Independent Reports That 100000

Juan Cole 01/20/2004

The Independent reports that 100,000 demonstrators marched through the streets of Baghdad on Monday, as part of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani s bid to put pressure on Kofi Annan and the United Nations to certify that free and fair elections can be held: This situation reminds me more and more of Algeria; where mass protests played a similar role in involving the UN.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page