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These
elections, in which the Iraqi people will decide not
just who will govern them but how they are governed,
show the country is emerging from this nightmare.
They should be supported by all who wish Iraq well.
What do those who claim to have the best interests
of Iraq at heart fear from elections?
Iraqis are striving to construct a society where
freedom of choice, the democratic process and the
rule of law are paramount. They want, as they
continually tell me and my colleagues in the Iraqi
interim government, freedom, peace and stability for
their children. No one should be able to deny them
this dream. But a small minority of Saddam loyalists
and foreign terrorists who have nothing to offer but
violence are trying to do just that. They exist in
various parts of Iraq, but their base has been
Falluja for some time.
From this city, they have terrorised the local
population and spread murder across the country.
They have blown up women and children and executed
in cold blood fellow Iraqis trying to end the
lawlessness in our country. No civilised person can
stand by and allow this to continue. No civilised
person should support those behind this campaign of
murder.
The people of Falluja do not support these men of
violence. They want rid of them and have been
pleading for the interim government to free them. It
would have been better for everyone if this could
have been done peacefully. So for many months, the
prime minister, Ayad Allawi, and my colleagues in
the interim government have made repeated efforts to
negotiate a peaceful resolution.
We have stopped at nothing to persuade the
terrorists and insurgents to lay down their arms,
stop hurting innocent Iraqis and spare the city from
further military action. We have continually said
that the political process remains open to those who
renounce violence. It still does.
The terrorists and insurgents have refused our
advances, preferring instead to continue fighting.
Finally the interim government had no other option
than to take this action to liberate the people of
Falluja from these murderers and protect the people
of Iraq from further atrocities. I wish there had
been another way.
But we need to resolve the situation and quickly.
The real aim of these terrorists, as well as causing
as much destruction as possible, is to derail the
national elections planned for January. They know
the more successful these elections are, the less
space there will be for their nihilistic brand of
violence.
Given the current security climate, holding free and
fair elections on time poses a huge challenge. But
delaying the elections would pose a greater danger
to the country's future.
By the end of January, Iraqis should have had the
chance to elect a national assembly, 18 provincial
governors, and the Kurdistan national assembly. The
country's ethnic and religious diversity will for
the first time in Iraq's troubled history be
properly reflected in its political institutions.
These elections will show that the entire Iraqi
population, minus the small group of violent people,
want a better future. They will demonstrate that we
want, as people throughout the world do, a choice in
how our country is run, and who runs it.
Terrorists and extremists will not let up in their
campaign to derail the political process in Iraq.
Motivated by hatred and tyranny, they cannot
tolerate Iraq's transformation towards a federal
democracy. But we in the interim government cannot
tolerate their violent contempt of basic human
rights and their attempts to destroy Iraq.
We also expect the international community to
actively support Iraqis in this battle against
terrorism and extremism. We have to be realistic and
accept that the resolution of the situation in
Falluja will not eradicate the plague of terrorism
in Iraq, but it will deny terrorists the command
centre and refuge they have enjoyed for so many
months. It is also hoped that restoration of the
rule of law to Falluja will pave the way for
improved security and allow full participation in
the elections by a larger section of the Sunni Arab
community who live there.
Iraq has the chance of a new, better future. It will
require a great deal of courage, hard work and
dedication to help bring it about. But because this
future is what the Iraqi people are determined to
grasp, no matter what the sacrifice, it will happen.
· Dr Barham Salih is the deputy prime minister of
Iraq
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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