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In the final week before
Iraq holds parliament elections, January 30,
security is extremely tight.
Although most of northern Iraq has been spared the
level of violence experienced in Mosul, both the
Kurdistan Regional Government and the private sector
have raised security to the highest level. From the
border crossing with Turkey, southward, soldiers
look over every vehicle and their occupants at
frequent checkpoints. Identity papers are checked
and questions asked, with the slightest suspicion
triggering commands to step out and submit to
thorough searches.
The roads in towns and cities are fortified with
concrete barriers and other obstructions to prevent
suicide car bombs from approaching important
buildings. Even modest hotels are ringed by armed
security. Registered guests and others who want to
enter must undergo personal searches and their
luggage is examined thoroughly.
The city of Erbil has especially tight security
because of its role as one of the two centers of the
Kurdistan Regional Government. When electricity goes
out, as it does rather often, security forces
tighten their fingers on their weapons, in case the
blackout is part of an attack. At the just-opened
Hotel Erbil, this reporter watched as a bride in her
wedding dress and her party were required to pass
through metal detectors.
People in Erbil remember what happened in February,
2004, when twin suicide bombings at the local
offices of Kurdistan's two main political parties
killed more than 100 people gathered to celebrate
the Muslim Eid holiday. Today, there is the ongoing
concern that outsiders may come to terrorize the
overwhelmingly Kurdish city.
Officials say additional security measures,
including strict curfews, will be imposed in this
final week before the January 30 Iraqi national
elections. They are determined to protect polling
places and election officials and to enable people
to cast their ballots, without fear of attack. For
the Kurdistan region, this election will give its
residents a formal role in the governance of Iraq
and in the writing of a new permanent constitution.
The people here say they want nothing to prevent
that long-held dream from becoming a reality.
http://www.voanews.com
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