Iraqi leaders tried on Wednesday to persuade furious Sunni Arabs to sign up to the draft Constitution, a day before the charter goes to Parliament where conservative Shi’ites and secularist Kurds can ensure its victory.
President Jalal Talabani and senior Iraqi leaders held intense talks with Sunni negotiators who had expressed anger over the country’s post-Saddam Hussein Constitution, with some even calling it ”illegal”.
”We should have a consensus between the three groups — Shi’ites, Kurds and the Sunnis,” Talabani told reporters after the first round of meetings.
”We should respect the demand of Sunnis because the Constitution is not to serve only a certain category of people but for the whole of Iraq.”
Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said on Tuesday that the charter was nearly complete with consensus on 151 of 153 Articles, including the federal status of the government and the status of regions and provinces.
The writing of the document, a key stage in Iraq’s political transition following the United States-led war that ousted Saddam, has been hampered by sharp differences on federalism, the role of Islam in legislation, and sharing of oil revenues.
Jaafari’s remarks were the first official confirmation that most of these issues were resolved.
Iraqi leaders had presented an incomplete draft to lawmakers in a nail-biting drama late on Monday, beating the stipulated deadline by just a few minutes.
But the draft did not have the consent of the once-powerful Sunni Arabs, who now are considered fuelling Iraq’s raging insurgency and who have warned that the Constitution will be rejected in an October referendum.
Sunni support is seen crucial in ending the violence, but the Sunnis remained against federalism and held reservations over an agreement to share oil wealth.
Article 109 stipulates that ”the oil and gas of all the regions belong to the entirety of the Iraqi people”, adding that the resources should be controlled by Baghdad and the oil-producing regions.
Sunnis also oppose provisions in the draft for dealing with former members of Saddam’s Ba’ath party.
Talabani said the charter allows tolerance of former Ba’ath party members as long as they were not involved in serious criminal acts under Saddam.
”Everyone is against those Ba’athists who have blood of Iraqi people on their hands. But the law of de-Ba’athification should also take care of those Ba’athists who had nothing to do with criminal activities,” he said.
Sunnis continued to be adamant over their demands.
”We are not conservative but we have objections … it is not legal to present a draft to Parliament which is incomplete,” said Sunni panellist Hassib Arif al-Obaidi.
”They should present a draft to Parliament only after it has our consent. The draft should have signatures of all the members of the Constitution drafting committee … otherwise it is not legal.”
Parliamentary Speaker Hajim al-Hasani, who also attended Wednesday’s meeting, said the Sunnis are for a gradual ”step-by-step” acceptance of federalism and expressed confidence that the October 15 referendum will be held on time.
US President George Bush also urged the Sunnis to embrace the blueprint.
”The Sunnis have got to make a choice. Do they want to live in a society that’s free, or do they want to live in violence?” he said.
The Sunnis are under-represented in the 275-member Parliament after largely boycotting the January elections. And the majority Shi’ites and secularist Kurds can ensure the draft is approved on Thursday, as they enjoy a comfortable majority.
Iraq’s interim rules stipulate that the draft can be passed by a simple majority.
”The draft will be approved tomorrow,” Kurdish-allied panellist Munther al-Fadhal said.
But the Sunni Arabs have warned that the charter in its current form will divide the country and will fail in the referendum.
”The draft … will divide the society as there are many negatives in it,” Sunni negotiator Saleh al-Motlag said. ”Ninety-nine percent of Sunnis are unhappy with it. It will fail during the referendum.”
The interim law also rules that the Constitution will fail if two-thirds of the people in any three provinces vote against it.
Sunnis are a majority in Al-Anbar, Nineveh and Salaheddin provinces.
Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish Parliament was also set to convene a special session on Wednesday to discuss the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Justice Bosho Ibrahim was ambushed by gunmen in Baghdad. The Kurdish minister escaped unharmed but his four bodyguards were killed. His convoy was also attacked on Tuesday. — Sapa-AFP