KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION: Iraqi Elections

UNCLAS KUWAIT 005288 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PA, NEA/PPD, INR/NESA LONDON FOR TSOU PARIS FOR ZEYA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO KDEM KMDR IZ KU SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEDIA REACTION: Iraqi Elections Ref: Kuwait 5166 ¶1. Summary: Kuwaiti daily newspapers provided coverage on Iraqi elections, praising the process and the peaceful manner in which it was carried out. The courage of the people going to the polls was also praised and they were seen as heroes in their own right. However Mr. Al-Ghabra, writing for the moderate daily Al-Rai Al-Aam, was not so optimistic in his view of the elections. End Summary. Block Quotes -------------- ¶2. Wednesday, December 28, 2005 -- Under the title "Iraq after the elections," Dr. Shafiq Nazem Al-Ghabra (writer and President of the American University of Kuwait) wrote in the moderate Arabic-language daily Al-Rai Al-Aam: "The Iraqi elections gave contradictory results on many levels. On one level it was a vote for the sect to which Iraqis belong. The Shiites voted for Shiites, the Sunnis voted for their parties, and the Kurds voted for the Kurds. Each group voted for its own people and only a small few voted for a united Iraq. This is evidence pointing to the current situation in Iraq that is based on identity and divisions. As such, we find that democracy in Iraq served to divide the country and we can now conclude that despite the landslide victory of the united Shiite coalition, it will not be able to solve the Iraqi problem when forming the next government. It would be correct to assume that the coalition will offer liberal Shiites and Kurds key posts in order to win over those protesting the results of the elections from the different groups. Forming a balanced government in Iraq is now possible if wisdom and balancing policies were to prevail, and not those of crushing other groups that represent a major part of society during this fragile stage of building a new Iraq." ********************************************* Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* LeBaron