The Sunni Election boycott, from Al Ahram News (Egypt)

[TexasLawyer]

The power to resist
Harith Al-Dhari, head of the Muslim Scholars Association, spoke to Mohamed Al-Anwar in Baghdad about the US attempts to court Iraq's Sunnis

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/726/re4.htm

<snip>

Our meeting with members of the US diplomatic mission in Baghdad was the first such meeting to have taken place since the occupation. The American delegation was headed by US Charge d'Affaires John Negroponte and consisted of several civil and military officials. Negroponte said that he had been instructed by his government to ask for this meeting.

<snip>

Did you ask Negroponte for the release of the detainees from your organisation? What reasons did you give for boycotting the elections?

We told him that the killing and destruction have continued uninterruptedly from the time US forces entered the country until the present. More than 100,000 Iraqis have been killed and more than half a million Iraqi men and women are in prison. There are more than 120 imams and preachers from the association who were either killed or imprisoned. Then came the phase of the total or the near total destruction of the cities of Najaf and Falluja. How can people be expected to have elections under such circumstances? The major demand for which Iraqis have undergone such suffering will not be obtained through the elections. The Iraqi people do not expect these elections to produce anything but a government that will always do America's bidding, and all indications are that the forthcoming government under US occupation will be weak and rubberstamp every American wish."

[seriousstan]

1. If you think the Sunni are going to let this opportunity pass by

you are gravely mistaken. When has an oppressed 80% "minority" ever let a democratic election represent them?

[TexasLawyer]

2. Gosh, I wish we had thought about this

before we imposed so much liberty