January 29, 2005

From Friends of Democracy. No substitute for elections. Is there a single Iraqi, except the stooges of the Baathist regime, who can pretend he had somewhat of a “life” in the days of the Baath? Certainly not. The majority of Iraqis were continuously living in fear throughout the whole country. For no apparent reason, any Iraqi could be a target of the “noble deeds” of the leader and his henchmen: assassination, arrest, exile, humiliation, terror and similar “blessings” by the “inspired leadership”. The calamity was that the entire Iraqi people had no way of expressing their views or deciding their future, not even to anticipate what lies ahead. No criticism of any sort was permitted, even if it did not touch the government or the dictator. Any person doing such or even thinking of doing it would not only be killed, but his family would also pay the price; they could be killed, jailed, or tortured. The average Iraqi was denied basic human rights granted by all religions and laws. These were monopolized by the “rotten” Baath leaders and their henchmen who lost all human feelings and turned into beasts, robbers and executors of orders coming from the top. It was easy for them to kill hundreds of innocent Iraqis with no pity or remorse. Nobody wants History to repeat itself. Nobody wants to see a new Saddam addressing “the great people of Iraq” on television, while at the same time crushing and humiliating them. Iraqis will not accept being ruled by a man whose intentions and goals are obscure, or by a leader not chosen by them. The times of suspicious coups are over, and the eyes of the Iraqis will remain open to any attempt that might put Iraq in peril. Iraqis will bear their historical responsibility towards God and future generations. If not, eternal curse will fall upon them. The first step along this Holy road is elections. Enemies of Iraq do not want them to take place, but Iraqis, despite all scoundrels, will take part in elections, so as not to be ruled by a new despot, to gain their independence without bloodshed, to preserve their security and national unity and to ensure a free, secure and stable life for them and their children. Security is still precarious, even now that power has been handed over to the Iraqis (has it really?), and for reasons partly obvious and partly mysterious. We can say that three factions bear responsibility: The first faction is the occupation forces, the second is the interim government, and the third is countries neighboring Iraq from all sides. The mere presence of occupation forces is a legitimate justification for suspicious resistance operations which have enormously harmed the Iraqi people, while occupying forces have only to protect themselves. They justify their presence (so they pretend), by the need to establish democracy in Iraq, form a legitimate government and reconstruct the country. To eliminate these excuses, we have to hold democratic, free and honest elections with the participation of all citizens as a first step towards building a democratic Iraq, writing a permanent constitution for a post-Saddam Iraq in addition to forming a strong legitimate government that draws its power and legitimacy from all Iraqis once they make their choice in the polls. This government must absolutely not forget or marginalize the reconstruction of Iraq and the rebuilding of its infrastructure. As for the interim government, which did not succeed in preserving security during its tenure – from the day it was named by the occupying power until now – it cannot, in any case, be better than a legitimate elected government. This situation can also apply to neighboring countries and Iraq’s political relationship with them. The instability actually present at the borders and the impossibility of securing them, offer an opportunity to certain neighbors - and even non-neighbors - to fill Iraq with terrorist networks and to ignite a confessional or ethnic war, which will lead to complete disintegration of the country. All this will end when a strong legitimate government takes over and applies measures to correct this miserable situation. Iraq has always been, is now, and will always be a united country that cannot be disintegrated. Similar to other countries, it comprises a mixture of religions, races and groups. Never did it happen that two factions fought each other in Iraq. Those who holler in satellite stations and in the media about the future war that will burn Iraq are only actors in a vile, mischievous plot that will never succeed in destroying the Iraqi liberation project. The elections experience is the greatest experience Iraq will go through in its modern history. There is no substitute for it. 9:28:27 AM