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Issues in dispute for Iraq constitution
31.7.2005
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BAGHDAD, Iraq
(AP) -- The role of Islam and even Iraq's future
name are among the issues that remain in dispute
only two weeks before the deadline for parliamentary
approval of the new constitution, committee members
drafting the document said Saturday.
More than 90 percent of the document is complete,
the members say. But the toughest issues remain
unresolved, and some say it is unlikely they can be
settled before the Aug. 15 deadline for
parliamentary approval.
By plan, after parliamentary approval, voters will
decide whether to approve the charter in a national
referendum in mid-October.
The United States considers meeting the deadlines
key toward building political momentum to take the
steam out of the insurgency.
Kurdish legislator Hussein Mohammed Taha, detailing
the disputed issues, said Kurds and Shiites agree
that Iraq should become a federal state while Sunni
Arabs object, fearing it could lead to the division
of the country.
''There is a group that wants Iraq to be called `The
Iraqi Islamic Federal Republic,' while the other
wants it called the `Iraqi Federal Republic' and
another group rejects both names,'' Taha said.
Another problem is whether the official language of
Iraq should be Arabic alone or Arabic and Kurdish,
he added.
There are even differences over whether Iraq should
be formally declared part of the Arab and Islamic
nation, or whether the document should state that
the Iraqi people are parts of those nations, he
said.
A serious point of disagreement appears to be the
role of Islam in the state. Shiites, who make up
about 60 percent of Iraq's estimated 27 million
people, want Islam to be the main source of
legislation, while the Kurds want it to be one of
the sources -- as it is in the interim constitution
approved before the Americans restored Iraqi
sovereignty in June 2004.
''The Americans and the British are demanding that
the constitution be done on time and we are asking
the Americans and British to put pressure on the
Kurds,'' said Jawad al-Maliki, a member of Prime
Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's Dawa party.
But Kurdish committee member Mahmoud Othman
criticized U.S. officials for pressuring the Kurds
and other framers to meet the deadline.
''If they want to interfere they should do it openly
inside the committee. The American ambassador should
... come speak during our meetings. He should not
speak to members on the side,'' Othman said. ''It is
a shame for a superpower to behave like this.''
Sunni Arab members of the drafting committee are
against extending the constitutional deadline
because ''we believe this will give an opportunity
to the current anarchy and bad security situation to
continue,'' Sunni Arab committee member Saleh al-Mutlaq
said.
Some decisions may have to be deferred until after
Iraqis elect a new parliament Dec. 15. Whether the
election is held at all, however, depends on
approval of the constitution, al-Mutlaq said.
AP
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