BAGHDAD, 8 August 2005 — At least 39 people were killed in attacks across the country yesterday as Iraq’s president announced a series of meetings of political leaders to negotiate issues holding up completion of the new constitution.
Legislators have vowed to have the country’s post-Saddam Hussein constitution ready by Aug. 15, despite at least 18 unresolved issues including the country’s official name, the role of Islam, a definition of federalism and the future of oil-rich Kirkuk. The goal of the meetings is to “deploy the necessary efforts to reach a consensus,” President Jalal Talabani told reporters late yesterday, as leaders arrived for the meeting at his Baghdad residence.
A second meeting bringing in figures from outside Parliament was set for today, Talabani said. “We cannot reach solutions for all the outstanding issues tonight, but we will continue the meetings until a complete resolution is met,” he said. “We are in a race against the clock,” Mahmud Othman, a member of the constitutional drafting committee, told AFP ahead of the meeting, adding that there was “great US and British pressure” to meet the Aug. 15 deadline.
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad issued a statement yesterday in which he wished Iraqi leaders “all the best” in their negotiations.
“All sides will need to make compromises, but should feel that their essential needs are met,” he said.
Personalities at the meeting include a leader of the conservative Shiite Arab majority in Parliament, Abdel Aziz Hakim, and Sunni Vice President Ghazi Al-Yawar.
The arrival of the president of the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, was delayed by a sandstorm that struck Baghdad yesterday.
