Constitution changes may appease Sunnis
kansascitystar: A small glimmer of hope emerged Monday that Iraq's disgruntled Sunnis may yet be persuaded to reverse their opposition to Iraq's new constitution and vote yes in Saturday's referendum.
After a day of meetings involving Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish leaders mediated by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, three amendments to the draft were proposed that some Sunni leaders said would persuade them to support the constitution.
"We reject the document as it is now, but if these modifications are made, we will vote yes, and we will call on all Iraqis to vote yes," said Alaa Mekki, a spokesman for the Islamic Party, one of the biggest Sunni parties that has led the campaign for a "no vote" in the Sunni community.
One of the amendments would permit the next National Assembly, to be elected in December, to make changes to the constitution at a later date, something that would give Sunnis the chance to modify clauses they don't like, Mekki said.
Another proposed change would temper a provision barring former members of the Baath Party from participating in politics or working for the government by specifying that only Baathists who have "blood on their hands" would be prevented from holding office.
A third amendment would recast language defining Iraq's identity to state that "Iraq is part of the Arab and Islamic world," adding the word "Arab" to the definition in the existing document, a key Sunni demand.
In other developments:
Insurgents on Monday launched new attacks, killing at least 18 Iraqis and a U.S. soldier with suicide car bombs, roadside explosives and drive-by shootings, police said.
Iraq has issued arrest warrants against the 28 officials from the U.S.-backed government of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi over the alleged disappearance or misappropriation of $1 billion in military procurement funds, officials said. Link
After a day of meetings involving Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish leaders mediated by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, three amendments to the draft were proposed that some Sunni leaders said would persuade them to support the constitution.
"We reject the document as it is now, but if these modifications are made, we will vote yes, and we will call on all Iraqis to vote yes," said Alaa Mekki, a spokesman for the Islamic Party, one of the biggest Sunni parties that has led the campaign for a "no vote" in the Sunni community.
One of the amendments would permit the next National Assembly, to be elected in December, to make changes to the constitution at a later date, something that would give Sunnis the chance to modify clauses they don't like, Mekki said.
Another proposed change would temper a provision barring former members of the Baath Party from participating in politics or working for the government by specifying that only Baathists who have "blood on their hands" would be prevented from holding office.
A third amendment would recast language defining Iraq's identity to state that "Iraq is part of the Arab and Islamic world," adding the word "Arab" to the definition in the existing document, a key Sunni demand.
In other developments:
Insurgents on Monday launched new attacks, killing at least 18 Iraqis and a U.S. soldier with suicide car bombs, roadside explosives and drive-by shootings, police said.
Iraq has issued arrest warrants against the 28 officials from the U.S.-backed government of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi over the alleged disappearance or misappropriation of $1 billion in military procurement funds, officials said. Link
posted by exoplanet at 10:47 AM
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