Iraqi factions fail to reach agreement on new constitution talks

THE speaker of Iraq’s Parliament last night announced a one-day extension in talks on Iraq’s new constitution.

Hajim al-Hassani, speaking minutes after the midnight deadline, said that after meeting for three days, “we found that time was late and we saw that the matters will need another day in order to reach results that pleases everyone.”

Last Monday, Shi’ites and Kurds accepted a draft but Sunni Arabs opposed it, and Mr al-Hassani granted three more days to try to bring the Sunnis on board.

He said discussions in the past three days were “very good.” They discussed federalism, references to Saddam’s Ba’ath party and the constitution’s introduction, which remain at issue.

Mr Al-Hassani said the late-night discussions were attended by the Kurdish coalition, the Iraqi List of former Prime Minster Ayad Allawi and Sunni Arabs and after that suggestions were taken to the Shi’ite alliance.

Shi’ite representative Khaled al-Attiyah said there was no need for an assembly vote because the constitutional committee met its legal obligations by handing in a draft by the August 22 deadline. Another Shi’ite, Nadim al-Jabiri, said there would be no vote yesterday because the draft will be approved or rejected in a referendum on October 15.

If voters reject the draft, the current parliament must be dissolved, a new one elected and the process restarted. Sunni Arabs, the country’s minority, object to several parts of the draft, chief among them a plan that could lead to a giant Shi’ite federated state in central and southern Iraq.

Kurds and Shi’ites have enough votes in parliament to approve a charter and send it for referendum, but leaders across the political spectrum have emphasised their wish for consensus.

Yesterday, radical Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on his followers to end clashes with Shi’ite rivals, one day after his office in the holy city of Najaf was burned and four of his supporters killed.

The internal Shi’ite conflict occurred amid a struggle by Shi’ite and Kurdish leaders to convince the Sunni Arabs to accept the draft constitution.

In calling for calm, Mr al-Sadr urged “all believers to spare the blood of the Muslims and to return to their homes”.

“I will not forget this attack on the office but Iraq is passing through a critical and difficult period that requires unity.”

He demanded Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the rival Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, condemns “what his followers have done.” SCIRI denied any role in the attack on Mr al-Sadr’s office and issued a statement urging an end to the bloodshed, calling it “a plot that targets our unity”.

The Najaf crisis began Wednesday when Mr al-Sadr’s supporters tried to reopen his office across the street from the Imam Ali mosque, Iraq’s most sacred Shi’ite shrine. Rivals tried to stop them, fights erupted and the office was set afire.

Also yesterday, the bodies of 36 men - all but one wearing traditional Kurdish trousers - were found south-east of Baghdad on a road leading to Iran.