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Iraqis Miss Third Constitution Deadline
The speaker of Iraq's Parliament announced a one-day extension early Friday in talks on Iraq's new constitution - a fourth attempt to win Sunni Arab approval. But he said that if no agreement is reached, the document would bypass parliament completely and be decided in an Oct. 15 referendum.
Hajim al-Hassani, speaking minutes after the midnight deadline, said after meeting for three days, ``we found that time was late and we saw that the matters will need another day in order to reach results that please everyone.''
Earlier, however, a negotiator said Shiites didn't even show up for a late-night meeting.
The United States hopes the constitution will invigorate a political process that will - in time - lure disaffected Sunni Arabs away from the Sunni-dominated insurgency so that American and other foreign troops can begin to go home next year.
However, the perception that the Shiites and Kurds rammed through a document unacceptable to the Sunnis could produce a backlash among Sunni Arabs and sharpen religious and ethnic tensions.
Although the constitution requires only a simple majority in the referendum, if two-thirds of the voters in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces vote against it, the charter will be defeated. Sunni Arabs are about 20 percent of the national population but form the majority in at least four provinces.
If voters reject the constitution, parliament will be dissolved and elections held by Dec. 15 to form a new one. The new parliament then starts drafting a new constitution.
The deadlock on the constitution came as Shiite leaders called for an end to fighting between rival Shiite groups, and police found the bodies of 36 men, bound and shot in the head, near the Iranian border - apparent victims of Iraq's worsening communal tension.
The violence was a clear sign of the need for a stable, constitutional government in Iraq - something all sides agree on. But a formula that pleases Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and other groups has proven elusive.
Shiites and Kurds had accepted a draft on Monday but Sunni Arabs opposed it, and al-Hassani had granted three more days to try to bring the Sunnis on board.
Monday was the second deadline which the legislature granted after the drafting committee failed to meet the Aug. 15 date set in the interim constitution.
The parliament speaker said that discussions in the past three days were ``very good in which points of views were exchanged.'' He said they discussed federalism, references to Saddam Hussein's Baath party and the constitution's introduction.
Al-Hassani said discussions continued Thursday and were attended by the Kurdish coalition, Iraqi List party of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and Sunni Arabs. After those discussions, he said, suggestions were taken to the Shiite alliance, the largest bloc in the National Assembly.
But compromise did not appear likely.
Senior Shiite negotiator Ali Dabbagh said that the Shiite alliance in parliament wants the people to decide on the constitution in the referendum and resist any further changes to the draft.
Some Shiites maintained there was no need for a parliamentary vote because the constitutional drafting committee had met its legal obligation by handing in a draft on Monday.
Al-Hassani, a Sunni who was elected on the mostly Sunni ticket headed by former President Ghazi al-Yawer, agreed.
``We legally received the draft. We are optimistic, although there are some differences. But if we will not be able to reach agreements in the end, this constitution is going to be presented for the Iraqis in a Oct. 15 referendum.''
``Legally we do not need the parliament to vote on the draft, but we need only a consensus so that all the Iraqis will say yes to the constitution,'' he said. ``I still believe that the door is wide enough for reaching agreements.''
The interim constitution, adopted when the U.S.-led coalition ran the country, states simply that parliament ``shall write the draft of the permanent constitution'' and that the document ``shall be presented to the Iraqi people for approval in a general referendum by Oct 15.''
However, lawmakers had agreed when the committee began its work to produce a ``consensus'' document acceptable to representatives of all of Iraq's cultural, religious and ethnic groups in a bid for national unity.
A successful parliamentary vote would reaffirm that unity and send a strong signal to the Iraqi people that the constitution deserved their support.
As a sign of deep religious and ethnic tensions in Iraq, police found the bodies of 36 men Thursday in a dry river bed near the Iranian border, their hands bound and with bullet wounds in the head. The bodies contained no identification and police said most were wearing baggy trousers favored by Kurds. But when photographers arrived, they saw the bodies wearing normal clothing.
Gunmen opened fire Thursday on cars owned by President Jalal Talabani, killing eight of his bodyguards and wounding 15, a security official said. Talabani, a Kurd, was not in any of the cars when the attack occurred in a mixed Shiite-Sunni area north of Baghdad.
