Sunnis considering boycott of referendum on Constitution ...

[welshTerrier2]

did you hear what the Shi'ite and Kurd government did in Iraq ????? even Rove would be envious of these electoral shenanigans ... if this doesn't trigger a full blown civil war, nothing will ...

the previously passed "interim" Constitution had rules designed to respect the minority status of Iraq's Sunnis in future votes ... well, not anymore ...

the old rule said that if a 2/3 majority in any 3 provinces rejected the new Constitution, it would be defeated ... this would have been a threshold the Sunnis could have met if they believed the Constitution did not safeguard their interests ...

but the new rule guarantees a tyranny of the majority and the Sunnis are unlikely to participate in the Constitutional referendum ... the new rule changes the wording from a 2/3 majority "of votes cast" to a 2/3 majority "of registered voters" ... it is unlikely the Sunnis could meet this test ... what's the point of voting if all you're doing is legitimizing an illegitimate process ???

many in the US hung their support for continued occupation on the passage of the Constitution ... it sure ain't going to happen with Sunni support ... and there will be neither peace, stability nor democracy in Iraq ...

source: http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-10-04-voa69.cfm

Sunday, Shi'ites and Kurds who control more than three-quarters of the seats in the 275 member National Assembly, re-interpreted the existing interim constitution and created two thresholds for passing and defeating the referendum.

According to the new rules, a simple majority of those turning out to vote is needed to approve the draft constitution, but it will require two-thirds of those registered to vote in at least three provinces to reject it. The change inserts "registered to vote" rather than actual voters, making it more difficult to defeat the charter.

The United Nations expressed concern to the Iraqi government that the electoral changes do not meet international standards. U.N. officials say they have been meeting with Iraqi authorities in an effort to have the change reversed.

Sunni Arabs, who form a majority in at least three Iraqi provinces, are firmly opposed to the draft constitution that they say gives too much power to Shi'ites and Kurds. Prior to Sunday's parliamentary decision, an overwhelming majority of Sunnis said that they would defy insurgent threats and go to the polls on October 15 to vote down the charter. <skip>

The threat of a boycott raises the prospects that Sunni Arabs, who form the core of the country's insurgency, will feel further alienated from Iraqi society and continue to fuel the insurgency.

[DemInDistress]

1. Egypt and Saudi Arabia wont tolerate this larceny..

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=14687 Mubarak will
not accept this new twist in the Iraq draft.....

[welshTerrier2]

2. good research, DemInDistress ...

this is a huge story that is just a little too dull for DU ...

if you want to get responses on a topic like this, you have to "personalize" the story with a comment about a Democrat or maybe about bush or cheney ...

instead of my dull headline, i could have put something like: "Spineless Dems Silent on Iraq Constitution fraud" or "Could bush be brought before the World Court for this?? ... it's just sad ...

anyway, thanks for the link ... i wonder if Mubarek can really have any clout on the issue ??

[DemInDistress]

3. welsh,actually I hope Mubarak and the Saudi's

not only raise hell but covertly help the sunni's overcome the mean
machine from washington.Here I thought I wouldnt support Saddam's people but after the illegal invasion and the 30 months of carnage in Iraq I want fair play not a stacked government in Iraq. Thanks for the
encouragement..
this bud's for you..:toast: have another..:toast:

[welshTerrier2]

4. Sudan ...

i'm no expert on this but my understanding is that the US was instrumental in carving up the Sudan among three factions ... two of them got oil; the third was Darfur ...

more than a half million people have died in Darfur primarily as the result of international neglect ...

could Darfur be the script for the Sunnis ???

i'm still not clear what role you think other regional powers can play in Iraq's internal affairs but i hope you're right ... of course, i suppose there could be some risk of having the instability spread across the region if other countries take a more active role ...

[welshTerrier2]

5. "Iraq assembly changes mind, defuses vote rule row"

just to follow up on this post, the Iraq's government of oppressive lunatics caved to the international pressure ... what we should learn from this is that the "government bush is pushing for" is totally oppressive and what they did is indicative of the total lack of democracy we can expect to see if they ever get to govern on their own ... we are wrong to be there because we are fighting to oppose tyranny on the Sunnis ...

the good news is, the government is not yet stable enough to resist international pressure ... the "rig the vote by changing the rules" policy described in the OP has been withdrawn ...

source: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-10-05T143422Z_01_DIT547323_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ.xml

Iraq's parliament reversed itself on Wednesday over rules governing a forthcoming constitutional referendum, interpreting wording in a way that should make the October 15 ballot fairer, the assembly's acting chairman said.

The parliamentary about-face followed a storm of protest over its decision three days ago to define the word "voters" two ways in the same sentence -- in effect making it virtually impossible for Iraqis to reject the constitution.

Objections came particularly from disgruntled Sunni Arabs who dislike the constitution but also from the United Nations, which said such an interpretation was unfair and did not meet international standards.

On Wednesday, and under pressure from the U.N. and the United States, parliament decided to row back.