Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Parliamentary committee fails to finalise agreement on amendment of constitution
Government
(Reuters) - An Iraqi parliamentary committee has failed to finalise an agreement on amending key articles in the constitution, one of the political benchmarks Washington says are important to end sectarian violence. After six months of talks, the constitutional reform committee had been expected to present parliament with a final draft of their recommendations on Tuesday.
Committee members said they would ask political leaders to deal with sensitive issues such as sharing Iraq's oil wealth more equitably and ending a ban on former members of Saddam Hussein's party members holding public office. "We have agreed on some articles but there are sensitive issues which need an agreement among the political leaders," said Saleem al-Jubouri, a member of the Accordance Front, the biggest Sunni political bloc in parliament.
The changes are aimed at bringing Sunni Arabs, who make up the backbone of the insurgency, more firmly into the political process. U.S. President George W. Bush, under pressure to show tangible progress in the four-year-old war, has pushed Iraqi leaders to agree power-sharing legislation. Jubouri said Sunni Arab and Shi'ite members of the committee disagreed with a Kurdish demand to allow regions to distribute oil income rather than the central government.
Some lawmakers from the ruling Shi'ite community, which was oppressed during Saddam's rule, are virulently opposed to former Baathists taking up government jobs. Non-Arab Kurds, also persecuted under Saddam's pan-Arab policies, resist wording on the Arab identity of Iraq. Sunni Arabs fear federalism will allow Kurds in the north and Shi'ites in the south, where Iraq's oil reserves lie, to break away into their own states. Sunni Arabs live mostly in central and western Iraq, which is poor in oil.
Jubouri said that one area of disagreement was the status of the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk which sits atop one of the world's richest oilfields. The current constitution says Iraq should hold a referendum on the final status of Kirkuk this year. While Kurds claim Kirkuk as part of Kurdistan, Arabs oppose this. Another official in the committee said Arab members -- Shi'ites and Sunnis -- proposed making Kirkuk a separate region and dropping the idea of the referendum, which Kurds would anyway be likely to win.
Committee members said they would ask political leaders to deal with sensitive issues such as sharing Iraq's oil wealth more equitably and ending a ban on former members of Saddam Hussein's party members holding public office. "We have agreed on some articles but there are sensitive issues which need an agreement among the political leaders," said Saleem al-Jubouri, a member of the Accordance Front, the biggest Sunni political bloc in parliament.
The changes are aimed at bringing Sunni Arabs, who make up the backbone of the insurgency, more firmly into the political process. U.S. President George W. Bush, under pressure to show tangible progress in the four-year-old war, has pushed Iraqi leaders to agree power-sharing legislation. Jubouri said Sunni Arab and Shi'ite members of the committee disagreed with a Kurdish demand to allow regions to distribute oil income rather than the central government.
Some lawmakers from the ruling Shi'ite community, which was oppressed during Saddam's rule, are virulently opposed to former Baathists taking up government jobs. Non-Arab Kurds, also persecuted under Saddam's pan-Arab policies, resist wording on the Arab identity of Iraq. Sunni Arabs fear federalism will allow Kurds in the north and Shi'ites in the south, where Iraq's oil reserves lie, to break away into their own states. Sunni Arabs live mostly in central and western Iraq, which is poor in oil.
Jubouri said that one area of disagreement was the status of the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk which sits atop one of the world's richest oilfields. The current constitution says Iraq should hold a referendum on the final status of Kirkuk this year. While Kurds claim Kirkuk as part of Kurdistan, Arabs oppose this. Another official in the committee said Arab members -- Shi'ites and Sunnis -- proposed making Kirkuk a separate region and dropping the idea of the referendum, which Kurds would anyway be likely to win.
