Iraq’s draft constitution undergoes 11th hour modifications

[ECH1969]

BAGHDAD - The committee drafting Iraq’s new constitution was locked in last minute discussions on Tuesday to amend certain articles that were contested by Sunni Arabs, negotiators told AFP.

Two-thirds of the parliamentary committee met and examined ways of making “three possible modifications” to the document aimed at satisfying the Sunnis, Shia MP Abboud Wahid al-Issawi said.

The first one concerns Article 3, which stipulates that only the ”Arab people” of Iraq are part of the Arab nation, thereby excluding the country’s Kurds who are largely autonomous in northern Iraq and speak their own language.

Parliament’s Deputy Speaker Hussein Shahristani said an announcement will be made about the constitution on Wednesday morning, and hoped that the draft committee “will be able to agree and submit its (final) document tomorrow (Wednesday) to the United Nations.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2005/September/focusoniraq_September75.xml§ion=focusoniraq
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11th hour modifications? Isn't this more like 52nd hour modifications?

[Mari333]

1. Theocracy-Lite, by Katha Pollitt..hits the nail on the head

So now we know what "noble cause" Cindy Sheehan's son died for in Iraq: Sharia. It's a good thing W stands for women, or I'd be worried. The new Constitution, drafted under heavy pressure from the Administration, sets aside the secular personal law under which Iraqis have lived for nearly half a century in favor of theocracy lite. "Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation," Article 2 begins--the spin is that this language is a victory because Islam is not the source. "(a) No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of Islam." On the other hand, "(b) No law can be passed that contradicts the principles of democracy" and "(c) No law can be passed that contradicts the rights and basic freedoms outlined in this constitution"--as in, for example, Article 14: "Iraqis are equal before the law without discrimination because of sex," religion, ethnicity and so on.







http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050919/pollitt

[grahamhgreen]

4. Don't worry

the apparent contradiction here will be cleared up by Sharia judges/clerics.

[papau]

2. We need 16 days tp print 4 million copies, then they get 15 days to

discuss before the vote.

The Bush time table works when you know the vote outcome is a lock because you announce the count.

[merwin]

3. How is it 11th hour when it's over a month late?