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BAGHDAD-Iraq, 14.Sep. Even though a supposedly
final version of Iraq's draft constitution was read
aloud to the country's parliament more than two
weeks ago, negotiations over many key provisions in
the charter are still ongoing.
Sunni leaders met with Kurds last week in northern
Iraq to write more changes into the charter almost a
month after the Aug. 15 deadline and subsequent
extensions.
The country's new charter was to be printed and
distributed by now, giving Iraqis time to consider
it ahead of an Oct. 15 referendum. But it's clear
that the country remains far away from having a
final version of its new constitution.
While breaking all the procedural rules, talks do
signal that Sunni concerns over federalism, for one,
are getting a full airing. A compromise could
diminish Sunni objections to early versions of the
document - which they vowed to defeat - that they
complained weakened the state and gave too much
autonomy to Shiites and Kurds.
Many political analysts have said all along that the
key to undercutting the insurgency - which is
largely made up of Sunni Iraqis - is to bring the
Sunni minority into the political process in
meaningful ways.
In Tal Afar, in northern Iraq near the Syrian
border, US and Iraqi troops continued to fight
insurgents Tuesday. The operation, in its fourth
day, is an attempt to block funds and fighters from
flowing across the border through Tal Afar. Iraqi
forces said they killed 14 insurgents and arrested
35 Tuesday. Earlier this week, many of the
insurgents melted away through a complex tunnel
system once troops entered the city.
While Sunnis have returned to the negotiating table,
it's far from clear if new talks will result in a
constitution satisfactory enough to win all Sunnis
over. Indeed, some Sunni leaders have already
written off these latest talks.
Naseer al-Ani, a Sunni from the Iraqi Islamic Party
and member of the constitutional committee who was
in the meetings in northern Iraq, says they feel "40
percent" better because new talks have been opened.
He even sensed the Kurds might be willing to delay
any moves toward federalism.
But, he says, "I'm not very optimistic. I don't want
to say that because I am in the process and I want
it to continue."
The main issue at hand is again the Sunni demand
that federalism not be included at all in the
constitution but set aside to be decided by a future
national assembly. But Shiites just as adamantly
insist that federalism be explicitly protected in
the constitution. All sides agree that federalism
will extend at least to the Kurds so they can keep
their semiautonomous region in the north. The
question is whether federalism will also mean
Shiites can form their own semiautonomous region in
the south.
Hussein Shukur al-Falluji, a Sunni involved with the
original constitution talks, suspects the Kurds are
acting on orders by the US to hold the talks in an
effort to weaken Sunni opposition ahead of next
month's referendum. "The Americans say there is
negotiations between the Sunnis and the Kurds to
decrease the effect of [saying] no, in the
referendum," Mr. Falluji says. "What we are really
afraid of is the Americans will fake the
referendum."
Even so, the 71-member constitutional committee that
was thought to be done, is reconvening Wednesday to
discuss issues from last week's meeting in northern
Iraq. The Kurds are acting as mediators between the
two groups but the question will be what the Shiites
will be willing to accept.
Sunni negotiators want the preamble to the
constitution to state that Iraq is part of the Arab
as well as the Islamic nation. They say that would
give Iraq's Sunni minority the clout of having the
greater Arab world, dominated by Sunnis, behind
them.
Even if Sunnis couldn't vote it down by mustering a
"no" vote from 2/3 of the voters in three provinces,
approving a constitution over strong Sunni
objections would only further alienate a group the
political process was meant to engage. Whether these
talks can soothe the already hard feelings of the
leaders remains to be seen.
"It will be more hazardous and worsen the situation
here if the constitution will pass with items it
contains now," says Mutlaq. "They are concerned
about themselves, not us. They know they can't rule
without us. But to see they are thinking to this
extent, we are pleased."
With no deadlines or rules governing the process, no
one knows if talks will finish before the Oct. 15
referendum on the constitution, or if even that date
might change. "I would rather see something change
on the 15th of October [that would allow us all to]
say yes," Mutlaq says.
www.csmonitor.com
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