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Sunnis dig in heels against Iraq constitution

Posted on: Wednesday, 24 August 2005, 07:06 CDT

By Luke Baker

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Sunni Arabs stood staunchly against a new constitution on Wednesday, making it more likely the Shi'ite-Kurdish backed document will have to be rammed through parliament over Sunni opposition later this week.

As part of a growing campaign against a charter they argue devolves too much power to the regions and demonises Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, Sunni leaders held strident news conferences in Baghdad while demonstrations went on elsewhere.

"We reject federalism in the central and southern regions, we reject it because it has no basis other than sectarianism," Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of an umbrella group called the National Conference for the Sunni People of Iraq, told reporters.

"Every Iraqi must stand in the way of all those who want to deepen sectarianism in Iraq."

In Hawija, north of Baghdad, hundreds of Sunnis marched in support of their political leaders and against the constitution, saying it had been presented to parliament without consensus. Other small rallies were held in Baghdad and other cities.

Supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr, a rebellious young Shi'ite cleric who also strongly opposes the constitution, joined the demonstrations in Hawija.

Dulaimi, in a move likely to entrench the standoff between Sunnis on the one side and Shi'ites and Kurds on the other, also called for prisoners to be freed. Most of the more than 10,000 detainees in U.S.-run facilities in Iraq are Sunnis.

"Iraq is going through a crisis that needs all to raise their voice to release prisoners before the elections so they can participate in the vote," he said, clearly hoping for more Sunni engagement than was shown in January's boycotted election.

President Jalal Talabani held further talks with leaders from the three major communities on Wednesday, but he looked unlikely to be able to forge a consensus before Thursday's parliamentary meeting, when the constitution will be voted on.

The Shi'ites and Kurds, who dominate the government and have an overwhelming majority in parliament, presented the draft minutes before a deadline on Monday, despite Sunni opposition.

The speaker of the assembly accepted the document, but called for three more days of talks to see if the Sunnis, who dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein and before, could be convinced to rally behind it.

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There are concerns that if the Sunnis cannot be brought on board, it will lead to more attacks by the Sunni insurgency. There were no signs of a let-up in violence, with a string of attacks in the capital and elsewhere on Wednesday.

Gunmen attacked a convoy carrying the deputy justice minister in Baghdad, killing four of his bodyguards and wounding five others. The minister escaped assassination. It was the second attempt on his life in two days.

In Baquba, north of Baghdad, four mortars hit an Iraqi police base, wounding at least seven people. Two mortars hit a checkpoint south of the capital, killing a soldier.

Militants have threatened to kill any Sunnis who take part in politics or a referendum on the constitution scheduled for mid-October. Last week, three Sunni politicians were publicly executed in Mosul after putting up referendum posters.

Despite those threats, Sunni leaders appear determined to take their battle against the constitution to the referendum.

If two-thirds of voters in three or more of Iraq's 18 provinces vote No in the October 15 plebiscite, the constitution is rejected. Sunnis have a majority in at least three provinces, and hope followers of Sadr, who has a wealth of support among poor, urban Shi'ites, will also vote No, ensuring the document is defeated. New elections would then have to be held.

Shi'ites and Kurds are hoping that not only will the constitution receive support in the parliamentary vote on Thursday, but that they can convince Sunnis in the next two months that it is document for all Iraqis.

"There are many Sunnis who support the constitution as it stands," Hussain al-Shahristani, the deputy speaker of parliament and a Shi'ite, said last week. "Those (leaders) speaking against it do not necessarily represent the community."

Source: REUTERS

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