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Robert Fisk on Iraq Elections: Iraqis Voting for "Freedom
From Foreign Occupation"
Candidates on Kurdish Electoral Slate Include Former Baathists
Iraqi in Baghdad: "The Election Was Shoved Down Our
Throats"
British MP George Galloway: Elections in Occupied Iraq "Flawed
Beyond Redemption"
Occupied Elections: Journalist Christian Parenti on Voting
from Afghanistan to Iraq
Robert Fisk on Iraq Elections: Iraqis Voting for
"Freedom From Foreign Occupation"
A day after elections in Iraq, we go to Baghdad to speak
with Robert Fisk, chief Middle East correspondent for the
London Independent. Fisk says, "What this election has
done is not actually a demonstration of people who demand
democracy, but they want freedom of a different kind, freedom
to vote, but also freedom from foreign occupation. And if
they are betrayed in this, then we are going to look back
and regret the broken promises.
Millions of Iraqis turned out to cast ballots Sunday in the
country's first multi-party elections in half a century.
At least 44 people were killed and over 100 wounded in suicide
bombings, shootings and mortar attacks. The attacks came amid
unprecedented levels of security - including shoot-on-sight
curfews, closed foreign borders, a ban on cars and travel
restrictions within Iraq.
Iraqi voters headed to more than 30,000 polling stations
set up across the country, with the polling beginning at 7
a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. Election officials originally said
72 percent of the country's 13 million registered voters turned
out to vote. They later revised the number to 8 million, or
just over 60 percent.
With foreign monitors mostly staying away for fear of kidnapping,
it was difficult to assess the fairness of the election or
accuracy of the turnout estimates. But the U.N.'s electoral
adviser in Iraq, Carlos Valenzuela, said he was encouraged
by early indications.
Meanwhile in at a news conference in Washington, President
Bush hailed the elections as a resounding success.
- President Bush, White House press conference, January
30, 2005.
President Bush speaking yesterday at the White House. While
officials in Washington hailed the Iraq elections as a resounding
success in democracy, there was a marked division in voting
turnout within the country. The turnout was high in Shia and
Kurdish-dominated regions, but in Sunni areas the number of
voters was much lower. In Samarra for example, streets were
reportedly deserted and fewer than 1,400 ballots were cast
by a population of 200,000. Tens of thousands of Iraqi expatriates
in 14 other countries also voted.
Iraqis were electing a 275-member transitional National Assembly,
which will draft a new constitution, and pick the country's
next president and two vice presidents. The president, in
turn, will select a prime minister. Preliminary results are
expected in about six days, with a full result not due for
10 days.
Robert Fisk, chief Middle East correspondent for the London
Independent, writes in his latest article, "It was the
sight of thousands of Shias, the women in black "hijab"
covering, the men in leather jackets or long robes, the children
toddling beside them, that took the breath away. If Osama
bin Laden had called these elections an apostasy, many did
not heed his Wahabi threats. They came to claim their rightful
power in the land - that is why Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani,
the grand marja of the Shias of Iraq, told them to vote -
and woe betide the US and British if they do not get it."
- Robert Fisk, chief Middle East correspondent for the
London Independent.
Candidates on Kurdish Electoral Slate Include Former
Baathists
Kurds - who make up about 20% of Iraq's population - voted
in large numbers in Sunday's elections. Pacifica reporter
Aaron Glantz files a report from Irbil, the regional capital
of Iraqi Kurdistan.
While voter turnout was extremely low in Sunni areas of Iraq,
it was a different story in the Kurdish north. Kurds make
up about 20% of Iraq's population and they voted in large
numbers in yesterday's elections. In addition to choosing
a National Assembly and governing councils in the 18 provinces,
Kurdish voters will also select a national legislature.
Pacifica reporter Aaron Glantz was in Iraqi Kurdistan during
the elections. He filed this report.
- Aaron Glantz, Pacifica journalist reporting from Irbil,
Iraq.
Iraqi in Baghdad: "The Election Was Shoved Down
Our Throats"
To get an Iraqi perspective on the election, we go to Baghdad
to speak with retired Iraqi engineer Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar. Mukhtar
says, "What do I do with democracy? Does it allow me
to walk across the street without being feared of being kidnapped
or being shot at or being mugged or being stolen? Would democracy
feed my children? Would democracy allow me to quench my thirst?
The U.S. has not done anything at all to improve the life
of Iraqi people."
To get an Iraqi perspective on the elections we turn now
to retired Iraqi engineer Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar. We have spoken
to Ghazwan at key points during the invasion and occupation
of Iraq. One the first anniversary of the invasion, the first
siege of Fallujah and the so-called transfer of sovereignty
on June 28. Today we get his thoughts on the elections in
Iraq. Just before the program, we reached Ghazwan Al Mukhtar
at his home in Baghdad.
- Ghazwan Al-Mukhtar, retired Iraqi engineer.
British MP George Galloway: Elections in Occupied
Iraq "Flawed Beyond Redemption"
British MP George Galloway responds to the Iraqi elections
and discusses his victory over various British newspapers
which were forced to print retractions of earlier reports
that he had received secret payments from Saddam Hussein.
The elections in Iraq have been hailed as a resounding success
by both President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In a brief statement at 10 Downing Street, Blair said: "Democracy
in Iraq is not just good for Iraq itself. It is also a blow
right to the heart of the global terrorism that threatens
destruction not just in Iraq but in Britain and virtually
every major country around the world."
Not all British government officials feel the same way. Scottish
MP George Galloway has been one of the most vocal critics
of the Iraq war. He was expelled from the ruling Labour Party
in October 2003 after he was accused of encouraging British
troops to disobey what he called "illegal orders".
This past weekend, I was in England and Ireland as part of
the international "Exception to the Rulers" book
tour. Yesterday in London, I met up with George Galloway outside
of BBC studios. I asked him about his thoughts on the Iraq
elections.
- George Galloway, British MP.
Occupied Elections: Journalist Christian Parenti
on Voting from Afghanistan to Iraq
We speak with Christian Parenti, correspondent for The Nation
magazine and author of the new book, The Freedom: Shadows
and Hallucinations in Occupied Iraq.
- Christian Parenti, correspondent for the Nation Magazine
and author of "The Freedom: Shadows and Hallucinations
in Occupied Iraq."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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