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BAGHDAD, Aug 21 (AFP) - 9h30 - Iraqi leaders
battled Sunday to wrap up a constitution within 48
hours but consensus on thorny issues remains
elusive, with Washington pressuring the Kurds to
drop their demands over control of vital oil
resources.
Sharp differences remain on federalism, the role of
Islam and sharing of oil wealth, some of the key
planks of the first post-Saddam Hussein charter
which is now due to be put to parliament on Monday
after an August 15 deadline was missed.
"We have a problem here... there is one group who
wants a 21st century constitution and there is
another group who wants a seventh century
constitution," said one source closely involved in
the negotiations.
"Unfortunately, America is looking at both the
groups with the same eye. They just want the draft
to be ready on time."
The Kurds, who also want their de facto autonomous
northern region to include the oil centre of Kirkuk,
have been demanding first rights to the oil produced
there.
Last week, negotiators proposed one formula for
distributing Iraq's vast oil wealth whereby each
oil-producing region would take a small percentage
for itself, with the rest transferred to Baghdad for
national distribution.
An exact arrangement is still to be worked out and
the Kurds are pushing for maximum gains.
Iraq's constitution, dogged by differences between
the disparate ethnic groups, is seen as key to the
country's political transition and possible early
withdrawal of US-led troops.
It is due to go to a referendum in October ahead of
new elections in December.
Sources close to the negotiations said US ambassador
Zalmay Khalilzad, who attended meetings until late
Saturday, has asked the Kurds to soften their stand
on oil as well as their demand for
self-determination.
"The US is pressuring the Kurds to give up these two
demands," said one source.
Kurdish leaders on Saturday offered to compromise on
self-determination.
They had been keen for language to be included in
the charter giving them the right to
self-determination, which would effectively allow
them to secede from Iraq at some point in the
future.
The United States on Saturday dropped its opposition
to enshrining Islam as "the" main source of
legislation and not just "a" main source -- a move
aimed at pleasing the majority Shiites.
Washington is determined to see the date met after
the first deadline was missed last Monday, fearing
that any delay in the political process will benefit
Sunni Arab insurgents.
The Kurds have rejected moves to make Islam as "the"
main source of law, saying it would harm women's
rights and Iraq's secular tradition.
"We will oppose this as much as we can," Kurdish
constitution committee member Mahmud Otham said.
The role of Islam has proved a heavily divisive
issue, with leaders of the Shiite majority insisting
religion be considered the main legal foundation,
and that clerics be given political roles.
One Western official said "no one is looking to
establish an Islamic state. The intent is to ensure
that Islam is respected in addition to other
established rights."
Observes speculate that the Shiites and Kurds, who
enjoy a majority in parliament, may forge a
compromise over the heads of Sunni negotiators.
"We have been sidelined... we have met the leaders
only twice since the new deadline," said Saleh al-Motlag,
a constitution commmitee member from the former
Sunni Arab elite which largely boycotted January's
landmark elections.
"They (Shiite and Kurds) will prepare a draft and
ask us to sign. If we do it, we will be blamed by
our people and if we do not the leaders will blame
us for obstructing the political process. This is
unfair."
Motlag had warned that the Sunnis would defeat the
constitution at the during the mid-October
referendum if they are ignored.
Under Iraq's interim law, the charter will fail if
two-thirds of voters in any three provinces reject
it in the referendum.
Sunni Arabs form a majority in Al-Anbar, Ninevah and
Salaheddin provinces.
Ansar al-Sunna, an extremist group linked to
Al-Qaeda, warned Sunnis to boycott the referendum.
"A constitution is for illegitimate states," it said
in an Internet statement Sunday. "Anyone who obeys a
law other than God's law is a miscreant."
With August one of the deadliest months for American
troops since the March 2003 invasion, US President
George W. Bush defended the Iraq war again in his
weekly radio address Saturday.
"We must finish the task that our troops have given
their lives for and honor their sacrifice by
completing their mission," said Bush, whose approval
ratings have slipped to some of the lowest levels of
his presidency.
AFP
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