[R-G] Occupiers now resist Shia demands for province elections

[Fred Feldman]

Thousands Of Armed Demonstrators Demand Elections Now: Nasiriyah Local
Ballots Prove Bush Lies 
GI Special 2#30
Thomas F. Barton [thomasfbarton at earthlink.net]

By Yaroslav Trofimov, Wall St. Journal 2.18.04
Nasiriyah, Iraq 
THE U.S.-LED Coalition Provisional Authority has said direct elections
for a new Iraqi government are impossible in coming months, and a United
Nations delegation last week indicated that it holds similar views. 

But the outcomes of recent local elections in southern Iraq, where
Shiite Muslims predominate, so far have failed to validate U.S. fears
that such voting would bring about an Iran-style theocracy-and possibly
incite civil war. What we've found is that they haven't selected
extremists," said Tobin Bradley, political adviser for the CPA's office
here.

The experiment with democracy in small towns around Nasiriyah, however,
has led to new tensions between Shiite religious movements and
occupation officials. Prominent clerics have stepped up demands to hold
rapid elections for the Nasiriyah-based provincial administration, whose
current members are appointed by the CPA.

Thousands of demonstrators demanding such a poll have marched toward the
CPA's fortress-like compound, brandishing assault rifles and
rocket-propelled- grenade launchers, and chanting anti- American
slogans; organizers now threaten a civil-disobedience campaign.

"The occupation forces came to this country saying they'll bring
democracy- but now they have become the main obstacle to democracy,"
said one of the protest organizers, Aws al Khafaji, the regional head of
the Sadr Office, one of the main Shiite religious movements in Iraq.
Recent elections in places like Battha, a ramshackle town north of
Nasiriyah, have only whetted the local appetite for self-rule. 

"We have noticed from experience that the local councils that were
elected work much better than the appointed ones," said Mohammed al
Nassiri, a local leader of the Iraqi Hezbollah, one of many Shiite
Islamic parties that sprang up after the war.

The CPA is resisting calls for provincial elections so far, fearing that
such a vote here will set a precedent nationwide. 

Yet officials acknowledge that outcomes at the local level are
encouraging. The ballot in Battha was the ninth municipal election
across this province in the Shiite heartland. "What you see after
elections are councils that are much more secular and younger," said the
CPA's Mr. Bradley. "Voters want knowledgeable people who can give them
services." 
Councils created through elections ended up with fewer tribal sheikhs
and Islamic clerics than the temporary administrations run by local
notables chosen by the U.S. Marine Corps, which controlled this area in
the first months after the war, he added. 

The election in Battha wasn't the one- person/one-vote kind that is
acceptable under international standards. It was, however, the most
democratic experience people here have seen in their lifetimes. It also
was much more inclusive than the complicated system of prescreened
caucuses that the CPA plans to use this summer. 

In the absence of a reliable census, the CPA in Nasiriyah followed a
suggestion by Shiite leaders and used the oil-for- food ration list as
the electoral roll. The list counted families, not individuals, so every
family got a vote when a male member appeared with a ration card. To
encourage female participation, the card allowed another vote when a
woman showed up (62 women did in Battha). 

About 1,200 families, out of 4,000 on the village's ration list, took
part in the vote. They selected 10 councilmen-a doctor, three school
teachers and several businessmen-from a roster of 34 candidates. No
violence was reported.

"These are the seeds of freedom," retired soldier Mohammed Hussein said.
"This was our first taste of democracy, and I am so excited because I
didn't expect people to turn up in such numbers," said Ibrahim Jabar
Hassan, a primary-school teacher who wore a checkered headscarf and dark
sunglasses. "I hope after this we'll be able to elect a national
government and finally have security."

Despite the protests organized by people like Mr. Khafaji, John Bourne,
the British head of the CPA in Nasiriyah, is comforted by a belief that
Iraqi Shiites, who suffered under Saddam Hussein's regime, aren't ready
to shed blood over electoral timetables--at least not yet. 

"They appreciate that getting violent about elections actually
undermines their argument" Mr. Bourne said. "But, plainly, there will
come a time when frustration will set in."