Iraq constitution delayed
2004-03-05 18:14
Baghdad, Iraq - At the last minute, Shi'ite members of Iraq's Governing Council refused to sign the interim constitution, delaying a signing ceremony on Friday after Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric rejected parts of the document, Iraqi officials said.
The council agreed to the accord unanimously on Monday. But Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, rejected provisions put into the text at the Kurds' request to protect their self-rule area in the north, said a source in the council, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The marja'iya (al-Sistani's office) will not accept it," the source said.
Also in dispute was a clause outlining the shape of the presidency in the future government, a Shi'ite official said. The Shi'ites were reviving a demand that would let them dominate the presidency, he said.
Council members went into an emergency meeting to try to resolve the differences several hours before a signing ceremony was to be held, said a coalition spokesperson speaking on condition of anonymity. Several hours past its scheduled time, the ceremony was still not held and there was no immediate word on when it would take place.
The top US administrator, Paul Bremer, was observing the meeting, but not participating, the spokesperson said. He said the delay was caused by a "technical issue" that arose in the past 24 hours.
The interim constitution, which will be in effect until national elections due by January, is a crucial part of the US plan for handing over power to the Iraqis on June 30.
The sharply divided Governing Council agreed on the draft early on Monday - three days past deadline - only after Bremer pushed them into intensive marathon sessions to overcome their differences. The Shi'ites' move to reopen the debate throws into disarray the unity shown in that agreement.
It also highlights the power held by al-Sistani over American attempts to transfer sovereignty to the Iraqis and end its occupation, which the administration of US President George W Bush want to accomplish well before November presidential elections. Opposition from al-Sistani has derailed US plans twice in the past.
Mahmoud Othman, an independent Kurd on the council, denounced the Shi'ite manoeuvre as "just a matter of putting obstacles in front of the declaration."
"The way they put it is not right. The minority should not impose their will on the majority," he told CNN.
One of the clauses was sought by the Kurds to ensure that the eventual permanent constitution, to be put to a national referendum, does not encroach on their self-rule zone in the north.
The clause says that if two-thirds of the voters in any three provinces reject the permanent charter, it will not got into effect. The Kurd self-rule region includes three provinces in the north.
"Some of these provinces have only 400 000 or 500 000 people. We cannot have that number of people rejecting a constitution for 25 million people," al-Bayati said.
- AP