What next for Iraq's new charter?
Commending the constitution to Iraq's National Assembly, Humam Hammoudi, chairman of the committee that drafted it, described the moment as a "marvelous experience for all Iraqis".
They should be congratulated, he said, for this was "a constitution written by Iraqi hands".
However, as the document was read out to MPs chapter by chapter, line by line, the occasion had something of a hollow ring. For the hands that wrote this constitution may have been Iraqi, but they were also exclusively Shia or Kurd.
All 15 of the Sunni representatives on the negotiating committee stayed away from Sunday's signing ceremony, refusing to be associated with a document they regard with deep suspicion.
Old regime
So why, after months of increasingly tortuous negotiations, have the Sunnis ultimately rejected this vision of the future Iraq?The roots of their dissatisfaction lie in the era prior to the US-led invasion of the country when, despite comprising only 20% of the population, it was the Sunnis who held the reins of power through Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. The Shias and the Kurds were marginalised. Thousands were terrorised or killed by Saddam's henchmen.
With the dictator now having departed the scene, the Shias in particular believe it is their turn to exercise power in what they hope will be a peaceful and prosperous Iraq.To do this, they are determined to sweep away the remnants of the old regime.The first draft of the constitution stipulated that former senior Baath party officials would be excluded from public office in the future.
The wording has subsequently been toned down, but Sunni leaders believe the revised text will still mean many professionals within their communities being deprived of the right to earn their livelihoods. Read more
They should be congratulated, he said, for this was "a constitution written by Iraqi hands".
However, as the document was read out to MPs chapter by chapter, line by line, the occasion had something of a hollow ring. For the hands that wrote this constitution may have been Iraqi, but they were also exclusively Shia or Kurd.
All 15 of the Sunni representatives on the negotiating committee stayed away from Sunday's signing ceremony, refusing to be associated with a document they regard with deep suspicion.
Old regime
So why, after months of increasingly tortuous negotiations, have the Sunnis ultimately rejected this vision of the future Iraq?The roots of their dissatisfaction lie in the era prior to the US-led invasion of the country when, despite comprising only 20% of the population, it was the Sunnis who held the reins of power through Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. The Shias and the Kurds were marginalised. Thousands were terrorised or killed by Saddam's henchmen.
With the dictator now having departed the scene, the Shias in particular believe it is their turn to exercise power in what they hope will be a peaceful and prosperous Iraq.To do this, they are determined to sweep away the remnants of the old regime.The first draft of the constitution stipulated that former senior Baath party officials would be excluded from public office in the future.
The wording has subsequently been toned down, but Sunni leaders believe the revised text will still mean many professionals within their communities being deprived of the right to earn their livelihoods. Read more
posted by exoplanet at 10:05 PM
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