Birth Of A New
Iraq,
Or Blueprint For Civil War?
By Kim Sengupta
24 August, 2005
lndependent/UK
Iraq's
new constitution, supposedly the blueprint for a democratic future,
was threatening to drag the country into civil war last night.
As Shia and Kurdish
factions presented the document to the National Assembly, minutes before
a midnight deadline, Sunni Muslims strongly opposed to its federal structure
made accusations of "betrayal" and warned of a violent sectarian
backlash. A vote on the draft was later delayed for three days in the
hope that the sides could come to an agreement on its wording.
The draft constitution
is the principal plank of President George Bush's exit strategy from
the Iraq conflict, which has made his popularity collapse among American
voters.
American diplomats,
led by the ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, had been frantically lobbying
for it to be adopted before last night's deadline. But far from sealing
Iraq's post-Saddam era, the draft appeared to be quickly fracturing
the fragile edifice of government, with Shia and Kurdish parties declaring
they were prepared to use their parliamentary majority to push through
the document in the teeth of Sunni opposition.
The Sunni reaction
was immediate, with politicians queuing to denounce the move and warning
of a cataclysmic reaction. Soha Allawi, one of the leading negotiators,
declared: "We will not be silent. We will campaign for public awareness
to tell both Sunnis and Shias to reject the constitution, which has
elements that will lead to the break-up of Iraq and civil war."
Another Sunni delegate, Hussein Shukur al-Fallu, said: "If they
pass this constitution, then the rebellion will reach its peak."
Sunni leaders said
the text had dropped wording that forbade secession from Iraq; Kurdish
parties maintained they did not want to break away entirely but wanted
to keep the option open.
There were also
warnings from Sunni insurgent groups, engaged in a war of attrition,
that they will increase their attacks, targeting those responsible for
the constitution.
But some militant
Shias, including followers of the radical cleric Muqtada Sadr with their
powerbase in relatively resource-poor central Iraq, are also opposed
to federalism and yesterday renewed their call for "Iraqi unity".
In a further sign of growing polarization, several minority and tribal
groups also said guarantees made about their roles had been changed
in the draft document.
A spokesman for
the tribal umbrella group said: "The text of the constitution was
destroyed in violation of what it had been agreed on. We shall now boycott
the political process." Mohaim Ased Abdul, the chairman of the
Assembly of Minorities, added: "We must oppose this because it
does not represent minorities."
Yonadem Kanna, a
representative of Iraq's dwindling Christian community, said he expected
Sunni leaders to start mobilizing their supporters against the constitution.
"Tomorrow on the street, on the ground, they will move against
the constitution, that we can say for sure."
There was also controversy
over the role of Islam in a future administration, with the main Shia
party insisting it should be the main source of law and womens' groups
warning that it would lead to the denial of female rights.
The most contentious
issue in the document was federalism, which the majority Shia and Kurdish
factions are determined to make the basis of government.
The Sunnis, who
have already seen their dominance under Saddam and previous regimes
overturned in elections this year, are convinced this is a pretext for
the Shias and Kurds carving out the oil-rich regions in the north and
south of the country.
A copy of the document,
seen by the media, described the future Iraq as a "republican,
parliamentarian, democratic and federal state" without specifying
the exact nature of the federalism. The draft needs to be approved by
a majority of the 275-member National Assembly, but Hussain al-Shahristani,
the Shia deputy speaker, insisted it would be passed with a substantial
majority. If approved, the constitution will be put to a referendum
on 15 October; it can become defunct if any of the 18 provinces reject
it by two-thirds or more.
Jalaaldin al-Saghir,
a Shia negotiator, said: "There is a time limit and we do not want
to breach it. We had talks with our Sunni brothers. We cannot wait for
all the time needed by those people to be convinced. We agree that the
constitution, including federalism, be put before the people. If the
Sunni Arabs do not want to vote for federalism, they can reject the
constitution."
Mr al-Saghir said
Shias and Kurds had also agreed that no laws would be allowed to contradict
the principles of Islam. He said: "In addition, no law shall be
adopted that contradicts human rights and democratic principles. Also
it was stated that the constitution ensures the Islamic identity of
the majority of Iraqi people."
Meanwhile, violence
has continued unabated. Yesterday, gunmen killed 10 people, including
eight policemen, in a van north of Baghdad, and two American soldiers
were killed in a bomb attack near Samarra.
As talks continued
into last night, the talk of insurrection and of a steadily deteriorating
situation continued to grow.
© 2005 The
Independent News & Media Ltd. / UK