BAGHDAD, 21 July 2005 — Over a dozen more people lost their lives in Iraq yesterday, including eight killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the gates of an army recruiting center in Baghdad, the latest attack against the country’s security forces.
Iraq said yesterday its post-Saddam Hussein constitution would be ready within two weeks despite sustained rebel attacks that saw the killing of two Sunni members of the charter’s drafting committee.
Constitution committee chairman Hamoun Hammadi said the document would be ready to go to Parliament by Aug. 1, ahead of the Aug. 15 deadline, before going to a referendum on Oct. 15.
“There has been an agreement about all the basic issues, including the basic principles, rights, duties and freedoms,” he told reporters. “The only point left is that of federalism which aroused some concerns and fears.”
The National Assembly will then debate the draft and submit amendments in time for a final vote on Aug. 15, marking a milestone in Iraq’s political transition following the March 2003 US-led invasion and the toppling of Saddam.
Hammadi’s announcement came despite the killing of two Sunnis involved in the drafting which led to resignation of four other Sunni members of the commission and raised doubt about its ability to prepare the charter on time.
Dhamin Hussein and Aziz Ibrahim, among 15 prominent Sunnis from outside Parliament invited to work on the panel drafting the document, were gunned down in Baghdad Tuesday.
“The time is not right for writing the constitution and we think it is not possible for us to continue working in such an atmosphere,” said Salah Al-Mutlaq, a spokesman for the National Dialogue Council, which groups a number of small Sunni parties.
The minority Sunnis, who were dominant under Saddam, are under-represented in Parliament because they largely boycotted elections in January and are considered the backbone of the insurgency.
The Shiites and Kurds, who dominate Parliament and the government, are pushing to safeguard their interests and incorporate into the constitution their own vision of the future Iraq.
The Shiite bloc wants to give Islam a prominent role, while Kurds want a federal system granting them the northern oil city of Kirkuk.
The New York Times said the draft of the constitution was aiming to curtail women’s rights, impose the Shariah in personal matters like marriage, divorce and inheritance, as well as curb their representation in Parliament.
As Iraq remembered the dead from some of the worst bombings of a recent frenzy, rebels continued their attacks, with eight killed in the army recruiting center bombing and another seven in attacks elsewhere.
“I was standing opposite the entrance to the base, near the park, where those wanting to join up are expected to wait as a safety measure, when a fat young man wearing a gray T-shirt called out for everyone to come forward to answer questions on how the center worked,” said Rahim Ashuan, one of the would-be recruits.
