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| Official: Iraq Council May Miss Deadline |
| 2004-02-25 |
| The Iraqi Governing Council may not meet the Feb. 28 deadline to draft a temporary law that would help govern Iraq until a formal constitution is adopted, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said Tuesday. No surprise here. Under an agreement with the U.S.-led coalition now running Iraq, the council was to complete the drafting the temporary measure by the end of February as part of a timetable for restoring Iraqi sovereignty by June 30. But Negroponte told the U.N. Security Council that the drafting is nearing completion, but it may not be finished on time. "The Iraqis have made significant progress towards the completion of the law and continue to work hard toward the achievement of the Feb. 28 deadline, although it is not certain that that deadline will be met exactly," he said. The temporary constitution is to include a bill of rights, guarantees of due process, a federal arrangement for Iraq and assurances of an independent judiciary and civilian control over the Iraqi military and security forces. It is also to include a timetable for adopting a constitution and holding national elections. But several contentious issues have delayed final approval. A fundamentalist Sunni member of the Governing Council made an unsuccessful effort to insert language making Islam the foundation for the Iraqi legal code. U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer has said he would not allow the U.S.-appointed Governing Council to adopt a basic law or constitution that was based upon Islamic law. No. I mean it. Next question." Kurds have demanded that the interim charter include guarantees of Kurdish autonomy, something the United States and its Iraqi partners would prefer to see resolved during next year’s convention to draft a permanent constitution. In addition, the Governing Council has been caught up in a debate over choosing a transitional government. The Nov. 15 agreement called for caucuses to choose a national assembly that would select an interim government, but following a U.N. fact-finding mission caucuses and elections have been ruled out. A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday that U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi would probably head to Iraq next month to help come up with a solution on setting up a caretaker government if Iraqis and the coalition can’t find one themselves. A report Monday from a U.N. team led by Brahimi said Iraq could hold direct elections for a new government by January 2005 if preparations for them began immediately and a series of conditions were met, including establishment of "a secure environment." I can’t imagine they’ll pull that off, but if it keeps Sistani quiet, fine. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday that U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi would probably head to Iraq next month to help come up with a solution on setting up a caretaker government if Iraqis and the coalition can’t find one themselves That should light a fire under the Iraqi's to cooperate and get it done. |
| Posted by: B 2004-2-25 6:35:31 PM |