Sunnis Plan to Offer Counterproposals

[maddezmom]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Sunni negotiator said Saturday the Sunni constitutional team saw no "essential changes" in a compromise offer made by the Shiites and Kurds, and they will respond later with their own proposals.


"We are studying the draft now but we do not see any essential change or amendment as we have asked," Fakhri al-Qaisi said. "We will give them our proposal on this subject."

Al-Qaisi said the Sunnis "will not abandon our stance" that the issue of federalism — both in principle and mechanism — be postponed for the next parliament to decide.

The Shiites made an offer to delay a decision on the details of how federalism — or the establishment of self-ruled regions — would be implemented until after parliamentary elections in December.

more:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050827/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_

[maddezmom]

1. Iraq Sunnis submit new charter offer

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq's disenchanted Sunni Arab former elite submitted a new proposal on the text of a draft constitution but the written offer still demanded changes on federalism and the role of Islam.

"We have presented a (new) proposal countering the Shiites' and Kurds' proposal... We reject the word (federal) regions wherever it is mentioned (in the draft)," Sunni negotiator Saleh al-Motlag told AFP.

"Islam is the religion of the state and the main source of legislation," the new proposal stipulated, he added Saturday.

The current working draft says "a main source."

The written proposal, which was seen by AFP, demanded omission of any reference to autonomous regions in the constitution, except for the Kurdish north, much of which has enjoyed autonomous status since 1970.
more: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/27082005/323/iraq-sunnis-submit-new-charter-offer.html

[maddezmom]

2. Iraqi Lawmakers Agree to Debate Constitution Tomorrow (Update1)

Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Iraq's National Assembly president said Shiite and Kurdish leaders have ``tentatively'' agreed to accept Sunni Muslim proposals on a new constitution. The amended document will be submitted to law makers tomorrow.

Negotiators have dealt with issues that Sunnis opposed, including a denunciation of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated Baath Party and a plan for a federal system that would give autonomy to the Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north, Hachim al-Hasani said today at a news conference in the capital, Baghdad, carried live by al-Jazeera television.

more:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=auh7zNjgEqXs

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. The laughable New York Post screeeeams "IRAQ DEAL!"

Needless to say, there is no deal, except, perhaps, for a deal between the Shiites and the Kurds to exclude the Sunnis from the process tout court - which is, of course, no deal at all, and will result inevitably in (the intensification of the) civil war.

It's funny, though, because the article inside the NY Post says precisely the opposite of the headline, even in the second paragraph: the Sunnis have not agreed to the version. But if the Sunnis havce not agreed, then there is no deal, full stop. You'd think things like this would cause a paper to lose all credibility....

[maddezmom]

4. updated link: Top Sunnis Seek Changes in Constitution

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Five of the top Sunni Arabs in government spoke out Saturday against the draft constitution, a major blow to deadline efforts to craft a document that can win the backing of all Iraqi groups. Sunni negotiators sought changes in the draft on the eve of a parliament session to approve it.


U.S. diplomats worked furiously to mediate a deal among the Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni Arab delegations so that the National Assembly can receive a document accepted by all — enhancing chances for an easy approval by the voters in the Oct. 15 referendum.

The Shiites and Kurds have accepted the draft, but parliamentary approval over Sunni objections would be a severe blow to President George W. Bush's hopes that the document could lure Sunni Arabs from the insurgency and hasten the day U.S. troops could go home.

Sunni negotiators submitted counter-proposals Saturday on the issues of federalism and the program to purge former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. There was no response from the Shiites and Kurds, who said compromises they submitted on those issues Friday were their final offers.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050827/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq