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Iraqi groups agree on federalism debate
25.9.2006 |
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BAGHDAD, Iraq --
Iraq's feuding ethnic and sectarian groups agreed
Sunday to consider amending the constitution and
begin debating legislation to create a federated
nation, while the Shiite prime minister appealed for
an end to violence during Ramadan.
Despite Nouri al-Maliki's plea for peace, violence
killed at least 20 Iraqis and wounded 37 a day
before the official start of the Muslim holy month.
Two U.S. Marines died in combat in restive Anbar
province west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish political leaders
broke a two-week deadlock and agreed on a compromise
that will allow parliament to take up
Shiite-proposed draft legislation to permit creation
of partly self-ruling regions.
Sunni Arabs have fought the federalism bill, fearing
it will splinter the country and deny them a share
of Iraq's oil, which is found in the predominantly
Kurdish north and the heavily Shiite south.
But they agreed to a legislative debate after all
parties accepted a Sunni demand that a parliamentary
committee be set up to study amending the
constitution. The committee will be named Monday and
the federalism bill will be read to 275-member
parliament a day later.
Sunni Arabs hope to win an amendment that would make
it more difficult to establish autonomous regions.
The deal opened the way for Iraq's communities to
move ahead politically and solve an impasse that
threatened to further sour relations between them.
If left unresolved, the deadlock could have further
shaken Iraq's fragile democracy and led to more
sectarian violence.
The parliamentary committee will be made up of 27
legislators from all ethnic, sectarian and religious
coalitions and parties. It will have four months to
propose amendments, which then would have to be
approved by a majority in parliament before being
put to a national referendum.
"I expect the work of the committee will last for
about one year," Dhafir al-Anihe, a lawmaker with
the Sunni Arab National Accordance Front, told The
Associated Press.
The federalism bill will be read to the legislature
Tuesday and then debated for two days before
parliament breaks for the Iraqi weekend. The
legislation would be read again, with any changes
made by legislators, next Sunday.
A vote would come four days after the second
reading, with the bill needing a simple majority for
passage. If approved, it would be implemented 18
months later, according to the deal made by the
parties, allowing time for consideration of
constitutional amendments.
"That was our agreement," Accordance Front
legislator Hassan al-Shammari said.
The legislation calls for setting up a framework
that would allow creation of autonomous regions in
the Shiite south, much like the self-ruling Kurdish
region in northern Iraq.
Sunni Arabs warn that setting up such regions could
intensify sectarian divisions that have brought
months of retaliatory killings between Sunnis and
Shiites.
Although federalism is enshrined in the constitution
approved by Iraqis in a referendum a year ago, the
right to seek amendments to the charter was a key
demand made by Sunni Arabs when they agreed to join
al-Maliki's national unity government in the spring.
The depth of enmity between Shiites and Sunni Arabs
was evident in their disagreement over the day
Ramadan was to begin.
Sunni Arabs began observing the month of daytime
fasting Saturday, while Iraq's most influential
Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani,
declared the start to be Monday. The Shiite-led
government followed al-Sistani's lead.
AP
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