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US timetable for new Iraqi constitution can be `unrealistic`
New York, Oct 10: The American timetable for a new Iraqi Constitution to be written in six months could prove `unrealistic,` given the sharp differences among Shiite Islamists, Kurd and Sunni Arabs, a media report said.
New York, Oct 10: The American timetable for a new Iraqi Constitution to be written in six months could prove "unrealistic," given the sharp differences among Shiite Islamists, Kurd and Sunni Arabs, a media report said.
It reported that interviews with members of the governing council and aides this week reveal a sharp divide within the council.
Shiite Islamists want a national vote for a constitutional convention and the Kurds and Sunni Arabs worry their interests would be drowned out by a sea of Shiite voices, 'The Christian Science Monitor' said. For the US, this points to a much longer constitutional drafting process than six months, and probably a longer stay in Iraq. "Colin Powell's timetable is completely unrealistic,'' says Mowaffak al-Rubaie, an independent Shiite member of the council, was quoted as saying.
Iraqis, according to the paper, say the struggle has high stakes. "The battle over the constitution is going to be the most important battle of my life,'' says Kurdish rebel leader-turned-politician Noshirwan, who led the assault on the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk in a 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein's regime.
Bureau Report
Shiite Islamists want a national vote for a constitutional convention and the Kurds and Sunni Arabs worry their interests would be drowned out by a sea of Shiite voices, 'The Christian Science Monitor' said. For the US, this points to a much longer constitutional drafting process than six months, and probably a longer stay in Iraq. "Colin Powell's timetable is completely unrealistic,'' says Mowaffak al-Rubaie, an independent Shiite member of the council, was quoted as saying.
Iraqis, according to the paper, say the struggle has high stakes. "The battle over the constitution is going to be the most important battle of my life,'' says Kurdish rebel leader-turned-politician Noshirwan, who led the assault on the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk in a 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein's regime.
Bureau Report