Iraq: Sunnis to Issue a Fatwa on Constitution Drafting

[ECH1969]

Baghdad, 14 July (AKI) - A prominent Iraqi Sunni leader has said that Sunni leaders will soon issue a fatwa, or religious edict, urging members of their community to participate in the drafting of Iraq's new constitution. "We've decided to take part in writing up the constitution on the advice of the United Nations," Adnan al-Dulaymi, head of the Sunni Waqf Bureau, told Adnkronos International (AKI).

"Sunni religious leaders will issue fatwas that will allow for the participation in the referendum and the elections, confirming the fact that we don't represent a minority as some people are trying to depict us," al-Dulaymi said.

The Sunni leader also appealed to Iraq's Higher Independent Election Commission (HIEC), to open "voting centres in the western regions of Iraq so that the inhabitants of those areas will be able to particiapte in the vote."

HIEC vice-president Farid Ayar, responding to al-Dulaymi's appeal, told AKI that preparations were underway to ensure that "the inhabitants of the Sunni areas of Tikrit, al-Anbar, Ninive and other regions will participate in the referendum which will probably be held in October and parliamentary elections scheduled for December."

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Trends&loid=8.0.187169152&par=0

[ugarte]

1. Meaningless. Will only make drafting a constitution more difficult

The Sunnis are opposed to a Federal system with autonomous regions, which the Kurds are demanding. Hard to see any kind of compromise they can both live with.

[ECH1969]

2. They aren't going to decide on the big issues

They will put them all off to later and pass a Constitution without any of the hard issues completed.

[Teaser]

3. Dulaimi has been saying this for weeks.

Given that the only constitution that will be drafted in the next few weeks will be a shell document that punts Iraq's sectarian problems into the indefinite future, encouraging Sunni participation in the farcical "elections" to come is unlikely to do much to soothe the tensions causing conflict in Iraq.