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Draft of Iraq constitution expected in days

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 July 2005, 08:46 CDT

By Luke Baker

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's constitution will be ready before a mid-August deadline, the head of the drafting team said on Wednesday, trying to calm fears that insurgent pressure on Sunni Arab participants might derail the process.

His reassurances followed the killing on Tuesday of three Sunni Arabs associated with the drafting committee and a walkout on Wednesday by four other Sunni members in protest at the murders and what they said was a general lack of security.

"A draft will be presented to the national assembly in the first week of August," Sheikh Humam al-Hammoudi told a news conference in Baghdad.

He said work was proceeding well, with the various subcommittees expected to complete their sections of the document in the next two days. That initial draft would then be revised and submitted to parliament, he said.

"After it is discussed by the national assembly and final changes are made, five million copies will be distributed to households .... on August 15," he said.

Tuesday's assassinations and Wednesday's walkout struck a powerful blow to the constitution committee, which is seen one of the best hopes for forging a political end to the insurgency.

Hammoudi said he was working to address the members' security concerns in an effort to have them return to work.

Drawing Sunni Arabs onto the body was the cornerstone of the U.S.-backed strategy to persuade members of the restive minority to move from the streets into peaceful politics.

Completing the drafting of the constitution ahead of time would be a boost to the Iraqi government, which is struggling to get on top of the relentless violence stalking the country.

SUICIDE BOMBER

In the latest attack, a bomber strapped with explosives blew himself up among a group of Iraqi army recruits at a Baghdad airfield on Wednesday, killing six people and wounding 25, police and hospital workers said.

Hours before Tuesday's killings, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, said he hoped the draft constitution could be ready by the end of this month if Sunni concerns were addressed quickly.

Extra Sunni members joined the committee last month, making it the first nationwide political body to include significant Sunni Arab representation since the new government, led by Shi'ites and Kurds, took office in April.

The draft constitution must be approved by the public in a referendum in October. If approved, it will be used to determine the government that emerges from elections due in December.

On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that one draft of the constitution would give added prominence to Islamic law, restricting the rights of women when it comes to issues such as inheritance and divorce.

Members of the committee said, however, there were many different drafts in circulation and no wording was finalized. They said women would have equal rights under the law.

"There will be no humiliation for women," said Kassim Daoud, a committee member.

One of the key debates over the charter concerns the role of religion. Many devout Iraqis want to see Islam described as the source for law in the country, while others argue it should be referred to as just one of several sources.

The pressure of coming up with an acceptable document by the deadline has only been heightened by relentless violence.

A three-day onslaught of suicide attacks at the weekend, ordered by al Qaeda in Iraq, a group headed by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed around 150 lives.

On Wednesday, Iraqi leaders held three minutes of silence at midday to honor those killed in two of the worst recent blasts -- nearly two dozen children killed in a suicide car bomb attack as they collected sweets from U.S. troops a week ago, and 98 people killed on Saturday when a suicide bomber blew himself up next to a fuel truck south of Baghdad.

Among those targeted by insurgents have been diplomats, particularly those from Arab countries.

An Egyptian envoy was captured and reportedly killed by men allied to Zarqawi earlier this month. But Egypt's foreign minister said there was a slim chance that he was still alive.

(Additional reporting by Waleed Ibrahim, Hiba Moussa, Peter Graff and Mussab al-Khairalla in Baghdad)

Source: REUTERS

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