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Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat- In an exclusive
interview with Asharq al-Awsat, Iraq's vice
president Ghazi Ajil al-Yawir criticized the final
draft of the Iraqi constitution and the failure of
its agreement by political leaders. He also stated
that as well as the Arab Sunnis, Arab Shiites have
opposed any version of the constitution that
infringes upon Iraq's unity.
Al-Yawir stated, "From the beginning, our opinion
concerning the constitution has been that it should
not reflect the results of past elections that have
created a unique situation as a complete sector of
the Iraqi people were unable to participate. The
results of the elections were intended to be a basis
for drafting the constitution. There should be
elections to nominate a committee to draft the
constitution in order to bring forward
representatives for all of Iraq's divisions."
He added, "We want this constitution to be a
permanent feature of Iraq and for every Iraqi, and
not to be at the whim of a certain group, religion,
or ideology. Rather, it should have a common ground.
What really happened was that two groups
representing the majority in the National Assembly,
the Coalition and the Kurdish Alliance, wrote it.
Unfortunately, we have reached the point where there
are fundamental disagreements over three or four
issues despite ignoring many points. The main points
are still pending and we have been unable to reach a
conclusion. Despite all the talk, there is a crisis
in finalizing these points because we want the
constitution to be one of accord and not according
to the balances of powers in order to ensure its
success."
Al-Yawir pointed out that "there would be a balanced
house of representatives if all the Iraqis were to
take part in the upcoming elections. Only then will
many amendments to the constitution be made with the
Iraqi people's minds free from the concepts of
sectarianism, entrenchment, and quotas." He said,
"There are many contradictions in this constitution
and I do not believe that it will be successful when
implemented even if it passes the referendum test."
The Iraqi vice president warned of the federal and
provincial system within the Arab region of Iraq and
said, "Federalism has many explanations. It is not a
specific mould or pattern but could be broad or
narrow. I believe that the Kurdistan region is a
unique case and has geographic, cultural, and
national traits for our Kurdish brothers. However, I
find great difficulty in justifying or accepting
federations within the Arab regions of Iraq. Iraq
can be two federations, Kurdish and Arab. We should
not talk about unspecific federations because this
might create a state of affairs in large provinces
in terms of population and resources and therefore
pose a threat to the unity of Iraq's soil. We need
more time to develop our Arab side because it is
premature in comparison to Kurdistan. The more time
we have the more it is in the interest of the
public."
Al-Yawir emphasized that, "What is proposed now is
some kind of confederacies and not even federalism
which is obvious from the discussions concerning two
governorates having the right to unite as one. This
removes the national umbrella, consequently posing a
great danger to the homeland. Therefore, I raise my
hand to all the well-intentioned forces among the
country's nationalists who seek to strengthen the
Iraqi identity in a country that protects the
dignity of all of its citizens. We should talk only
after action and not completely concern ourselves
with who belongs to which sect. Yes, we are proud of
Arab nationalism but not at the expense of the
nationalities of our other Iraqi brothers."
Al-Yawir criticized the practices of the midnight
arrests against the citizens, saying, "This does not
befit an Iraq that we want to be democratic. It is a
dictatorial method and everyone will be brought to
account for what they have committed against the
people. I personally raised the issue more than
three times at the presidential council and with the
National Assembly speaker and said that the forces
that are carrying out the arrests cannot be
impersonators as they arrive in convoys in the
middle of the night and during the curfew hours.
These are Iraqi police forces. It is unacceptable
for the police to be the ones violating the law and
igniting sectarian conflict in the country. We asked
the prime minister to form a committee that includes
members of the presidential council to investigate
the matter in accordance to the law, because the
orders have been issued by the cabinet to the
ministries to stop the midnight arrests."
After calling for a separation between religion and
politics, the Iraqi vice president said, "I believe
religion is too sacred to be polluted by politics.
The religious course should be separate from the
politics one. Religion directs the country towards
compassion and the welfare of the public while
politics involves much planning, maneuvers,
prevarications, and compromises and it is
inappropriate for it to wear the cloak of religion."
Regarding the Arab League's demand for an
explanation to the remark that "the Arabs in Iraq
are part of the Arab people", Al-Yawir highlighted
the importance of ignoring such a comment, as it
serves no justice for Iraq's identity. He said, "We
say that Iraq is part of the Arab and Muslim world.
The world is not a race but a culture, geography,
and history. Iraq is an active part of the Arab
world."
Asharq Alawsat
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