[ppi] [ppiindia] Top Sunnis reject draft Iraq charter

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**http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A97BED33-CF7F-4EA8-9122-D5874359CF95.htm


Top Sunnis reject draft Iraq charter


Sunday 28 August 2005, 9:33 Makka Time, 6:33 GMT    


Five top Sunni Arabs in Iraq's government have spoken out against the draft 
constitution proposed by Shia and Kurds as Sunni negotiators submitted 
counter-proposals on the document.


The statement on Saturday by the five delivers a major blow to last-minute 
efforts to craft a document that can win the backing of all ethnic and 
political groups in the country. 

Their comments also come shortly after Sunni negotiators offered their own 
proposals on the deal-breaking issues of federalism and the fate of former 
ruling party members as US diplomats worked furiously to mediate a deal on the 
eve of a parliament session to sign off on the draft. 

US officials pressed the Shia, Kurdish and Sunni Arab delegations to reach a 
consensus so the National Assembly can be presented a document acceptable to 
all - enhancing chances for easy approval by voters in a 15 October referendum. 

Shia and Kurd leaders already accepted the draft, but parliamentary approval 
over objections by the Sunni minority would be a severe blow to US President 
George Bush's hopes that a new constitution will draw Sunnis from the 
anti-American battle by armed fighters and hasten the day US troops can go 
home. 

Final offers

     
      Zalmay Khalilzad met negotiators 
      to broker an acceptable draft 
     
There was no comment on the new Sunni proposals from Shia and Kurds, who said 
compromises on federalism and purging Baath Party members that they submitted 
on Friday were their final offers. 

Sunni negotiators said on Saturday that those revisions were unacceptable. 

US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad met various negotiators and parliament's Sunni 
speaker, Hajim al-Hassani, late on Saturday trying to broker wording acceptable 
to the Sunnis. 

But prospects for a compromise dimmed when four Sunni Arab members of the 
cabinet and a Sunni deputy prime minister declared that they objected to 13 
provisions in the draft - more points than Sunni negotiators cited in talks on 
Friday. 

Objections

The statement was issued by Culture Minister Nouri Farhan al-Rawi, Minister of 
State for Women's Affairs Azhar Abdel-Karim, Minister of State for Provincial 
Affairs Saad al-Hardan, Industry Minister Osama al-Najafi and Deputy Prime 
Minister Abed Mutlaq al-Jbouri.

     
      Sunnis want all reference to 
      Saddam's Baath Party removed 
     

Among other things, the five Sunnis objected to measures reserving government 
posts for members of specific religious groups, demanded postponement of any 
decision on federalism, wanted all references to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party 
removed and insisted the constitution identify Iraq as an Arab - and not just 
an Islamic - country. 

Although the five were not directly involved in the negotiations, the statement 
was significant because of their stature in the community. 

If Sunnis of such rank find the draft objectionable, it is questionable whether 
supporters could sell the document to rank-and-file Sunni voters more 
influenced by radical clerics and vulnerable to threats by fighters. 

Strong vote

Sunni Arabs account for only 20% of Iraq's 27 million people, but they are in a 
strong position to derail the constitution. 

If two-thirds of voters in any three provinces reject the charter in the 
referendum, the constitution will be defeated, and Sunnis have the majority in 
at least four provinces. 

     
      Sunnis are in a strong position to 
      vote down the draft in October
     
Unless there are further changes, Sunni leaders said their people should oppose 
the charter peacefully by voting no in the referendum. 

"We want you to express your point of view but without violence," said the 
Sunnis' chief negotiator Saleh al-Mutlaq. 

In a bid to placate Sunnis, the US military announced on Saturday that nearly 
1000 security detainees - virtually all believed to be Sunnis - had been 
released from Abu Ghraib prison the past several days. It was the largest 
release to date. 

Iraqi police, meanwhile, said they freed an unspecified number of people 
arrested this week in the Madain area, 19km southeast of Baghdad. 

Sunnis had complained the Shia-controlled police arrested dozens of Sunnis 
there to keep them from enrolling to vote in the constitutional referendum 
before the registration deadline this Thursday. 

Legislature meeting 

Al-Hassani, the parliament speaker, said he planned to convene the legislature 
on Sunday, but no hour was announced. 

It was unclear whether the draft constitution would be put to a vote in the 
assembly, where Shia and Kurds hold 221 of the 275 seats. 

     
      Kurds and Shia offered to put off
      discussion on federalism 
     
The speaker said Shia and Kurds sought to address Sunni concerns by offering on 
Friday to put off consideration of federalism's details until after a new 
parliament is elected in December, when Sunnis are expected to expand on the 17 
seats they won on 30 January after many Sunnis boycotted that vote. 

Shia and Kurds also acknowledged that many members of Saddam's party were not 
criminals and would not be covered by a charter provision on purging Baathists 
from government and public life, al-Hassani said. 

Sunni negotiator Fakhri al-Qaisi said his side saw no "essential change" in 
those areas and submitted their own proposed wording. 

Shia negotiator Ali al-Adeeb insisted his group offered major concessions. 

Rejection of draft

Opponents of the constitution within both the Sunni and Shia communities 
rejected the draft even before it was finalised. 

      "We consider this draft as a next step of this process which does not 
represent the peoples' will"

      Alliance of Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars and Shia leader Muqtada 
al-Sadr's movement 
     
An alliance including the Sunnis' Association of Muslim Scholars and the 
movement of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr condemned a "political process which 
had been led by occupiers and their collaborators".

"We consider this draft as a next step of this process which does not represent 
the peoples' will," the group declared. 

Sunnis fear that federalism, demanded by Shia and Kurds, not only would 
establish a giant Shia state in the south but also encourage Kurds to try to 
expand their self-rule region into northern oil-producing areas.

Sunnis resent attempts to ban former Baath Party members because they believe 
that would deprive them of a livelihood and prevent Iraq from using the talents 
of thousands of professors, senior executives and others who joined the 
organisation to advance their careers. 

However, Shia and Kurds suffered under Saddam, and hatred for the Baath Party 
runs deep.  


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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