[Marxism] Sadr will not participate in elections in "shadow of occupation;

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sadr to Boycott Elections Held Under "Shadow Of Occupation"

Sep 28, 2004

Source: The Telegraph, India

Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will not take part in elections scheduled
for January as long as US forces remain in the country, an aide said
today.

"We as Sadr's movement will not take part in the elections held under
the shadow of occupation," Sheikh Abdul Hadi al-Daraji said. "Sadr
movement will not nominate any candidates," he added.



He also expected Sadr's followers to boycott the elections.

Sadr has seen his popularity rise among nationalist clerics and a
generation of poor Shias after challenging the Iraqi government and
US-led forces under his "no democracy under occupation" stand.

After three weeks of fighting between Sadr's Mehdi army and US and Iraqi
forces in the southern city of Najaf, Sadr agreed to a peace initiative
brokered by Iraq's most influential religious leader Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani.

As part of the deal, Sistani pressured Sadr into agreeing to support the
elections. But Daraji said any elections held under the occupation will
not be fair and will only serve the interests of the occupation.

"We believe that the elections under occupation will not be a fair and
free one, we believe this election will be a forged one," he said.

"When we, the religious authorities, reject the elections then those who
follow us should not take part in it and they will not," Daraji said.
"What we want and our number one priority is a free Iraq so when Iraq is
free and occupation is out then Sadr's movement will take part in the
political life in Iraq," he said.

Worsening security in Iraq has raised concerns about whether the
elections can go ahead. Senior Washington officials have clashed over
whether the vote should cover the whole country or be held only where
security can be guaranteed.

In an interview with London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, Iraq;s
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said elections should take place in January
even if "a few thousand people" cannot vote.


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