Labels: Article 140, Baathists, constitutional reform committee, federalism, Iraqi constitution, Kirkuk, oil
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Constitutional reform committee agrees to pass draft to parliament on Tuesday
Constitution
(Reuters) - An Iraqi committee agreed on Tuesday to send to parliament a plan to reform the constitution, an important step towards implementing national reconciliation laws that Washington says are critical to ending violence.
Once-dominant Sunni Arabs, who make up the backbone of the insurgency, have long demanded changes to a constitution they say concedes too much power to majority Shi'ites and ethnic Kurds, who were persecuted under Saddam Hussein. Such laws, which include sharing Iraq's vast oil wealth and ending a ban on former members of Saddam's party from public office, are particularly aimed at assuaging Sunnis Arabs and bringing them firmly into the U.S.-backed political process.
Saleem al-Jubouri, from the Sunni Accordance Front, said the constitutional reform committee had agreed to pass its draft to parliament next Tuesday -- albeit with some passages unresolved. He said this would allow it technically to meet a May 15 deadline set by the constitution. "There is a preliminary report that has been approved by committee members," he told Reuters. "Members now have to consult their political parties on the proposals."
But he said some thorny issues had been left open, for parliament to resolve. These included a Shi'ite-backed law that allows provinces to form federal regions, and wording on the Arab identity of Iraq, opposed by Kurds. In another sign of political progress, Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi said the presidential council would soon send to parliament a draft proposal to allow thousands of ex-Baath party members to return to public jobs, another Sunni demand. The council comprises Hashemi, President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and Shi'ite Vice President Adel Abdul al-Mahdi.
The bills are likely to face fierce debate in parliament. Some lawmakers from the ruling Shi'ite community, who were oppressed during Saddam's rule, have expressed virulent opposition to seeing former Baathists take up government jobs. Non-Arab Kurds, also persecuted under Saddam's pan-Arab policies, resist wording on the Arab identity of Iraq.
Sunni Arabs, meanwhile, fear federalism will allow Kurds in the north and Shi'ites in the south, where Iraq's oil reserves lie, to break away into their own states. Sunni Arabs live mostly in central and western Iraq, which is poor in oil.
Once-dominant Sunni Arabs, who make up the backbone of the insurgency, have long demanded changes to a constitution they say concedes too much power to majority Shi'ites and ethnic Kurds, who were persecuted under Saddam Hussein. Such laws, which include sharing Iraq's vast oil wealth and ending a ban on former members of Saddam's party from public office, are particularly aimed at assuaging Sunnis Arabs and bringing them firmly into the U.S.-backed political process.
Saleem al-Jubouri, from the Sunni Accordance Front, said the constitutional reform committee had agreed to pass its draft to parliament next Tuesday -- albeit with some passages unresolved. He said this would allow it technically to meet a May 15 deadline set by the constitution. "There is a preliminary report that has been approved by committee members," he told Reuters. "Members now have to consult their political parties on the proposals."
But he said some thorny issues had been left open, for parliament to resolve. These included a Shi'ite-backed law that allows provinces to form federal regions, and wording on the Arab identity of Iraq, opposed by Kurds. In another sign of political progress, Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi said the presidential council would soon send to parliament a draft proposal to allow thousands of ex-Baath party members to return to public jobs, another Sunni demand. The council comprises Hashemi, President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and Shi'ite Vice President Adel Abdul al-Mahdi.
The bills are likely to face fierce debate in parliament. Some lawmakers from the ruling Shi'ite community, who were oppressed during Saddam's rule, have expressed virulent opposition to seeing former Baathists take up government jobs. Non-Arab Kurds, also persecuted under Saddam's pan-Arab policies, resist wording on the Arab identity of Iraq.
Sunni Arabs, meanwhile, fear federalism will allow Kurds in the north and Shi'ites in the south, where Iraq's oil reserves lie, to break away into their own states. Sunni Arabs live mostly in central and western Iraq, which is poor in oil.
Labels: Baathists, constitutional reform committee, Iraqi constitution, Saleem al-Jubouri, Tariq al-Hashemi
