BAGHDAD, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Angry Iraqis have denounced a U.S. Senate vote for
the creation of federal regions in Iraq as a plot to divide their country, but
the outrage puzzles some who say federalism is already enshrined in their
constitution.
Last week's non-binding Senate resolution, calling for a federal government and
creation of federal regions, provoked storms of protest from politicians
including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who said it would be a disaster for
Iraq.
Only Iraq's Kurds, who already enjoy autonomy in the north of the country,
openly welcomed it.
Some officials and politicians said the anger in Baghdad was more a reaction to
perceived outside interference in Iraqi affairs than to the contents of the
non-binding resolution.
Opponents of federalism were also using the Senate vote to portray the concept
as a foreign agenda, they said.
"Some people who do not believe in federalism and want a central system
benefited from this by campaigning against it and made it look as if it's a
campaign to divide Iraq," a Shi'ite politician who declined to speak publicly
said.
"I have read (the resolution) very well and it doesn't mention dividing Iraq at
all. I'm sure people who are rejecting it have not even read it, they probably
just heard what the media reported."
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the government's strong rejection of
the Senate vote stemmed from its opposition to foreign intervention over Iraq's
fate and not the wording involving federalism.
"As the government, we rejected this because it's an interference on a matter
that should only be decided by a popular referendum."
"It seems those who are objecting ... are objecting to the principle of
federalism," he said.
SUNNI FEARS
Iraq's constitution describes Iraq as a republican, parliamentarian, democratic
and federal state but it does not define specifically the degree or nature of
the federalism that Kurds and some Shi'ites are seeking in parts of the country.
Sunni Arabs fiercely opposed federalism and worry that it could lead to the
country's partition, leaving the world's third biggest oil reserves, which are
mostly based in the south and the north, in the hands of Shi'ites and Kurds.
The Sunni Arab blocs in the parliament approved the constitution only after an
agreement with Shi'ites and Kurds to amend some of its articles.
Anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who unlike many Shi'ite leaders is opposed
to federalism, says no federal regions should be created until U.S.-led forces
leave Iraq.
The resolution passed by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday makes no mention of the
number of regions and whether they should be based upon ethnic and sectarian
faultlines.
Sunni politician Usama al-Nujeyfi, from parliament's secular National Iraqi
bloc, said he supported articles referring to federalism in Iraq's constitution
but rejected the idea of three regions based on ethnicity and sect.
"We reject any interference by foreigners to decide our national destiny for
us," he told Reuters.
"The Iraqi constitution speaks of federalism but the areas where this federalism
takes place are not yet set out. To set out three regions based on sectarian and
ethnic lines will produce mini civil wars in areas that are mixed."
