen and one protester were wounded.
British troops and Iraqi policemen clashed with Iraqi demonstrators Saturday in the southern, predominantly Shiite city of Amarah, killing six people and injuring 11. People in both cities were protesting the absence of jobs and alleged favoritism by Iraqi authorities in hiring practices.
Many Iraqi Shiites, who revere their top clerics as saints and look to them for guidance in all matters, say they still feel betrayed by the United States for not coming to their aid when they rose in 1991 against Saddam, whose army killed tens of thousands of them. They say they would take up arms against the Americans if clerics like al-Sistani so order.
etc.
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