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Federalism emerges as deal - Breaker in
Iraq
13.8.2005
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BAGHDAD, Iraq
(AP) -- As the deadline neared to approve an Iraqi
constitution, Shiite and Kurdish leaders agreed on
the name of the country, Islam as the state religion
and what to do about Kurds displaced from the
ethnically-mixed city of Kirkuk, a Kurdish
legislator said. But Sunni Arab politicians were
pessimistic of reaching a deal by the Monday
deadline, with one, Saleh al-Mutlaq, saying
discussions ''need divine intervention.''
Iraq's three major Sunni organizations appeared to
have taken a united stand both for voting and
against demands for federalism after they boycotted
the Jan. 30 parliamentary elections.
The Kurdish minority has demanded federalism be
enshrined in the constitution to protect the
regional self-rule it has enjoyed in the north since
1991. Many Sunni Arabs, a formerly dominant
minority, oppose federalism, fearing it would lead
to the breakup of Iraq.
Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish legislator, said late
Friday that Shiites and Kurds have agreed that the
country be called the Iraqi Federal Republic and
that Islam be the religion of the state. Kurds from
Kirkuk would receive compensation or be permitted to
return to city, Othman said.
Othman said Shiites and Kurds, who hold majority
seats in parliament, had offered concessions to each
other, but said disagreements with Sunni Arabs had
been more difficult to resolve.
Other major issues remained unresolved, such as the
role of Islam in state laws and how the government
should distribute the country's wealth.
During a speech Thursday to cheering crowds in the
city of Najaf, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the
country's biggest Shiite party, called for a Shiite
federal state, saying it was needed ''to keep a
political balance in the country'' after decades of
dictatorship under Saddam Hussein.
Al-Hakim's comment drew a strong response from Sunni
clerics throughout Iraq during Friday sermons. The
clerics urged followers Friday to register and vote
against a constitution that enshrines federalism.
At the Kmeira Mosque in Baghdad's northern
neighborhood of Rashdiyah, about 500 Sunni Arabs
gathered to listen to Sheik Ayad al-Izzi say ''we
reject these calls (for federalism) and we look to
them with suspicion.''
Al-Mutlaq, a Sunni member of the constitution
drafting committee, said he and the other Sunnis
have told the Shiites and the Kurds that if they put
federalism in the constitution, ''it will be
rejected by the people.''
Sunnis were preparing their people to go out and
vote, in contrast the Jan. 30 elections. Sunnis
largely stayed away from that vote, fearing
insurgent attacks or heeding boycott calls by rebels
and hard-line clerics.
''We call our sons to go out and register their
names so that they can take part in the coming
referendum on the constitution and the general
elections,'' Sheik Fakhri al-Qaisi told a
congregation in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit,
80 miles north of Baghdad.
Al-Qaisi told worshippers at Tikrit's Grand Mosque
that ''we should all go out and vote.''
Sheik Mahmoud al-Sumaidaie, of the influential
Association of Muslim Scholars, told worshippers at
Baghdad's Umm al-Qura mosque to register for the
referendum and the Dec. 15 general elections because
''we are in need to your voice to say 'yes' for the
constitution or 'no'.''
''We, in this country, don't want federalism because
we are a unified nation in this country and we feel
that Iraq with all it's elements is for all'' of us,
al-Sumaidaie said.
The move by the Sunnis comes three days before a
deadline for the constitution to be handed to
parliament by the drafting committee. Shiite, Sunni
and Kurdish political leaders have been discussing
several points of disagreement, including
federalism, for days.
The Sunnis appear to be sending a warning that they
can bring down the constitution in the Oct. 15
referendum. According to the country's interim
charter, the constitution will be void if it is
rejected by two-thirds of voters in three provinces.
Sunnis are a majority in the provinces of Anbar,
Salahuddin, Ninevah and Diyala.
Al-Izzi, of the Kmeira Mosque, said ''don't sit at
home because by staying at home it means you are
accepting. We will say no to anything that
contradicts with our religion and we will say no to
anything that leads to splitting the country.''
AP
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