BAGHDAD, 26 August 2005 — Iraqi factional leaders struggled again to reach a consensus on a new constitution before a self-imposed target of midnight yesterday, but Parliament did not meet and some officials said there was no plan for a future session on the charter.
Sunni Arabs stuck by their opposition to the draft.
The negotiators tried to reach an agreement on a draft by the close of a 72-hour extension announced Monday night by the Parliament speaker after Sunni Arabs refused to accept a charter approved by Shiites and Kurds.
The National Assembly’s top spokesman, Bishro Ibrahim, had said the Parliament had no plans for a session yesterday.
Late yesterday, Sunni negotiator Kamal Hamdoun said top Shiite leaders did not even show up at a meeting set for a few hours before midnight “so we decided to leave.”
“Our decision is the same,” Hamdoun said. “This constitution is not legitimate. They are acting according to the law of the force instead of force of the law. We call on all Iraqis to vote no in the constitutional referendum.”
Earlier, a Shiite cleric called on followers to end clashes with Shiite rivals, one day after his office in the holy city of Najaf was burned and four of his supporters were killed. In calling for calm, Moqtada Sadr urged “all believers to spare the blood of Muslims and to return to their homes.”
“I will not forget this attack on the office... but Iraq is passing through a critical and difficult period that requires unity,” he told reporters in his home in Najaf.
He demanded that Abdul-Aziz Al-Hakim, leader of the rival Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, condemn “what his followers have done.” SCIRI has denied any role in the attack on Sadr’s office, issuing a statement urging an end to the bloodshed, which it also called “a plot that targets our unity.”
The crisis began Wednesday when Sadr’s supporters tried to reopen his office across the street from the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf. Rivals tried to stop them, fights erupted and the office was set afire.
Sadr criticized portions of the draft constitution, saying it was not strong enough against Saddam Hussein’s Baath party. Sadr also spoke out against federalism. “We reject federalism and if America has schemes, it should not try to implement those schemes,” Sadr added.
Also yesterday, the bodies of 36 men — all but one wearing traditional Kurdish baggy trousers — were discovered in a dry river bed near the Iranian border. All had been shot in the head execution-style and some were cuffed, police added.
The bodies, discovered near Badrah southeast of Baghdad, were found about 9.30 a.m., Col. Ali Al-Kuraishi said. He said police estimated the men were killed within the last three days since one had a paper in his pocket dated last Monday. The area southeast of Baghdad has witnessed killings in the past between Shiites and Sunni Arabs. However, only one body was found wearing traditional Arab robes, suggesting all the victims this time were Kurds.
Iraqi leaders seen to be cooperating with the US-led coalition have been frequent targets for attack and yesterday gunmen attacked cars owned by President Jalal Talabani, killing eight of his bodyguards and wounding 15. Talabani was not in any of the cars when the attack occurred 90 km south of Kirkuk. The cars were returning to Baghdad from Kurdistan when attacked.
