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Sunnis Reject Shi'Ite Calls for Federal Iraq

Posted on: Friday, 12 August 2005, 21:00 CDT

BAGHDAD: Sunni Arab leaders on Friday rejected Shi'ite calls for a federal Iraq enshrined in the constitution, saying the proposal would fracture the country along religious and ethnic lines. The dispute threatens to delay completion of the charter that is due Monday.

Sunni Arab leaders were responding to a demand by a leading Shi'ite lawmaker for federal provisions in the constitution to allow local Shi'ite control in the southern and central parts of the country. Sunni Arabs fear they will lose out on oil revenues if the country is split into federated zones.

"We reject it wherever it is, whether in the north or in the south, but we accept the Kurdish region as it was before the war," said Kamal Hamdoun, a Sunni member of the committee drafting the constitution. Some Shi'ite leaders want to replicate the success of Kurdish leaders in the north who govern an autonomous part of the country.

"The aim of federalism is to divide Iraq into ethnic and sectarian areas. We will cling to our stance of rejecting this," Hamdoun said.

During a speech on Thursday to cheering crowds in Najaf, Abdul- Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the country's biggest Shi'ite party, called for a Shi'ite federal state, saying it was needed "to keep a political balance in the country" after Saddam Hussein.

Al-Hakim's call may have been a last-minute bargaining tactic, Sunni Arabs immediately rebuked the proposal.

"We were surprised with Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim's declarations today," said Saleh al-Mutlaq, a Sunni member of the commission that is drafting the commission. "Time is running out and such declarations should be much more calm. We don't have time for such manoeuvres."

Al-Mutlaq and other Sunnis had suggested a decision on federalism be delayed until a new parliament is elected in December. That parliament is expected to have more Sunni Arab members than the current one because many Sunnis boycotted the January election.

Al-Hakim's endorsement could pave the way for a Shi'ite south and a Kurdish north. The Kurds have demanded federalism to maintain control over three northern provinces and also want authority over Kirkuk, from which thousands of Kurds were expelled by Saddam.

On Thursday, Iraq's al-Qaida group vowed to kill anyone involved in drafting a constitution which Washington hopes can help quell a Sunni Muslim insurgency.

Source: China Daily; North American ed.

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