Kofi Annan: Bloodshed will Affect Elections
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James Joyner | Tuesday, December 21, 2004 |
UN’s Annan says Iraq bloodshed will affect elections
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan insisted only Iraq can decide whether to go ahead with elections next month, but he warned that the ongoing bloodshed would have an effect on the polls.
Speaking as the United States insisted that the violence would not derail Iraq’s first post-Saddam Hussein election due at the end of January, Annan said the UN’s work in helping to ready the vote was on schedule. “The technical preparations are on track and I hope that all Iraqis will exercise their right to vote,” he told a press conference at UN headquarters in New York. “The decision (to) go ahead or not is the Iraqis’ decision, not ours,” he said. “But the violence, if it continues, will have an impact on the elections. Elections don’t take place in a vacuum.”
Well, obviously, the violence will “have an impact.” That’s the whole point of the violence. It would be nice, however, if the UN Secretary General didn’t help the cause of the terrorists by promoting their agenda. Allowing them to derail the elections via their campaign of murder and intimidation would be precisely the wrong move.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Does anyone consider that his comments won't escalate the violence?
I don't think we can rule out the possibility that Annan was well aware of the possibility.
Kofi needs to clap louder, dammit.
Annan came out of the closet during the elctions. I worry about what he is doing behind the scenes to hinder peace.
Is this Kofi setting up an excuse to not recognize the results of the election if it comes off successfully inspite of terrorist attempts to wreck it? Somehow I think it is.
please contact with me
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