Posted on 01/31/2005 10:30:45 AM PST by SmithL
BERLIN -- The presidents of France and Russia, top opponents of U.S. policy in Iraq, joined world leaders Monday in praising this weekend's landmark Iraqi elections as a success of democracy over terrorism, but the welcome was tempered by concern that Sunni Arabs be included in a future government.
French President Jacques Chirac spoke with President Bush by telephone, saying he was satisfied by the "participation rate and the good technical organization."
"These elections mark an important step in the political reconstruction of Iraq. The strategy of terrorist groups has partly failed," Chirac said, according to a French presidential spokesman.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also praised the elections, calling them "a step in the right direction and a positive event," according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
"The conditions for holding the elections were quite difficult, to put it mildly," Putin said after meeting in the Kremlin with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. "At the same time, I must say that the very fact of it is an important event, maybe a historic event, for the Iraqi people because it is undoubtedly a step toward democratization of the country."
Putin's comments were a far cry from his harsh warning in December that the elections could not be fair amid a continuing U.S.-led occupation.
Iranian government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said the elections were "held freely" but under "difficult circumstances."
He expressed hope the vote would contribute to security in Iraq and hasten the departure of U.S. troops, adding that Shiite-ruled Iran was "ready to cooperate" with the future Iraqi government -- which is likely to be dominated by Shiite Muslims.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Of course they were allowed to vote.
If the Sunnis want to participate in the government, then they should vote instead of strapping bombs to their teenagers.
The Sunni's are Iraq's democrats. "If they choose not to vote, it is someone else's fault." Jesse Jackson needs to git on ova dere.
I didn't recall all this concern from Germany and France when 4 million Evangelical Christians stayed home from the 2000 US elections.
The Sunnis need to bring themselves on board. No one can do it for them.
They should either jump on the train or get off the track. Too-too!
Indeed. I've been shocked at the notion that any person or group of people should expect to participate in a government when they refused to vote their wishes.
I DO hope that the constitution that this assembly draws up will protect the rights of ALL Iraqi's and if it does that, then the Sunni's will be just fine.
One: Sunnis were allowed to vote, but their clerics told them to stay at home, partially in protest of the fact that they "wouldn't be fairly represented" in the new government...this is because with "one-person-one-vote" the Sunni minority will elect fewer reps. (Sunnis were minority sect put in power by Saddam, hated by all, am I correct?) Rather than be made a weak sister in the upcoming democratic (small D) government, the clerics told them to stay home for political power later as they can wail "poor little us! We are being persecuted by the Big Bad Shiites!"
Two: This should ring bells with Republican over here. The Dem's got their asses handed to them on a platter in the last election, and now all the Dems and their Euro-toadies are lecturing the GOP about how important it is to be "inclusive". (That is, "we lost, but it would be unfair of you to take that as permission to actually accomplish anything without our help!")
The Sunnis will next demand a recount, then find several million "previously uncounted" votes and declare victory. Oh, no -- WAIT! That would be the Democrats!
Well said.
The current Sunni attitude is, "If we can't be the slave masters, we won't play."
Fine.
Let them reap what they have sown.
Democrat = Sunni.
The But People (add another "t" at your leisure) are out in full force today.
World leaders welcome high turnout in Iraqi vote
Not all of them:
They don't want to participate in the liberation and rebuilding of Iraq.
So true. What a parallel the Sunnis could have to the Dems here. They lost, will pledge cooperation and unity and then demonstrate pure partisanship by filabustering every piece of legislation the interim government tries to pass. Why is everyone so concerned about them being included, anyway? These are the same guys who blew up shia mosques in a effort to start a civil war!! What should the Iraqi people being saying to them - Thanks??????
Allowed but refused in protest thus they abdicated their place at the table of the free and democratic process. IMHO, they can go screw themselves. Eight million Iraqis spoke.
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