INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Daily Iraqi Website Monitoring - December 12, 2005

Published: Mon 12 Dec 2005 03:16 PM
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004954
SIPDIS
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/PPD, NEA/PPA, NEA/AGS, INR/IZ, INR/P
E.0. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO IZ
SUBJECT: DAILY IRAQI WEBSITE MONITORING - December 12, 2005
SUMMARY: Discussion of the December 15th election is the
major editorial theme of Iraqi, Arabic language websites on
December 12, 2005. END SUMMARY.
-------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-------------------------------
A. "Vote for Iraq" (Kitabat, 12/12)
B. "Saleh Al-Mutlag Threatens Iraqis with Axes Prior to the
Elections" (Soat Al-Iraq, 12/12)
----------------------------------------
SELECTED COMMENTARIES
----------------------------------------
A. "Vote for Iraq"
(Editorial by Karim Al-Ameri - Kitabat (Writings) Website
http://www.kitabat.com - independent based in Germany)
"Weeks of feverish electoral campaigns have ended, and the
countdown has started towards the elections which can be
seen as a new democratic page in Iraq despite all of the
hardships suffered by Iraqis during the last two democratic
events; people had to walk long distances to reach their
polling stations in the first election and on referendum
day. As of yet, authorities still haven't sought any
solution for this problem which might have an impact on
turnout, especially if we take into consideration the fact
that many Iraqis consider their participation in the process
nothing more than fulfilling a duty.
"This frankness might be annoying for some but it is
relevant to Iraqis who still look ahead towards a better
life as they impatiently await food rations for days and
weeks for no known reason--especially when media outlets
continue to cover news of ships unloading their shipments of
wheat, rice, tea, and sugar while other ships unload
American democracy and freedom in the Condoleezza Rice
fashion.
"These are the main concerns of Iraqis prior to the
elections, so they shouldn't be made to applaud and hail
parties on an empty stomach, or sit on the pavement awaiting
a job opportunity after the only thing filling their pockets
turns out to be nothing more than promises and lies
presented by officials who say solutions will arrive
tomorrow. Don't let our mothers look back in remorse on days
that failed to show kindness to Iraqis, don't let our
elderly stand in lines outside banks waiting for the
government's generous grant of ten thousand Iraqi dinars [~
$7], don't let our young women look enviously at their
counterparts around the world who enjoy better educational
opportunities and living standards.
"Don't leave our journalists outside your institutions and
organizations waiting for an official statement that can't
be obtained without praising the concerned official, don't
establish red-lines for our people, don't hold a grudge
towards anyone and let forgiveness be the merit of Iraqi
society, and don't . don't . don't . they are many don'ts
and we wouldn't have mentioned them if it weren't for the
short time period separating us from a new Iraqi day that
might be better than the previous ones. Let us all renounce
party allegiances and sectarian lobbying, and let us all
vote for Iraq."
B. "Saleh Al-Mutlag Threatens Iraqis with Axes Prior to the
Elections"
(Editorial by Ali Al-Ali - Soat Al-Iraq (Voice of Iraq)
Website http://www.sotaliraq.com - independent)
"Once again, the rotten Ba'athist Saleh Al-Mutlag, emerges
from beneath the rocks in Ramadi and Fallujah, from the
bloody swamps of abduction and beheadings, to turn up on the
Al-Arabiya channel saying that if he doesn't win votes in
the elections, he will take another course of action, adding
that if his list were to win, he would try the current and
previous government members whom he called (the followers of
Bremer) and that they would stand a fair trial, unlike other
trials, in a clear reference to the trial of his master
Saddam. It's a well known fact that Al-Mutlag was a senior
Ba'ath party member and supervised the properties of
Saddam's wife. So how can such people be allowed to
participate in the new Iraq, and how can the Iraq
Reconstruction Office offer him $10 million under the cover
of a pseudo company so he would participate in the political
process? How could a government elected by Iraqis take such
a step, and who's responsible for it?
"How did they say a year earlier that elections were a form
of infidelity and betrayal under the presence of occupation,
while today they appear like rats from their holes and start
accusing Iraqis in an attempt to divide them?
"Here I blame Mr. Jalal Al-Talabani and Ibrahim Al-Ja'fari
who represent Iraq for allowing such criminals to shed Iraqi
blood. How can we hold dialogue with abductors and
murderers? Shouldn't Iraqi soil be purged from such
epidemics which live off the blood of Iraqis?
"Aren't the 35 years of suffering enough, or should we
relive these years at the hands of those who hold a grudge
against the Shiites and Kurds of Iraq? Do you want to be
ruled by Salafis and extremists who kill all moderates
whether Kurds, Shiites, or Sunnis? If you do agree to such a
life, that's your own business, but the sons of mass graves
and victims of chemical attacks have another say."
KHALILZAD
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