BAGHDAD, 1 March 2004 — Iraq’s Governing Council has decided to put off until Wednesday the signing of an interim constitution after lawmakers missed a Feb. 28 deadline amid divisions over federalism and the role of Islam.
The council yesterday adjourned negotiations until after the Ashura holiday, Arabic broadcaster Al-Jazeera quoted a US-led coalition spokesman as saying. The negotiations continued yesterday despite the passing of the original Feb. 28 deadline without agreement. According to an agreement with the US administration concluded on Nov. 15, 2003, the governing council was obliged to present the interim constitution on Saturday.
A council member said there had been heated discussion on the constitutional importance of Shariah law. Because negotiations will not resume until after Tuesday’s holiday a signing ceremony planned for Wednesday will not go ahead, a spokesperson for the US administration said.
The interim constitution is designed to be valid until the first, freely-elected government takes office and would commit itself clearly to basic democratic rights.
It is still unclear when elections will be held. A non-elected, transitional government is set to take over power from the US-led occupation forces on June 30, but its make-up is unclear.
A senior official of the US civil administration described Saturday’s discussions as “sometimes heated, passionate”.
Among the issues that were proving most difficult were the role of Islam in a future legal system.
According to yesterday’s edition of the Al-Sabah daily, the latest version of the draft constitution contained the formulation that Islamic law may be “one” of the foundations for the law system, as demanded by Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, as opposed to “the sole” foundation. Other issues are the degree of independence for Kurds and the legal position of women.
Meanwhile yesterday, Iraqi Planning Minister Mehdi Hafedh who returned from a two-day donor conference in Abu Dhabi, announced that top priority projects would get under way. However, a United Nations representative told Deutsche Presse Agentur, dpa that donor countries were concerned about the poor security situation in Iraq and reluctant to donate funds until a government had been elected.
In the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, regarded as Kurdish territory by Kurdish parties, clashes erupted between Kurds and Turkmens after the latter group took to the streets to celebrate their status in the interim constitution as a recognized ethnic group, along side Arabs and Kurds.
