BAGHDAD (Reuters) -
Aug 18, 2005- U.S., British and U.N. diplomats pressed Iraqi leaders in
make-or-break negotiations over a constitution on Thursday, determined to see a
draft of the document finalised by the new August 22 deadline.
Senior negotiators from the Kurdish and Shi'ite communities hinted an agreement
might be reached days before Monday's target date, but Sunni Arabs, the third
major party to the contested talks, played down that possibility.
North of Baghdad, four U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb, raising the
U.S. death toll to more than 1,850 since the war in Iraq began. Insurgents
appear to have developed more powerful bombs able to pierce newly armoured U.S.
vehicles.
Talks on the constitution, which broke down before the previous deadline on
Monday, prompting an extraordinary session of parliament to amend the law and
allow a week longer, remained divided over three fundamental issues --
federalism, the role of Islam and the distribution of revenue from natural
resources.
Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish member of the drafting committee, said talks were
progressing and he expected an agreement to be reached by August 22, though he
said he was not certain it would be signed by minority Sunni Arabs.
"I think there will be some sort of agreement by the deadline but the question
mark is the Sunni Arabs," he said. "Everyone wants them to be involved, but I'm
not sure that they will come around. I'm not sure it will include them."
The Sunnis, dominant under Saddam Hussein and for centuries before, strongly
oppose a recent proposal by Shi'ite Arabs to create a federal region in the
south of Iraq, mirroring the autonomous zone Kurds have enjoyed in the north
since 1991.
They worry that they will be left as a minority in the centre of the country,
where there is no oil.
Othman and others in the talks said U.S., British and U.N. diplomats were
playing a prominent role, cajoling the parties along and meeting negotiators on
the sidelines.
"Sometimes it seems it is even more important to them that we get a deal. They
are concerned, and very active," Othman told Reuters. "If there's no success, it
affects them as well. I think they are almost more concerned than we are."
SUNNIS NOT CONVINCED
Saleh al-Mutlak, one of the main Sunni Arab negotiators, said he and others from
his camp had met the British and U.S. ambassadors to discuss the issue of
federalism and would sit down with the Shi'ites and Kurds to haggle further.
"There are several points disagreed on, and I expect we will find a compromise,"
Mutlak told Reuters.
At least two negotiators, from the Kurdish and Shi'ite communities, said it
might be possible to produce a finalised document in the next couple of days,
but Mutlaq and others were not convinced.
Some Shi'ite and Kurdish negotiators have suggested that if Sunnis cannot be
brought on board by the deadline, they may present a complete draft to Iraq's
National Assembly anyway, knowing they have enough support to get it passed.
Such a move could prove dangerous, as one of the hoped-for benefits of the
constitution was that it would drain support for the Sunni insurgency by showing
that Sunnis could be involved in a peaceful political process.
Saad Qindeel, a Shi'ite negotiator, said such a tactic could be divisive and he
hoped it would not be used. "We rely on the principle of consensus, and Sunnis
are part of that," he said, adding that he thought the document would be ready
by Monday.
