Oil Wealth Divides Iraqis (3 constitutions proposed)

[papau]

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-power1aug01,0,737344.story?track=tottext

THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ
Oil Wealth Divides Iraqis
Constitution is hung up on whether Shiites and Kurds should control their regions' riches.
By Alissa J. Rubin
Times Staff Writer

August 1, 2005

BAGHDAD — It is crunch time for the drafters of Iraq's constitution, and one question above all has stymied them: whether Kurds and Shiites should control their own regions and the oil money they generate.<snip>

Although other issues remain under debate, including the rights of women and the role of Islam, there is only one that could provoke violent upheaval: whether political power and oil revenue will be controlled largely by a centralized national government or by regional authorities.<snip>

One draft, acceptable to many of the country's Shiite leaders and to some Kurds, featured a detailed section that would allow provinces to join together to form semi-autonomous regions. Each would be run by an assembly, a council and a president. The budget would be financed by a combination of grants from the central government and an unspecified share of the region's resources, enshrining in the constitution the right of local governments to their natural resources. Shiite leaders were especially attracted to an explicit acknowledgment in this version that Islam would be the primary source of Iraq's laws.

Another version, published in a Kurdish newspaper, was the Kurds' dream constitution, all but making their region an independent country. It would give the regional governments sweeping powers. Under this version, just 35% of natural-resource income would be sent to Baghdad. That version also would require regional governments to approve laws passed by the National Assembly for them to take effect. Kurds say they need such powers to maintain their region's secular, Western character — especially its progressive treatment of women.<snip>

A third draft, written by some Sunni groups but not yet published, would permit gradual decentralization of power. It is unlikely to win approval from Kurds or Shiites in part because the regions would have no right to keep the income from their natural resources. But it would allow significant regional autonomy to be phased in over four years.<snip>