Kurdistan Observer

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Wednesday denied reports that the Iraqi Kurds had finalized work on a draft constitution and would submit it to the Oct. 4 opening session of their regional Parliament in Erbil.

Speaking to the Turkish Daily News, PUK Ankara Representative Bahruz Gellali said northern Iraq's two main Kurdish factions, who run the enclave beyond Baghdad's control, are still discussing a draft constitution in the event a U.S. attack ousts President Saddam Hussein.

The prospect of a regime change in Baghdad has pushed the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and PUK to bury their historic tensions and present a more united front.

Gellali said KDP leader Massoud Barzani and PUK chief Jalal Talabani had set up four committees to discuss outstanding issues between them including drafting a constitution for the future of Iraq. Gellali stressed the constitution was for the whole of Iraq and not only for the Kurdish controlled enclave.

"We are discussing the issue of a federal set up for Iraq but we feel this federal system will be based on regionality and not on ethnicity," he said.

He said the discussions are progressing well but have not concluded. Once they are completed the draft constitution will be presented to other parties in northern Iraq. He stressed only after that the draft will be presented to the regional parliament.

Reuters quoted KDP Ankara representative Safeen Dizayee as saying that the draft constitution outlines the structure of a regional administration in the northern region, including legislative, judiciary and executive responsibilities.

Reuters quoted Dizayee as saying the document will be debated at a meeting of the joint Kurdish regional parliament on Oct. 4 and will also be presented at a gathering of Iraqi opposition groups to be held in Europe next month.

"What is important is the federal structure of Iraq, since the north has to be in concert with the rest of Iraq," he told Reuters. "The overall structure is for the Iraqi people and the Iraqi opposition to decide."

Tensions have simmered between Turkey and Iraqi Kurds over fears they would seize an opportunity created by U.S. action to create an independent state in the mountainous region bordering southeast Turkey.

Barzani and Talabani have sought to ease Ankara's fears, insisting they are for Iraq's territorial integrity and would like to see a federal, united state if the Americans topple Saddam.

Iraqi Kurds have enjoyed broad autonomy since 1991 when the U.S. declared the area a safe haven for them after the Gulf War. U.S. and British warplanes based in Turkey have protected their administration from reprisals by patrolling a "no-fly" zone over the region.