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With
wrangling over its membership resolved, Iraq's
constitutional committee is forging ahead with
drafting a new basic law.
Although Iraqi lawmakers acknowledge that drafting a
permanent constitution is one of the biggest
challenges facing the country, the team charged with
producing the document are cautiously optimistic
that they will complete the job on time.
Lawmakers are up against an August 15 deadline to
finish writing the constitution, a daunting task
considering the disputes that have taken place so
far even over who should sit on then 55-member
drafting committee.
The drafting team now has to grapple with the
controversial issues of federalism, the role of
Islam in governance and the status of oil-rich
Kirkuk.
"We hope that, God willing, things will go well and
we'll finish our work on time, particularly if we
deal with the thorny issues in a way that satisfies
all parties," said Humam Hammoodi, head of the
Constitutional Drafting Committee and a member of
the ruling United Iraqi Alliance.
The committee, which was formed in mid-May, now
meets every week and has divided into five groups
each dealing with a different topic: the basic
principles of the constitution, rights and
liberties, laws and the formation of the state,
federalism, and final principles.
"There are differing viewpoints among committee
members, but this doesn't mean there is no agreement
at all among them," said Sadi al-Barzinji, a
committee member from the Kurdish Alliance.
"Whatever the differences, they can be solved
through democratic dialogue."
Disputes over the number of slots given to Sunni
Arabs on the committee delayed the start of the
drafting process. After weeks of negotiations, it
was finally agreed they should have 25 places, of
which 15 would be actual members of the constitution
committee and 10 would be advisers.
But the National Assembly rejected the 25 names
nominated by Sunni groups, causing further acrimony.
"The Sunni list was rejected because it didn't
correctly represent Sunni personalities, parties and
regions," said Baha al-Araji, a member of the
Constitutional Drafting Committee who belongs to the
Independent National Bloc party "So we are going to
hold a meeting with the Sunni side to discuss this
issue."
On June 26, agreement was reached about the Sunni
names and they are expected to be ratified this week
by the National Assembly. With the 15 extra Sunnis,
the constitutional committee will expanded to a
membership of 70.
Two Sunni parliamentarians, Abdul-Rahman al-Niemi
from the Iraqi List and Adnan al-Janabi from the
United Iraqi Alliance, declined to comment on the
issue when IWPR approached them.
Differences between committee members such as
secular Kurds and religious Shias may also pose
problems in drafting the constitution, especially
when they debate what role Islam will play in Iraq.
The Transitional Administrative Law, TAL -
effectively an interim constitution - says that
Islam is "a source of legislation", but some are
pushing for stronger wording that would name Islam
as the principal or even the only source.
"Islam is the official religion of the state and it
is a basic source of legislation," said Azbar al-Hashimi,
a committee member and a member of the Islamic
Virtue Party.
Whether Iraq will be structured as a federal state
is also up for debate.
Committee member Abbas al-Bayati, of the Iraq
Islamic Turkoman Party, insists that there is no
"disagreement among the parties over the principle
of federalism" and that some form of it would
certainly be established.
But he added, "the disagreement is about defining
the powers of the regions and the central
government, and about the number of regions that
will be established in an Iraqi federal state".
Kurds have been pushing for a federal set-up so as
to maintain their semi-autonomous status in the
three northern provinces that make up the Kurdish
region, while Shias in the south are also pushing
for federalism because they want more independence
from Baghdad.
As for the status of Kirkuk, which is claimed by the
Kurds, Arabs and Turkoman who live there, al-Bayati
said it is an issue for all of Iraq, and should be
resolved by the National Assembly after the
constitution has been drafted.
He added that the administrative status of Kirkuk
would ultimately be decided by residents of the city
through a referendum, as is outlined in Article 58
of the TAL.
But Massoud Barzani, the new president of Iraqi
Kurdistan, is pressing for the Kirkuk's status to be
resolved and made explicit in the constitution.
Other contentious issues that will be dealt with by
the committee include women's rights, the design of
the Iraqi flag, and the status of militias that are
not part of the regular Iraqi military.
Committee members said they will look to the TAL as
one of the models for drafting the constitution, but
that it will not be their only source.
"We will look at the constitutions of Arab and
foreign countries and take that which is beneficial
to Iraq's realities," said al-Hashimi.
Lawmaker Ridha Taqi, who is not a member of the
constitution committee, said Iraq might benefit from
studying the Turkish experience.
"Turkey is a Muslim and democratic state that has
good relations with the West," Taqi said. "We too
want to be a democratic state and to have good
relations with the West."
Zaineb Naji is an IWPR trainee in Iraq..
www.iwpr.net
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