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BAGHDAD, Iraq 20.Aug. (AP) - Iraq's Kurdish
minority may give up its demand for the right to
secede in order to enable a compromise on a new
constitution, a senior Kurdish official said
Saturday, as protests against a proposed federal
charter continued for a second day.
Mullah Bakhtiyar, a senior official from the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the political party of
Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, said all parties
were showing flexibility in order to finish drafting
the constitution.
``As for the self-determination for the Kurds, this
issue did not enjoy the support of Sunnis or Shiites
and we almost gave up this demand,'' he said.
The Kurds have enjoyed de-facto independence since
1991. If they drop their demand to guarantee the
right of self-determination - a codeword for
eventual secession that goes beyond mere federalism
- it would represent a major concession and would
remove an obstacle to agreement on the charter by
next Monday's deadline.
The other main outstanding dispute concerns the role
of Islam in the new state, in which the Kurds and
secular groups are pitted against Islamist parties
representing Iraq's Shiite majority.
``As for the issue of Islam's role, negotiations are
still underway,'' Bakhtiyar, told The Associated
Press from the Kurdish city of Sulemaniyah.
As the Monday deadline to finish the constitution
approached, Sunni Arabs and some Shiites rallied in
Baghdad and elsewhere Friday to protest calls for a
federated state.
On Saturday, about 300 Arabs in the northern oil
city of Kirkuk demonstrated against federalism,
chanting ``Yes to unity, no to federalism.''
``We are against federalism (because) we believe
that federalism is a step toward separation,'' said
Mohammed Khalil, an Arab city council member.
In the 1980s, former leader Saddam Hussein displaced
thousands of Kurds from Kirkuk, and replaced them
with Arab settlers. The city, which the Kurds seek
to incorporate into their province, has been the
scene of interethnic tensions the past two years.
According to Article 58 in the interim constitution,
all Iraqis, including Kurds, displaced under
Saddam's regime have the right to return to their
homes or receive compensation. Political leaders
appear to have agreed on implementing Article 58,
before general elections are held on Dec. 15.
In addition to federalism, Islam and the future of
Kirkuk, other stumbling blocks to a new
constitutional pact are the status of women - with
Shiites seeking to roll back the rights granted to
women by Saddam's Baathist regime - and the division
of Iraq's potentially vast oil revenues.
The United States believes the key to defeating the
Sunni-dominated insurgency is to encourage an
inclusive political process that would encourage
disaffected Sunni Arabs to lay down arms.
On Friday, a Kurdish official who took part in the
negotiations said the United States was pressuring
the Kurds to accept demands of Shiites and Sunnis on
the role of Islam in government in order to reach
agreement.
The entire process hinges on the success of the
drafting committee in producing a constitution
acceptable to all Iraqi communities by Monday's
deadline. If parliament approves the draft, it goes
to voters for ratification in October.
On Saturday, leaders of all factions continued a
series of meetings in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone
regarding the new charter, officials said.
In recent weeks, various Sunni groups - which
boycotted January's parliamentary elections - have
been urging fellow Sunnis to vote in the referendum
and a general election planned for December. The
voter-registration deadline is Sept. 1.
The boycott left the once-dominant community with
few seats in a parliament dominated by Shiites and
Kurds, and reduced its influence in the political
maneuvering surrounding the draft charter.
In other developments, Ramadi police reported on
Friday that U.S. warplanes bombed a house in the
Khalaf district, destroying it but causing no
casualties. Police Capt. Nassir Al-Alousi said the
house was empty at the time of the air strike
because the family that lived there had left a few
hours earlier.
A statement released by the U.S. military Saturday
said only that Air Force F-16s and Royal Air Force
GR-4s had "provided close air support to coalition
troops'' in the Khalaf area. It gave no further
details.
www.guardian.co.uk
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