 An alliance of influential Sunni Muslims in Iraq said on Wednesday that it would not take part in drafting a constitution unless its community was given a fair number of seats on the committee working on the project.| "Fair" would be no seats at all, you self-involved, arrogant jerks. |
The Gathering of the Sunni People agreed at a conference to demand that 25 Sunni Arabs be named to the committee, on which 55 members of parliament now sit. The Shi'ite-led government has said it could expand the committee to accommodate more Sunnis -- at present only two have seats on the body.| You told 'The Gathering of the Shiacidal Sunni' not to vote, and they didn't. You should be grateful they even allow you in the same rooms with you. But gratitude is not a Sunni attribute, since their understanding is that the world owes them tribute. |
The government has promised Sunnis a prominent role in the political process despite the fact that few of the once-dominant minority took part in the January election which produced the present parliament, meaning there are few Sunni legislators.| I'm starting to really regret the "inclusiveness doctrine." The concessions that the Shia and Kurds have made to the Sunni have only increased the slaughter; and the rhetoric. |
"The number of our representatives must be 25 so that we have fair rights with the current constitutional committee," said the alliance in a resolution agreed by delegates. If the National Assembly rejects this we will resort to discussions with representatives between us. If they stick to their position we suggest suspending our participation and the concerned parties' bear the responsibility of not giving us the chance to participate."| "Yeah. It's always somebody else's fault. Remember, Allan helps those who can't help themselves." |
Any Sunni boycott of the constitutional process would deal a blow to the government's efforts to bring in more Sunnis in a strategy aimed at defusing the Sunni-led insurgency.Although they make up around 20 percent of the population and dominated Iraq during the rule of Saddam Hussein, Sunni Arabs have been left with minimal representation in parliament because many of them boycotted the Jan. 30 elections. There are 17 Sunni Arab lawmakers in Iraq's 275-member parliament. "The constitution cannot be drafted without the participation of all Iraqis. Any constitution written without that would not be legitimate," said the Sunni alliance.| "All our demands are legitimate. Our imam could look it up for you." |
Sunni Arabs have a potential veto under a rule written in to the U.N.-sponsored interim constitution at the insistence of the Kurdish minority concentrated in the north. The new text can be blocked if voters in three of Iraq's 18 provinces reject it in a referendum. Sunnis predominate in three provinces. Sunni demands for a greater role come at a time of intense guerrilla violence that has killed more than 800 people since the government was formed in late April and raised fears Iraq could be moving toward civil war. Iraqi officials have said the constitution will be ready by an Aug. 15 deadline even if Sunni Arabs are given time to choose representatives to help draft a document. Under Iraq's political timetable, once a constitution is written it must be approved by a referendum. If it is approved, a new general election will be held by the end of the year. |