Kucinich Calls for Free, Direct Elections in Iraq
The following is a press release from January 19, 2004, by the Kucinich campaign
***
Kucinich Calls for Free, Direct Elections in Iraq
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2004
Democratic Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich today called for the holding of free and direct elections in Iraq, which he said can only be successfully facilitated by the United Nations following the replacement of US troops with UN peacekeepers.
"There was a peaceful protest march 10-miles long in Baghdad today," said Kucinich. "How could we better honor the holiday of Martin Luther King Jr. than to respect the demand for democracy made by a 10-mile long gathering of some 100,000 peaceful people? This was a march that included Sunnis and Shiites. This was a march of poor people who want jobs and democracy, and who are demanding free and direct elections. Establishing a democracy in Iraq will not be simple or easy, but it can be done if the US occupation ends.
"A people who can hold a 10-mile long peaceful march must be taken seriously. The protests are now peaceful, but they may turn violent if the Administration continues its insistence on wanting to run the government of Iraq indirectly. The Administration's unwillingness to concede self determination to the Iraqi people sets the stage for real conflict and puts our troops in grave danger.
"It is time for the United States to involve the United Nations in a new plan which involves the United Nations assisting the Iraqi people in developing a new constitution and the United Nations helping to enable Iraqis to hold free and direct elections. This is part of the following plan, which the United States must take to the United Nations and request that it be incorporated into a new Security Council Resolution:
"The United States must ask the United Nations to manage the oil assets of Iraq until the Iraqi people are self-governing.
The United Nations must handle all the contracts: No more Halliburton sweetheart deals, No contracts to Bush Administration insiders, No contracts to campaign contributors. All contracts must be awarded under transparent conditions.
The United States must renounce any plans to privatize Iraq. It is illegal under both the Geneva and the Hague Conventions for any nation to invade another nation, seize its assets, and sell those assets. The Iraqi people, and the Iraqi people alone must have the right to determine the future of their country's resources.
The United States must ask the United Nations to handle the transition to Iraqi self-governance. The UN must be asked to help the Iraqi people develop a Constitution. The UN must assist in developing free and fair elections.
The United States must agree to pay for what we blew up.
The United States must pay reparations to the families of innocent Iraqi civilian noncombatants killed and injured in the conflict.
The United States must contribute financially to the UN peacekeeping mission.
The United Nations, through its member nations, will commit 130,000 peacekeepers to Iraq on a temporary basis until the Iraqi people can maintain their own security.
UN troops will rotate into Iraq, and all US troops will come home.
The United States will abandon policies of 'preemption' and unilateralism and commit to strengthening the UN."
For more information: http://www.kucinich.us
For Congressman Kucinich's Schedule: http://www.kucinich.us/schedule.htm.
Campaign Press Secretary: David Swanson 301-772-0210, cell 202-329-7847, fax 301-772-7293, swanson@kucinich.us
Subscribe to this blog's feed