The Sunnis' main objection to the draft constitution is federalism. Under the draft, Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north would each be able to organize themselves into regions that would have considerable power over the central government.
The Sunni Arab minority, concentrated in central and western Iraq, fears that means they will be squeezed out of revenues from Iraq's oil revenues, concentrated in the north and south. While the Sunnis accept a Kurdish autonomous region, they fear a Shiite region will lead to the breakup of the country, Iranian domination and a weakened central government.
Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr shares Sunni objections to federalism and other parts of the draft and may well join forces with the Sunnis in the referendum. Al-Sadr's followers have joined Sunni hard-liners in recent protests against the constitution.
Al-Sadr's potential role was thrown into sharp focus Wednesday when clashes broke out between his followers and those of the biggest Shiite party after a brawl in front of his office in Najaf left four dead and the building in flames.
Al-Sadr's followers blamed the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, which holds key posts in the government and on the constitutional committee. Fighting occurred in major Shiite cities including Basra, Amarah, Kut, Samawah and Nasiriyah.
On Thursday, however, al-Sadr called on his followers to end the clashes in the interest of Shiite unity. In calling for calm, al-Sadr, who led two uprisings against U.S. forces last year. urged ``all believers to spare the blood of the Muslims and to return to their homes.''
``I will not forget this attack on the office ... but Iraq is passing through a critical and difficult period that requires unity,'' he told reporters in his home in Najaf.
He demanded that Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of SCIRI, condemn ``what his followers have done.''
``I urge the believers not to attack innocent civilians and not to fall for American plots that aim to divide us,'' al-Sadr said. ``We are passing through a critical period and a political process.''
SCIRI denied any role in the attack on al-Sadr's office and issuing a statement urging an end to the bloodshed - also calling it ``a plot that targets our unity.''
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5233928,00.html
Earlier, however, a negotiator said Shiites didn't even show up for a late-night meeting.
The United States hopes the constitution will invigorate a political process that will - in time - lure disaffected Sunni Arabs away from the Sunni-dominated insurgency so that American and other foreign troops can begin to go home next year.
However, the perception that the Shiites and Kurds rammed through a document unacceptable to the Sunnis could produce a backlash among Sunni Arabs and sharpen religious and ethnic tensions.
Although the constitution requires only a simple majority in the referendum, if two-thirds of the voters in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces vote against it, the charter will be defeated. Sunni Arabs are about 20 percent of the national population but form the majority in at least four provinces.
If voters reject the constitution, parliament will be dissolved and elections held by Dec. 15 to form a new one. The new parliament then starts drafting a new constitution.
The deadlock on the constitution came as Shiite leaders called for an end to fighting between rival Shiite groups, and police found the bodies of 36 men, bound and shot in the head, near the Iranian border - apparent victims of Iraq's worsening communal tension.
The violence was a clear sign of the need for a stable, constitutional government in Iraq - something all sides agree on. But a formula that pleases Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and other groups has proven elusive.
Shiites and Kurds had accepted a draft on Monday but Sunni Arabs opposed it, and al-Hassani had granted three more days to try to bring the Sunnis on board.
Monday was the second deadline which the legislature granted after the drafting committee failed to meet the Aug. 15 date set in the interim constitution.
The parliament speaker said that discussions in the past three days were ``very good in which points of views were exchanged.'' He said they discussed federalism, references to Saddam Hussein's Baath party and the constitution's introduction.
Al-Hassani said discussions continued Thursday and were attended by the Kurdish coalition, Iraqi List party of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and Sunni Arabs. After those discussions, he said, suggestions were taken to the Shiite alliance, the largest bloc in the National Assembly.
But compromise did not appear likely.
Senior Shiite negotiator Ali Dabbagh said that the Shiite alliance in parliament wants the people to decide on the constitution in the referendum and resist any further changes to the draft.
Some Shiites maintained there was no need for a parliamentary vote because the constitutional drafting committee had met its legal obligation by handing in a draft on Monday.
Al-Hassani, a Sunni who was elected on the mostly Sunni ticket headed by former President Ghazi al-Yawer, agreed.
