BAGHDAD,
October 21 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Iraqi Sunni
scholars have threatened to boycott the January elections while the
Islamic Party threatened to walk out of the interim government if the
US occupation forces unleash a new offensive on the western Baghdad
city of Fallujah.
In
a statement read out at the Umm Al-Qura Mosque in Baghdad on
Wednesday, October 20, a plethora of Sunni scholars dismissed as
"unacceptable" invading Iraqi towns under the pretext of
paving the way for the general elections, Agence France Presse (AFP)
reported.
"We
will call on Iraqis to boycott the polls and to consider the results
null and void in case of operations in Fallujah," read the
statement.
The
scholars dubbed US military operations in western and northern Iraqi
areas "a war of extermination led against the Iraqi people by the
forces of the occupation with the help of government and militia
forces."
They
also lambasted the deafening silence of the Organization of Islamic
Conference (OIC), the Islamic World League (IWL) and Al-Azhar, the
highest seat of learning in the Muslim Sunni world, over bloody
developments in Iraq.
Iraqi
scholars asked UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Security Council
members to condemn US offensives in Iraq.
They
underlined the need to form a special committee to investigate such
American practices.
This
came as the latest American bombardment of Fallujah claimed the lives
of six Iraqis of the same family.
Fallujah
has been suffering almost daily American blitz since the fall of the
country in April of last year.
In
April, at least 700 Iraqis,
on
Fallujah.
Walkout
 |
|
Three
bodies from the same family were removed from under the debris of
a building bombarded by the US in Fallujah. (AFP)
|
In
a related development, the Islamic Party threatened to walk out from
the interim government if the Fallujah suffered a new American
onslaught.
"The
party will reconsider joining the government if Fallujah was invaded
once again, " Dr. Mohsen Abdul Hamed, the party leader, told Dar
Al-Sallam radio, the party’s mouthpiece.
He
dubbed as "unrealistic" Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s
demands that the people of Fallujah hand over Jordanian-born Abu Musab
Al-Zarqawi, Iraq’s most wanted man, and his followers or face
invasion by US-led forces.
The
Fallujah people have repeatedly maintained that they
did
not harbor
the wanted man.
The
party’s deputy secretary general was also critical of Allawi’s
position on Fallujah.
"We
totally reject the government’s stance which came at a time of
intensive dialogue between the government and Fallujah
dignitaries," Iyad Al-Samarrai told IslamOnline.net.
He
said the dignitaries have the needed influence and weight to enforce
security and stability in the town once an agreement is reached with
the government.
"The
negotiations already made headway before the government imposed such
backbreaking condition and opted for the military option" causing
the talks to collapse, Al-Samarrai regretted.
He
vocalized disappointment over the government’s position, saying the
threat to quit the government is "a message of protest to the
government."
Undermined
Legitimacy
Iraqi
political analyst Salman Al-Jumeili said the Islamic Party’s walkout
might undermine the legitimacy of the interim government.
"It
will leave a negative influence on the legitimacy of the entire
political process in Iraq because many observers believe the inclusion
of the Islamic party has given some legitimacy to the interim
government and the defunct Governing Council."
He
noted that the Islamic Party is the biggest organization representing
Iraq’s Sunnis and its absence from the political scene would surely
undermine the political process.
The
party said it joined the now disbanded Governing Council and the
interim government to guarantee the representation of the country’s
Sunnis in the shaping of Iraq’s political future.
With
the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, mosques in Fallujah have been
unusually
deserted as
people fled their city to avoid a reported US massive onslaught.
