12Dec03-Rajiv Chandrasekaran-Iraqi Protesters Oust Appointed Governor
Demonstrators Defy U.S. Occupation With Demand for an Election
By Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, December 12, 2003; Page A39
HILLA, Iraq, Dec. 11 -- The demonstrators converged on the provincial governor's office on Sunday with banners, sleeping mats, cooking pots and a simple demand: Iskander Jawad Witwit should quit.
After three days and nights of continuous protests, Witwit did just that. But the demonstrators have refused to budge.
As soon as Witwit resigned, the local representative of the U.S. occupation authority appointed a former Iraqi air force officer as acting governor. To the protesters, that was unacceptable. The new governor, they insisted, should be chosen not by an American but by Iraqis -- through an election.
"Yes, yes for elections!" shouted the protesters, a collection of students, clerics and middle-aged professionals whose ranks swelled to more than 1,000 on Thursday. "No, no to appointment!"
The protesters have pledged to continue their sit-in outside the governor's office -- they have erected tents and dug latrines -- until their demand is met. Leaders of Hilla's largest labor unions have vowed to hold a general strike starting Saturday in support of elections.
[Full Story at: washingtonpost.com ] |
