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Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend....
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To: Sully- who wrote (6474)12/31/2004 12:11:14 AM
From: Sully-   of 35834
 
3 Insurgent Groups Warn Iraqis Against Voting

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 30 (AP) - Three militant groups warned Iraqis on Thursday against voting in the election scheduled for Jan. 30, saying that people taking part in the "dirty farce" risked attack.

The militant group Ansar al-Sunna and two other insurgent groups issued a statement warning that democracy was un-Islamic.

"Democracy is a Greek word meaning the rule of the people, which means that the people do what they see fit," the statement said. "This concept is considered apostasy and defies the belief in one God - Muslims' doctrine."

Ansar al-Sunna had earlier posted a manifesto on its Web site saying democracy amounted to idolizing human beings. The joint statement on Thursday reiterated the threat that "anyone who accepts to take part in this dirty farce will not be safe."

The statements by the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgent groups seemed aimed at countering Shiite leaders' declarations that voting in the election was every Muslim's duty. Shiites, who make up 60 percent of the population, hope to use the vote to wrest political power from the minority Sunnis, who were favored under Saddam Hussein.

Al Jazeera reported that all 700 workers for the electoral commission in Mosul had resigned because they had been threatened. If true, the move would severely hamper efforts to prepare for the vote in Mosul, which has been too dangerous for election preparations to begin.

Farid Ayar, spokesman of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, could not confirm the report. "We have been trying to contact our people in Mosul to see if the report is accurate, but we have not been able to reach them," he said.

The groups' election warning came a day after insurgents in Mosul attacked an American outpost. The military said 25 insurgents and an American were killed in the battle.
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