MERIP
Media Resource List, December 15, 2004
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS on the following topics:
- Election campaigning in Iraq begins today
- Why US promotion of democracy lacks credibility in the Middle
East
CHRISTOPH WILCKE
Christoph Wilcke is a Middle East specialist who recently
conducted fieldwork in Iraq for the International Crisis Group's
report "Iraq: Can Local Governance Save Central Government?"
-- http://www.icg.org/home/index.cfm?id=3086&l=1
. Commenting on the Iraqi election, Wilcke said today:
"The Iraqi election is being cooked. The UN designated
Iraq a single district and opted for a party-list, proportional
representation voting system. The two most prominent lists,
one Shi'a and approved by Ayatollah Sistani and the other
Kurdish, will win according to their corresponding ethnic
weight in the population. Few Iraqis have even heard of the
other lists for candidates or parties. With no real competition,
which is crucial to bringing out the best candidates, the
election results as they stand are predictable and therefore
a rubber-stamping exercise. Iraq needs local elections to
take place before national elections. Local elections would
be a test for democracy, a gauge of political strength and
a stepping stone to legitimacy. The system currently proposed
in Iraq has been attempted in Bosnia. For the past eight years
internationals have been trying to undo the results of that
election."
VICKIE LANGOHR
Vickie Langohr is assistant professor of political science
at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.
She is a member of the editorial committee of Middle East
Report and has published on Arab politics and US democratization
efforts in the Journal of Democracy and Comparative
Politics . Commenting on US efforts to democratize the
Middle East, Langohr said today: "There is a widespread
belief in the Arab world that the US is not sincere about
promoting democracy. US aid policy supports this belief –
much money is given to Arab governments that continue to abuse
human rights. These governments know they can count on the
continuation of that aid as long as they cooperate with US
security policy and maintain good relations with Israel. The
latest US carrot bears this out. Egypt will gain as much as
$500 million in additional exports to the US through tariff
reductions on goods made with Israeli parts, despite the Egyptian
government's abysmal, and steadily worsening, human rights
record. Meanwhile, Israel is not allowing freedom of movement
for Palestinian presidential candidates seeking to campaign
-- one candidate was beaten last week at an Israeli checkpoint.
Conditioning aid for all Middle Eastern countries, including
Israel, on support for human rights is essential if US democracy
promotion is to have any credibility in the region."
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