 BAGHDAD - Iraqâs Shiite majority made a surprise move toward Kurdish-style autonomy, angering the ousted Sunni Arab elite, just days before a deadline for agreement on a new constitution.
As the Sunni Arabs seethed voiced their anger, Thursdayâs call from leading Shiite politician Abdul Aziz Al Hakim for autonomy in Shiite areas of south and central Iraq angered Sunni Arab leaders who said it could derail the entire political process. âWe are shocked and scared by the demand for autonomy as expressed by my Shiite brothers,â said Salah Al Motlag, a key Sunni member of the constitutional drafting committee. âThe timing of the demand is wrong with just three days left to go for the deadline. Such demands can delay the constitution and Iraq could be without a constitution for another year.â
Some Shiite politicians have previously made calls for autonomy in the south and center of the country, but it was the first time that Hakim, a former exile in Iran who headed the victorious Shiite alliance in January elections, had lent such explicit support. His comments came after meetings in Najaf Wednesday with Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani and radical cleric Moqtada Al Sadr.
Sunni religious leaders also made faces strongly condemned the proposal of a Shiite autonomous zone. âThat Iraq is divided into cantons is what the Jews and our enemies want,â said Sheikh Mehdi Al Sulaimi, a member of the influential Association of Muslim Scholars, during Friday prayers at the groupâs main mosque in Baghdad.
Sunnis are fearful the creation of federally autonomous zones will prevent them taking an equal share of the Iraqâs lucrative oil reserves, predominantly located in the countryâs Kurdish north and Shiite south. âWe call for reason from those clamouring to break up (Iraq) ... we, in the center of the country, do not want an autonomous zone,â Sulaimi said.
| "We don't want our asses kicked!" |
The emerging consensus between Kurds and Shiites on a federal constitution leaves only the Sunni Arabs at odds on one of the key sticking points in the drafting of the new charter. Opposition from the Sunnis could still scupper the new constitution as the interim rules stipulate the charter can be rejected by a two-thirds majority in any three provinces. Three â Al Anbar, Tamim and Salaheddin â are predominately Sunni. |