Democracy of occupation

Events have proven that occupations that raise the banner of spreading democracy establish, in occupied countries, democracies tailored to their own specifications to serve their objectives. They exploit the lack of political awareness and weak political culture of the people as a pretext for suppressing them, imposing guardianship over their will, and transforming democracy into a tool for achieving sectarian, ethnic, and tribal interests in the name of democracy. Consequently, this democracy has led to the division of societies along religious, sectarian, and ethnic lines, and sometimes along regional and tribal lines. It was not difficult for the occupiers to find a way to sow division in the name of pluralism and diversity whenever they found fertile ground for this malignant seed. The Iraqi model is a prime example of the ready-made democracy brought by the American occupation to spread "e;creative chaos,"e; the tragic effects of which we witness today in Mesopotamia: division, conflict, corruption, and endless bloodshed. In short, the problem with the democracy promised by the occupation lies in the fact that it has not and will not achieve true democracy. Democracy is, first and foremost, a deeply rooted intellectual and cultural construct, where freedom is its foundation, citizenship its sustenance, and development, prosperity, security, and stability its fruits. Furthermore, it is a concept subject to competition and opposition, and imbued with national values. Democracy cannot be reduced to referendums and elections alone. While these practices are important, in most occupied countries they have produced elected despotism and a sham democracy through which the most extreme forms of repression, exclusion, and marginalization of opponents have been practiced.