Jordan Times
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
King says Iraqi
elections to back Arab reform
By Mahmoud Al Abed with agency dispatches
HIS MAJESTY KING Abdullah on Monday said he was
optimistic about the future of Iraq and the entire region, following Sunday's
landmark elections in the eastern neighbour.
“What we saw yesterday [Sunday] in Iraq is a positive thing. I think it is a
thing that will set a good tone for the Middle East and I'm very optimistic,”
King Abdullah told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an interview (see
full text).
“Well, I think Christiane we can say a hearty congratulations to all Iraqis. I
think everybody is very pleased with the turnout and it seemed to have been a
very successful day for Iraqis.”
But the King said Iraqi Sunnis were still “marginalised” and the new leadership
must do what it can to engage them in the political process and make sure that
the new constitution, to be drafted by the elected parliament, is inclusive.
“This new government... is responsible for drafting the new Iraqi constitution.
So, we want this to be inclusive and we want a process that includes all sectors
of Iraqi society. And, as you well know, this is one elections, but the one is
more important is scheduled for the end of this year in December which will come
closer to a permanent face to what Iraq government structure would look like,”
he said.
The King said the Iraqi elections, the first multiparty polls in 50 years, are
to back reform in the Arab region.
“People are waking up [in the region], leaders are understanding that they have
to push reform forward and I don't think that there's any looking back,” the
King said.
“Once you open the door of reform and it is allowed to be discussed in society,
as it is throughout the Middle East, it is very difficult to close it again,”
the King said. He added: “And obviously a successful Palestinian election and
what seems to be a successful Iraqi election can only reassure people that this
is a process that the Middle East needs and one that needs to be taken
seriously.
Government Spokesperson Asma Khader, meanwhile, told reporters that Jordan's
ties with Iraq “will remain as vital and strategic as ever.” On Sunday, she
said: “We hope that holding elections in these very difficult conditions will
help achieve stability in Iraq, reflect the will of all the Iraqi people and
help Iraq recover its sovereignty.”
For political analyst Hala Fattah, an adviser at the Amman-based Royal Institute
for Interfaith Studies, the high turnout and the way Iraqis dealt with the polls
made her optimistic about the future of the war-torn country.
Fattah, an Iraqi herself, said that although some believe the elections were
illegitimate, “many went to the ballot seeking change to the situation.”
“I am optimistic,” she said.
“It is true that the Shiite would have the majority, but they cannot rule
without the Sunnis and the Kurds. Iraq cannot be ruled by one group as history
proved.”
Enthusiasm, some scepticism for Iraq vote
Both supporters and opponents of the US-led occupation of Iraq on Monday greeted
the elections there as a key breakthrough towards the restoration of sovereignty
in the war-torn country.
Despite scepticism over whether the democratic process would reverse the tide of
violence in Iraq, most official and press reaction lauded the bravery of the
Iraqi people in defying threats of attacks to go to the polling stations.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, paying “tribute to the courage of the Iraqi
people,” said the elections marked “a time for reconciliation on all sides.”
The question now is whether the elections will lead to the political
participation of all communities, including the minority Sunnis, Annan said,
while adding that he was encouraged by conciliatory statements by a number of
Iraqi leaders, Agence France-Presse reported.
The European Union urged Iraq's new authorities to reach out to the Sunni Muslim
minority, while welcoming the elections as a great day for the country and a
“powerful signal” for the region.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said it was “a great day for
democracy and for freedom. It was a great day for the men and women of Iraq.”
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, whose country holds the rotating
presidency of the EU, said it was vital that minority Sunnis participate in the
discussions on Iraq's future.
“We will do everything we can here from the EU to convince the Iraqi authorities
to include the Sunnis,” he said.
European Parliament President Josep Borrell paid tribute to the Iraqi people's
determination, while also stressing it was “vital for all of Iraq's communities
to have an equal place” in drafting a future constitution.
Britain hailed the large turnout. “Clearly, we believe that the turnout was
very, very encouraging,” British Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman
said.
“This was an Iraqi election organised by Iraqis for Iraqis, that process of `Iraqisation'
we want to help proceed,” he said.
Earlier, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called the elections
“extraordinary,” and said it showed “above all that democracy is a value that
flows in the veins of every citizen in the world, including those poor people in
Iraq who have been denied this opportunity for such a long time.”
French President Jacques Chirac in a 15-minute conversation with his US
counterpart George W. Bush said the Iraqi elections showed “the strategy of
terrorist groups partly failed,” according to AFP.
The Sunday polls was “an important stage in the political reconstruction” of
Iraq, Chirac told Bush, according to presidential spokesman Jerome Bonnafont.
He said the focus should now be on “including all groups that have renounced
armed struggle” and drafting a constitution, Chirac said.
Across Europe, the governments of Switzerland, Greece, Romania and Macedonia all
hailed the vote as an essential milestone along the country's journey back
towards sovereign rule.
The Arab League hailed Iraq's elections as an “important step” in its transition
to democracy and expressed hope that the vote would lead to the withdrawal of
foreign forces from the country.
The elections are “a step in the right direction,” the organisation's assistant
secretary general for political and international affairs, Ahmed Ben Hali, told
reporters.
But the China Daily, often used as a government mouthpiece, said the vote could
“provoke a backlash, deepen sectarian divisions and even push Iraq closer to
civil war.”
Pakistan, a frontline US ally in the global “war on terrorism,” voiced hope that
the polls would lead to complete Iraqi rule over its rich oil reserves.
In Iran, Iraq's powerful Shiite neighbour and former enemy, the elections were
seen in the words of Parliamentary Deputy Alaeddin Boroujerdi as “a great step
for Iraqis towards an independent and popular regime.”
Turkey hailed the elections in Iraq, but also underlined Ankara's concern that
Kurds in northern Iraq wanted to take control of Kirkuk and make it the capital
of a future independent state.
“When making this assessment [of the poll results], the implications of the
attempts to alter the demographic structure in northern Iraq will also be taken
into consideration,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.