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Nechirvan Barzani, Kurds would rather
continue without a constitution than "half-baked"
document
21.7.2005
Michael Howard in Irbil
"Iraqi constitution in trouble as Sunnis walk out"
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Iraq's constitution, a key plank of America's exit
strategy, was in turmoil yesterday as Sunni members
of the drafting committee walked out, Kurdish
leaders said they could live without a deal, and
women's groups balked at a proposal to give a strong
role to Islamic law.
Iraqi legislators also complained that US and
British officials were interfering because they were
keen for the August 15 deadline to be met.
The 13 Sunni Arab members of the 71-strong drafting
committee walked out after the assassination on
Tuesday of two colleagues outside a Baghdad
restaurant.
"The environment in Iraq isn't right for anyone to
get work done," council member Salih al-Mutlaq said.
Another Sunni member of the team, who requested
anonymity, said: "If our security can be guaranteed
then we will return."
Fifteen Sunni members were added to the committee
last month in an attempt to reach out to the once
dominant Sunni minority. Sunni militants regard any
dealings with Iraq's US-backed political
establishment as treason.
There were further political boycotts yesterday.
Half of Basra's provincial council walked out in
protest at the increasing number of assassinations
and kidnappings, and poor public services.
The country's interim law sets a deadline of August
15 for a draft to be agreed. It will then be put to
a nationwide referendum by mid-October. The
constitution will form the basis for elections in
December. With violence still raging in parts of the
country, there were hopes that a smooth drafting
process would wrest the initiative from the
insurgents.
But discussions have exposed Iraq's ethnic and
sectarian fault lines. Sources close to the talks
say Kurds and Sunni Arabs "are far apart" over
issues such as federalism, Kirkuk and the rights of
the regions to exploit natural resources.
Secularists and Islamists disagree over the role of
sharia law. A draft chapter of the constitution
dealing with the role of Islamic law has angered
women's groups. They fear proposals to involve
religious authorities in personal status laws will
destroy freedoms gained over decades in Iraq. |
Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the
Kurdistan regional government in Irbil, said
yesterday that Kurds would rather continue without a
constitution than sign up to a "half-baked" document
that puts off key issues in order to meet the
deadline.
"We want an agreement and we will spare no effort to
achieve one by the August deadline," Mr Barzani told
the Guardian. "But it will be impossible for us to
accept a constitution if we know that the demands
and the aspirations of the Kurdish people on
federalism, Kirkuk and the control of natural
resources in our region have not been met."
He said Kurds believed that foreign policy, defence
and monetary policy should be handled by the federal
government in Baghdad, but "everything else should
go to the regions". |
Prime minister of Kurdistan Region Government
Nechirvan Barzani |
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The Kurds' wish to decentralise is opposed by the
Sunni Arabs, who want to see a strong central
government. "Our patience with the Sunnis has a
limit," said Mr Barzani, who heads the newly unified
Kurdish administration.
He said Kurds could never accept a Sunni Arab demand
to describe Iraq as being part of the Arab nation.
"If they want to say that the Arab part of Iraq is
part of the Arab nation, that is fine. Then we can
say the Kurdish part of Iraq is part of the Kurdish
nation. But somehow I don't think they'll agree to
that."
Iraq's interim law provides for a six-month
extension for a constitution, but US officials say
there must be no slippage. The eagerness to see a
deal done on time has led to accusations of
heavy-handedness and raised concerns about the
potentially negative effects of a "rushed document".
"The US and the UK are working behind the scenes,
dealing with all the groups, saying it should be
like this and it should be like that," said Mr
Barzani. "Like the Sunnis they seem to want to
centralise power in Baghdad - it's very
disappointing."
Mahmoud Othman, a member of the constitutional
committee in Baghdad, said US and UK officials were
being governed by their domestic agendas. "They and
the British are meeting individually behind the
scenes with members of the committee. It's not right
and is counterproductive. If they have something to
say, why don't they come and address the whole
committee?"
Mr Othman said that the Kurds and their senior
coalition partners, the Shia Alliance, were in broad
agreement on many issues, but meeting the deadline
was doubtful. "Iraq hasn't had a good constitution
in 80-plus years. Will it really make a difference
if we wait a few more months to get it right?"
www.guardian.co.uk
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