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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Iraqi Shi'ites agree to revise constitution |
| 2005-08-27 |
| Iraq's Shiite majority made its final proposals on the text of a new constitution as U.S. President George W. Bush personally intervened to bring the tortuous negotiations to a head. On the ground, U.S. forces launched multiple air strikes against a suspected hideout of the Al-Qaeda terror network in the Al-Anbar province of Iraq near the Syrian border. Around 50 terrorists associated with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were in a safe house in the border town of Husaybah at the time of the air strikes, the U.S. military said.No casualty figures were given. The Shiite proposal came after Bush had called Shiite leader Abdel-Aziz Hakim personally from his Texas ranch to try to break the deadlock which has seen negotiators miss three deadlines for a vote in Parliament. Both the White House and Hakim's office confirmed the phone call was made. Shiite negotiator Abbas al-Bayyati said the new concessions were on the pivotal issues of federalism and efforts to remove former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from public life, adding: "We cannot offer more than that." Later in the evening, Shiite negotiator Jawad al-Maliki reported progress in the talks on federalism but problems with "de-Baathification." A Sunni negotiator said the Sunnis were studying the proposal and "may" respond today. Maliki said the issue of Saddam's party, known here as "de-Baathification," was especially difficult because it was something "We cannot drop. We will not be easy with this point at all," Maliki said. He said the Sunnis were being tough in defending the rights of former Baath party members and "it is regrettable to us that the Sunnis and the Baath are in the same pot." Maliki said that on federalism there had been progress after Shiites guaranteed that the Parliament to be elected in December would take up the issue first. The Sunnis fear that they will lose out in the distribution of Iraq's huge oil revenues under a federal system, as virtually all the reserves are in Shiite or Kurdish areas. Sunni negotiator Kamal Hamdoun said he and his colleagues were "studying the suggestions that we received." Asked when they would respond, he said: "Maybe tomorrow (Saturday)" and refused to say more. The constitution bans Saddam's party and grants legal status to a committee responsible for purging Baath members from government and public life. Bayyati and fellow Shiite negotiator Ali al-Adeeb said Hakim told Bush that the Shiite bloc was made up of several groups "and they might reject the constitution if the article on the Baath Party is removed." The White House said there would be no comment on the latest compromise proposal. Bush's call "reflects ... that this is an Iraqi process and that the U.S. is here to help them," said White House spokesman Trent Duffy. Maliki had spoken out strongly against the demands put forward by the Sunnis. "The Sunnis want to revive the Baath party and stop the process of de-Baathification," Maliki said earlier. Sunni leaders reacted strongly, denying they wanted to resurrect the Baath party. "We don't want to mention names of any party in the constitution. We want to ban ideologies which advocate racism and sectarianism, without naming," Sunni negotiator Saleh al-Motlag said. "If that applies to the Baath Party, it would be banned by default." A representative of Sistani however urged negotiators not to forget crimes committed by Saddam Hussein's regime in the effort to bring Sunnis on board. "Has everybody forgotten what crimes Saddam's party did? Do they think Saddam was a hero of the Arab world?" asked Mohammad Hussein. Motlag reiterated the Sunni demand to drop federalism. "We can make compromises on any issue, except the dismantling of Iraq ... No single region has the right to secede by itself," he said. Another Sunni negotiator said that federalism could be ushered in by the next assembly. "We believe that federalism should be postponed until the next Parliament," said Sunni negotiator Hassib Arif al-Obaidi. "We need a peaceful environment in the presence of a balanced national assembly, in which we can discuss this matter adequately." A Kurdish negotiator said the Shiites were under pressure to shelve their demand for their own autonomous region in Shiite-majority areas of central and southern Iraq in a bid to placate the Sunnis. "Today (Friday) is the final day, and the last chance to discuss the draft constitution. We hope to reach an agreement that would satisfy everyone," Mahmoud Othman told AFP earlier. Although discussion continues, Sunni leaders have already began mobilizing their community in central and western Iraq to vote against the charter. Thousands of protesters in Baquba north of Baghdad took to the streets in support of Hussein. Tens of thousands of Sadr supporters also marched in Baghdad and other towns after Friday prayers to denounce the constitution. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 The Soviets didn't write a constitution with the world looking over its shoulder. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-08-27 20:58 |
| #2 Constitution is important---look how having a constitution helped Soviet Union. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2005-08-27 18:31 |
| #1 Souk-Think in action. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-08-27 08:57 |