Wicker: Iraqi Election was Victory for Freedom
REPORT FROM CONGRESS
WICKER: IRAQI ELECTION WAS VICTORY FOR FREEDOM
By Congressman Roger F. Wicker
February 7, 2005
The people of Iraq struck a blow for freedom and democracy January 30 when more than 60 percent of eligible voters participated in the country's first fair election in a half-century. Ignoring threats of violence, Iraqi citizens sent a powerful message around the world and showed once again that men and women will choose freedom if given the opportunity.
The number of people who went to the polls in Iraq was approximately equal to the turnout in the U.S. general elections in 2004. There was one difference, however. Our elections took place without any risk of voters being shot by a sniper or blown up by a car bomb. Despite such attacks that killed 44 people, Iraqis would not be intimidated by the terrorists and insurgents.
Voters chose members of a 275-seat National Assembly and regional parliaments. The Assembly will select a president and two deputies and write a constitution in preparation for electing a representative government in December 2005.
INSURGENTS ARE THE LOSERS
As the Wall Street Journal noted the following day, "The world won't know for a week which candidates won Iraq's elections, but we already know the losers: the insurgents. The millions of Iraqis who defied threats and suicide bombers to case ballots yesterday showed once and for all that the killers do not represent some broad national resistance."
The U. S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a resolution last week congratulating the people of Iraq for this landmark achievement. The resolution also commended American and coalition service personnel and Iraqi security forces for their service and sacrifices in securing this historic election process.
APPRECIATING FREEDOM
It was appropriate that the debate was led by two members of Congress who know first-hand about life under dictatorial rule. Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and her family fled Castro's communist regime in Cuba when she was seven. Hungarian-born California Democrat Tom Lantos survived the death camps of World War II but lost his family in the Holocaust.
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen praised the Iraqi people for risking their lives to exercise the privilege that most of us take for granted. She said, "Their courage inspires us, reinvigorating our love for democracy and testifying to the power of freedom's call." Rep. Lantos said the election was an important milestone in the development of democracy in Iraq and the entire Middle East and another battle won against the evil forces of terrorism.
He noted the efforts of American and coalition forces in the process. "We pay special tribute to our fighting men and women, to the commitment shown by our civilian personnel in Iraq, and to the dedication and sacrifice shown by their families," he said.
CHALLENGES AHEAD
Mr. Lantos also correctly made the point that major challenges still lie ahead. Along the questions he raised: Can the Iraqis ensure that all segments of their nation will have a voice in the new government? Will they produce a fair and workable constitution to set the foundation for lasting democracy? Will they learn the art of compromise essential to success in the democratic process? "But for today," he said, "let us recognize that the Iraqi people have taken a first but vitally important step toward meeting that challenge...and they merit the admiration of all free peoples across the globe."
http://www.house.gov/wicker/Freedom.htm