|
|
|
|
Iraqis vote themselves some
time
By Kathleen Ridolfo
Just before midnight on August 15, Iraq's
National Assembly voted unanimously to amend the
Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), Iraq's
interim constitution, to allow the committee
charged with drafting a permanent constitution
seven more days to draft the document - that is,
to August 22.
The
TAL, written by the Coalition Provisional
Authority, initially called for a draft to be
written by August 15, or the National Assembly
would be dissolved. Iraqi officials said that
despite intense meetings between Sunni, Shi'ite
and Kurdish members of the drafting committee,
agreement could not be reached on some issues.
"I can summarize them in
the following points," Prime Minister Ibrahim
Jaafari said in response to a question posed by
RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) during a August 16
news briefing. "Details of federalism; details of
[the question of sharing natural] resources; a
detailed formulation on the balance of authority
and the distribution of power [between the center
and federal regions]; details of the
representation of [federal] regions abroad [in
Iraq's diplomatic missions]; and details of
defining the electoral system." He added that the
remaining obstacles were "very minute details".
Interestingly, Jaafari did not mention the
role of Islam, which is believed to be one of the
major problem areas. Shi'ite leaders want a
special status for the Shi'ite clerical hierarchy
in Najaf. Sunni Arabs and Kurds, most of whom are
also Sunnis, oppose such a special status for one
sect. Some feel that calls for designating Islam
as the main source of law (opposed to
a source) would curtail their rights.
"Yesterday, when the leaders went into the
meetings, some of the participants said that they
went in with a certain number of issues of
disagreement, but they came out with more issues
which were not settled," said Kamran al-Karadaghi,
spokesman for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
Karadaghi also said that the
constitutional committee was trying to bridge
differences between two draft versions of the
charter - one presented by the religious parties,
the other reflecting more secular values.
"They have actually two texts, maybe, of a
draft constitution written in different ways,"
Karadaghi said. "There is a more modern
constitution, and another [in a] language with a
lot of religious flavor, I would say. So, this is
why they really couldn't reach an agreement. And
they spent a lot of time, for example, discussing
the preamble which was, again, two different
languages, and also, of course, the other issues
like, still, the resources, oil and gas, and
federalism."
In face of the continuing
disputes, Iraqi and US leaders continue to express
optimism that an agreement can be reached with
another week's work.
"The differences,
frankly, are huge, and it will take strong
national will on all sides to reach a consensus,"
Reuters quoted Saleh al-Mutlaq, spokesman for the
Sunni Arab umbrella group Iraqi National Dialogue,
as saying. "The political parties should renounce
their differences, and should reduce their
differences, and think about what the Iraqi people
want. The Iraqi people do not want division and do
not want federalism."
With or without
the Sunnis?
Shi'ite and Kurdish leaders
avoided blaming Sunni Arabs outright for the
delay, but contended that the draft was ready on
August 15, and only postponed to allow more time
to satisfy "some" drafters opposed to certain
provisions in the document.
The two groups
now stand poised to submit the draft to parliament
on August 22, with or without the Sunnis on board.
The two parties together form a majority in the
assembly and could easily send it to referendum
without the Sunnis. Such a move would prove
disastrous for Sunni Arabs who were politically
sidelined after boycotting January's elections. It
would also be seen as a setback in the progress
made between Sunnis, Kurds and the majority
Shi'ites.
"We were at the very verge of
arriving at an agreement," Shi'ite leader Husayn
Shahristani told RFI on August 15. "There are only
some [Sunni Arab] brothers who did not participate
in the elections [of January] and later were
invited to join the political process. They have
had some objections against some paragraphs on the
federal system."
Sunni negotiators had
expressed disappointment after Kurdish and Shi'ite
drafters this week rejected their proposal to
postpone the details of the outstanding issues -
particularly federalism - until a new National
Assembly convenes in December. The next assembly,
Sunnis argue, will be more balanced in terms of
representation, placing them in a better position
to have their demands met.
Federalism
and fragmentation
Sunnis believe that
Kurdish and Shi'ite proposals for federalism will
lead to a fragmentation of the country along
sectarian lines, with a Shi'ite region in the
south and a Kurdish region to the north. Some
Sunnis do recognize the "special" status of Iraq's
Kurds and even point to earlier Iraqi governments'
recognition of the Kurdish situation. However, the
Sunnis strongly reject Shi'ite attempts to
establish a regional government.
On the
issue of the distribution of resources, Sunnis
would prefer that all resources be distributed
equally through the central government to the
governorates. Shi'ites, who hold the majority in
government, have said they support the Sunni
proposal, but Kurds would prefer to retain control
over their resources, particularly if the oil-rich
governorate of Kirkuk is incorporated into the
Kurdistan region.
"Regarding the natural
resources of Iraq, there is a stance taken by the
[United Iraqi] Alliance, the [Sunni Arab] brothers
invited to join the political process, and others
in general," Shahristani said. "It is: The natural
resources are the common property of all Iraqi
people, [which have] to be administrated by the
central federal government." In addition, he said,
income generated from these resources must be
"distributed to all regions of Iraq in a just way,
depending on the population density and the needs
of the respective region".
Even if the
outstanding issues are resolved and the Sunni
drafters satisfied, they will still need to sell
it to their constituencies. Some Sunni leaders
outside the drafting process have already said
that they will consider any document drafted under
occupation illegitimate. Muthanna Harith al-Dari,
spokesman for the influential Muslim Scholars
Association, hinted in a August 15 interview with
al-Jazeera television that the group would not
support the referendum.
Transparent
process
Jaafari praised the transparency
of the drafting process, telling reporters on
August 16: "I am very happy about the transparency
of the dialogue conducted and of the way in which
everyone voted. I strongly hope that other
brothers have felt the same mood and the same
determination so that we successfully complete
this task and present the Iraqi constitution to
the whole world watching us."
Jaafari said
that all sides were required to make concessions
during the drafting process, adding that those
concessions could only benefit the entire
constitutional process.
He told reporters
that the document would reflect the common points
of interest among Iraqis. "I would say they are
the freedom of individual, the freedom of belief,
unity of Iraq, sovereignty of Iraq, adopting
democratic principles, the separation of three
powers [ie, legislative, executive and judicial],
women's rights and human rights," RFI reported.
If the constitution is not approved, the
whole political timetable in Iraq could be
derailed, causing even the suspension of planned
full elections in December and the dissolution of
the country into a political vacuum. Some Sunni
leaders have said that if the additional week does
not produce a breakthrough, they will push for
dissolving the National Assembly and holding a new
election.
Copyright (c) 2005, RFE/RL
Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington DC 20036 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
All material on this
website is copyright and may not be republished in any form without written
permission.
© Copyright 1999 - 2005 Asia Times
Online Ltd.
|
|
Head
Office: Rm 202, Hau Fook Mansion, No. 8 Hau Fook St., Kowloon, Hong
Kong
Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
|
|
|
|
