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Iraq constitution distributed before vote
4.10.2005
By Nick Wadhams
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UNITED NATIONS
-The United Nations has begun distributing millions
of copies of Iraq's draft constitution ahead of an
Oct. 15 referendum to approve or reject the
document, which was reportedly criticized in a
leaked U.N. memo.
U.N. officials on Monday sought to downplay the
leaked internal analysis written on Sept. 15 that
looked at the document's weaknesses. Newsweek
reported that the memo warned that the constitution
is a "model for the territorial division of the
State."
But the officials said it did not mean the U.N. was
backing away from the constitution, which was the
result of weeks of intense negotiations.
"As far as the U.N. is concerned, the constitution
itself will have to be judged by the Iraqis on the
15th of October during the referendum," U.N.
spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. "It should come as
no surprise that within the U.N. staff who deal with
Iraq there would be papers analyzing latest
developments in that country, but it's an internal
analysis."
Many officials both inside and outside Iraq have
warned that the constitutional process, meant to
unite Iraq, instead underscored divisions among
Iraq's three main communities. Sunni Arab leaders
fear the constitution will fragment Iraq, allowing
Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north to form
mini-states.
The run-up to the referendum has seen a wave of
violence from the Sunni-led insurgency, in which
more than 200 people have been killed in the past
eight days, including 16 U.S. troops. Late last
month, the International Crisis Group said the
efforts to push through a constitution so quickly
had only exacerbated tensions and could make the
insurgency worse.
Nonetheless, the referendum is going ahead, and
distribution to all of Iraq has begun, U.N. deputy
spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday.
Haq said some 4 million copies would be printed in
Arabic -- at a rate of 250,000 a day -- while the
Kurdish north will get 1 million. Another 250,000
will be printed in Turkoman, and 150,000 in Syriac
languages, modern variants of the Aramaic spoken in
Jesus' time.
Iraqi groups are handling most of the distribution,
with Baghdad and southern cities such as Basra and
Kerbala already receiving copies, Haq said.
"Printing in Arabic started on Sept. 19, the day
after the final text was approved, and it's being
distributed to all and sundry," Haq said.
Iraq's Council of Ministers will have various Sunni
groups distribute the text to the violent Sunni
Triangle, after initially failing to find anyone to
do the job because of fears of attack.
Dujarric said the United Nations had received no
reports of violence against those distributing the
text.
The U.N. has not put a cost on printing and
distributing the text, but it will be paid with some
of the $25.4 million provided by the European Union,
Canada, Denmark, Britain and the United States to
support constitutional activities.
AP
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