Jordan Times
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Jordan meeting to rally support for Iraqi elections
AMMAN — Today's meeting of Iraq's six neighbouring countries seeks to rally full support and backing to efforts by the violence-torn country to make elections a success, officials said Wednesday.
“The conference intends to express full support to the Iraqi government's strive to ensure that the upcoming elections will be held in an appropriate and transparent manner and that the political process moves smoothly,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Rajab Sukayri told The Jordan Times. Sukayri said the one-day conference — which brings together foreign ministers of Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — would not go into the details of the electoral process, but rather focus on extending support.
Foreign ministers of Egypt, Bahrain and UN special envoy Ashraf Qazi will also join the meeting.
Iran officially confirmed its participation in the meeting, but announced that its Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi would not attend and that a lower-level delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister for International and Legal Affairs Ghulam Ali Khoshro would take part.
News reports said Kharrazi's decision not to attend the conference was in response to accusations that Tehran is meddling in Iraq's affairs and trying to influence the upcoming elections to create what officials described as a “Shiite crescent” extending from Iraq to Lebanon. News reports claimed that a large number of Iranians, estimated at more than one million, have been entering Iraq over the past months in order to take part in the upcoming elections. These reports said those who entered Iraq were carrying food ration cards, which according to informed sources, entitle them to obtain voting permits or cards. Iran has rejected there was interference in Iraq's affairs or attempts to influence a Shiite victory in the elections. Upon his arrival in Amman, Khoshro reiterated hope the conference would help smooth out the electoral process in Iraq, saying that “all neighbouring countries look forward to a secure and stable Iraq, which can only be achieved through elections.” Foreign Minister Hani Mulki on Tuesday repeated fears that an Iranian-style Islamic government could be established in Iraq following elections and warned that religion and politics were incompatible. “We are not accusing the Iranian government.
We said that politicising religion is dangerous for both religion and Arabism...When we talk about a Shiite crescent, we are talking about a non-Arab religious rule,” Mulki said in Lebanon. According to one diplomat, Mulki was cautioning against attempts to use religion for political purposes. “This has been Jordan's principle and position all along and we have been clear about it,” the diplomat said. According to a government official, a proposed communiqué that will be issued at the end of the conference will stress on preserving Iraq's Arab identity and territorial integrity. It will also call on all Iraqis to be part of the democratic process and shape the future of their country by voting. A draft of the eight-article communiqué, of which The Jordan Times obtained a copy, also reiterates the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of any country as stated in the United Nations Charter and places special emphasis on the UN's role in supporting Iraq's political process. The communiqué, which supports all measures taken by Iraq's interim government to ensure successful elections and democracy, also condemns acts of violence including kidnapping and assassinations of members of local and international NGOs. Ministers and diplomatic envoys began pouring into the Kingdom earlier Wednesday to take part in a preliminary gathering in the evening to discuss the proposed final communiqué.