``We legally received the draft. We are optimistic, although there are some differences. But if we will not be able to reach agreements in the end, this constitution is going to be presented for the Iraqis in a Oct. 15 referendum.''
``Legally we do not need the parliament to vote on the draft, but we need only a consensus so that all the Iraqis will say yes to the constitution,'' he said. ``I still believe that the door is wide enough for reaching agreements.''
The interim constitution, adopted when the U.S.-led coalition ran the country, states simply that parliament ``shall write the draft of the permanent constitution'' and that the document ``shall be presented to the Iraqi people for approval in a general referendum by Oct 15.''
However, lawmakers had agreed when the committee began its work to produce a ``consensus'' document acceptable to representatives of all of Iraq's cultural, religious and ethnic groups in a bid for national unity.
A successful parliamentary vote would reaffirm that unity and send a strong signal to the Iraqi people that the constitution deserved their support.
As a sign of deep religious and ethnic tensions in Iraq, police found the bodies of 36 men Thursday in a dry river bed near the Iranian border, their hands bound and with bullet wounds in the head. The bodies contained no identification and police said most were wearing baggy trousers favored by Kurds. But when photographers arrived, they saw the bodies wearing normal clothing.
Gunmen opened fire Thursday on cars owned by President Jalal Talabani, killing eight of his bodyguards and wounding 15, a security official said. Talabani, a Kurd, was not in any of the cars when the attack occurred in a mixed Shiite-Sunni area north of Baghdad.
The Sunnis' main objection to the draft constitution is federalism. Under the draft, Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north would each be able to organize themselves into regions that would have considerable power over the central government.
The Sunni Arab minority, concentrated in central and western Iraq, fears that means they will be squeezed out of revenues from Iraq's oil revenues, concentrated in the north and south. While the Sunnis accept a Kurdish autonomous region, they fear a Shiite region will lead to the breakup of the country, Iranian domination and a weakened central government.
Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr shares Sunni objections to federalism and other parts of the draft and may well join forces with the Sunnis in the referendum. Al-Sadr's followers have joined Sunni hard-liners in recent protests against the constitution.
Al-Sadr's potential role was thrown into sharp focus Wednesday when clashes broke out between his followers and those of the biggest Shiite party after a brawl in front of his office in Najaf left four dead and the building in flames.
Al-Sadr's followers blamed the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, which holds key posts in the government and on the constitutional committee. Fighting occurred in major Shiite cities including Basra, Amarah, Kut, Samawah and Nasiriyah.
On Thursday, however, al-Sadr called on his followers to end the clashes in the interest of Shiite unity. In calling for calm, al-Sadr, who led two uprisings against U.S. forces last year. urged ``all believers to spare the blood of the Muslims and to return to their homes.''
``I will not forget this attack on the office ... but Iraq is passing through a critical and difficult period that requires unity,'' he told reporters in his home in Najaf.
He demanded that Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of SCIRI, condemn ``what his followers have done.''
``I urge the believers not to attack innocent civilians and not to fall for American plots that aim to divide us,'' al-Sadr said. ``We are passing through a critical period and a political process.''
SCIRI denied any role in the attack on al-Sadr's office and issuing a statement urging an end to the bloodshed - also calling it ``a plot that targets our unity.''
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5233928,00.html
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The Sunnis are against wording involving the de-Baathification of Iraq, referring to the former Sunni-dominated Baath party, as well as articles which would allow regional autonomy, and subsequently give the Shiites the chance to take control of the oil-rich south of the country.
The initial deadline set by the United States for the parliament to approve the constitution was August 15. After failing to meet this time limit, a new deadline of August 22 was set. On this day it was announced that the document was almost ready, but politicians were being given three more days to reach agreement on the outstanding issues.
Once approved by parliament, the constitution is due to go to a nationwide referendum on October 15. However, the Sunnis have warned that if the Shiites and Kurds use their parliamentary majority to get it approved, despite Sunni opposition, they will push all Sunnis to vote it out at the referendum stage.
Amid the tensions over the constitution, violence has broken out between rival Shiite factions, mostly in the south in the country, leaving several people dead and prompting radical imam Moqtada al-Sadr to appeal for calm.
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.200871044&par=0