The new constitution of Iraq was supposed to be ready by mid-August and it
should have been presented to a national referendum. But it is clear that
the new Iraqi constitution will not be drafted in time for it to be put to
the vote of the people, much to the dismay of the Americans and the British.
It seems the Iraqi people will have to get used to the idea of having to
be ruled by the interim constitution for at least another six months or
probably another year.
We are told the committee preparing the new constitution has made some
headway in several areas but no progress has been made on some very crucial
issues, like a federal system for Iraq or the future of Kirkuk. The issues
that are of extreme importance to Kurds remain untouched.
So under the interim constitution it is a foregone conclusion that the
Parliament will ask for a six-month extension to be able to complete the
drafting of the constitution, and the presidential council led by Mam Jalal
will approve this.
Whether the six months will be enough to solve the deep disputes remains
to be seen. There is a trend among some Arab Shiites and the Sunnis to set
the clock back and deny some of the gains the Kurds have achieved in the
interim constitution. As a matter of fact this deeply angers the Kurds, who
say even their so-called gains in the interim constitution were not enough
but they reluctantly accepted them for the sake of compromise with the
belief that these gains would be improved upon in the new constitution.
The attitude of Prime Minister Jaafari is upsetting many Kurds so much so
that President Jalal Talabani had to write a five-page letter that amounted
to an ultimatum to the prime minister urging him to stick to the principles
of the interim constitution and the coalition agreement between the Kurds
and the Shiites. Reports that Jaafari does not want Kirkuk to be in the fold
of the Kurdish federal setup has frustrated the Kurdish leaders,who have
said they feel the Shiites are stepping out of line.
Meanwhile, the Sunnis, who have been included in the drafting process of
the new Iraqi constitution,have displayed a very negative attitude against
the Kurds and are trying to prevent a federal structure for Iraq and reverse
the Kurds' gains.
The Kurds say they are fighting an uphill battle as they try to
contribute in the best possible way to the political process in Baghdad by
sending their best politicians to the capital led by Talabani to serve Iraq
while they face a campaign from the Arabs.
The Kurds fear the agenda of the Shiites to push for a religious-oriented
state while they also try to form a new front against the Kurds by
cooperating with Ankara. They are disturbed with the separate visits of
Jaafari and al-Hakim's son to the Turkish capital.
The physical climate is very hot in Iraq. But the political heat wave
promises to push up the temperatures and the tension in the country even
further .
