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BAGHDAD, Aug 5 (AFP) - 11h11 - A crucial
national meeting of Iraqi leaders scheduled for
Friday to resolve constitutional problems was
postponed for two days because of an emergency
meeting of the Kurdish autonomous parliament.
The delay came against a backdrop of unremitting
violence that has killed about 40 military personnel
in 10 days, and new Al-Qaeda warnings that the
United States and Britain risked more death and
destruction if they do not leave Iraq and other
Muslim lands.
"The meeting of leaders was delayed from today to
Sunday in order to allow for a greater number of
participants to attend as a large number of people
had not received invitations," a spokesman at
President Jalal Talabani's office said.
Talabani had called the meeting to break the
deadlock on a new constitution and resolve
outstanding questions which constitutional committee
members have so far failed to agree.
The issues include federalism, official languages,
the relation between religion and state, the name of
the republic, the rights of women and the question
of the oil-rich centre of Kirkuk which Kurds want
included in their own autonomous region.
Iraqi leaders have pledged to draft a new
constitution by August 15 ahead of a referendum in
mid-October, to be followed by elections in
mid-December and the inauguration of a new
government at the start of 2006.
Mahmud Othman, a Kurdish member of the
constitutional committee, told AFP the national
conference was delayed because of an emergency
meeting Saturday of the Kurdish autonomous
parliament to discuss the charter.
Kurdish leader Massud Barzani "cannot come to
Baghdad before Sunday" because of the parliamentary
meeting, Othman said.
"The leadership in Kurdistan asked for the Kurdish
committee members to come back and explain to our
parliament what has been discussed in Baghdad," said
Falah Mustafa, a spokesman for Barzani's Kurdistan
Democratic Party.
"We are worried about comments from some on the
committee regarding federalism, Kurdish rights,
democracy and women's rights," Adnan Mufti, head of
the Kurdish regional parliament and senior official
of Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party
told AFP from Arbil.
He said the Kurds are ready to endorse the charter
"if all parties understand that a constitution
should be based on rights for all Iraqis, if not we
cannot reach an agreement."
"We are insisting on federalism, there is no way to
have a unified Iraq without federalism."
Mufti hoped others in Baghdad would accede to
Kurdish federalist demands, but said three issues
could be problematic -- the future of Kirkuk, the
name of Iraq and the role of Islam.
"We want Islam to be a main source of legislation,
but not the main source," Mufti said. "Iraq is a
country for all -- Christians and Yezidis, as well
as Sunni and Shiite."
The conference is due to report back by August 12,
and any matters still unresolved will be put to the
full parliament for decision by majority vote.
Iraq will be a parliamentary republic with a strong
prime minister and a figurehead president, according
to the latest draft of the constitution.
There has been no let-up in insurgent violence, with
some 40 US military personnel killed in the last 10
days, one of the deadliest tolls for the Americans
since the March 2003 invasion.
Wednesday was one of the worst days for US forces as
18 troops were killed in various attacks across
Iraq, 14 of them in a single roadside bombing.
Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri,
aired a new threat warning the United States and its
allies of more death and destruction in a video
broadcast on Al-Jazeera television.
"The Americans... will see horror that would make
them forget the horror they saw in Vietnam,"
Zawahiri said.
US President George W. Bush said Al-Qaeda wanted to
drive the United States and its allies out but he
vowed to "stay the course."
"We will complete the job in Iraq," he said. "And
the job is this: We will help the Iraqis develop a
democracy."
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari on Thursday
unveiled a new security plan to take on the
insurgents, after 21 Iraqis were killed that day.
Jaafari's 12-point plan included strengthening
intelligence coordination and more efforts to secure
Iraq's borders to stop infiltration.
"We are at war ... the worst kind of war," Jaafari
said.
AFP
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