Iraq constitution drafters get 1-day extension

Also Thursday, gunmen opened fire on cars owned by President Jalal Talabani, killing eight of his bodyguards and wounding 15, a security official said. Talabani, a Kurd, was not in any of the cars when the attack occurred in a mixed Shiite-Sunni area north of Baghdad.

Provinces can shoot down charter
Although the constitution requires only a simple majority in the referendum, if two-thirds of the voters in any three of Iraq’s 18 provinces vote against it, the charter will be defeated.

Sunni Arabs are about 20 percent of the national population but form the majority in at least four provinces. Sunni clerics have begun urging their followers to vote down the charter in the referendum if Sunni interests are not served.

But some Shiites have expressed doubt that the Sunnis could muster a two-thirds majority in enough provinces. Each of the Sunni-dominated provinces contains Shiite and Kurdish communities, and there is no requirement in the law for a minimum turnout.

Federalism has become the most contentious issue, underscoring the vastly different experience of the three major communities during the Saddam era.

Sunnis, who profited as a community under Saddam’s centralized regime, fear federalism will lead to the dismemberment of the country and make Iraq vulnerable to threats by stronger neighbors like Shiite-dominated Iran, with whom the Shiite parties maintain close links but which fought a 1980-1988 war with Iraq.

Shiites and Kurds bitterly recall decades of oppression at the hands of Saddam and believe federalism is the best way to prevent a new dictator.

Shiites divided
However, the Shiite community is also divided, and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr shares Sunni objections to federalism and other parts of the draft. He may well join forces with the Sunnis in the referendum. Al-Sadr’s followers have joined Sunni hard-liners in recent protests against the constitution.

Alaa Al-marjani / AP Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr speaks to the media in his house in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, on Thursday

Al-Sadr’s potential role was thrown into sharp focus Wednesday when clashes broke out between his followers and those of the biggest Shiite party after a brawl in front of his office in Najaf left four dead and the building in flames.

Al-Sadr’s followers blamed the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, which holds key posts in the government and on the constitutional committee. Fighting occurred in major Shiite cities including Basra, Amarah, Kut, Samawah and Nasiriyah.

On Thursday, however, al-Sadr called on his followers to end the clashes in the interest of Shiite unity. In calling for calm, al-Sadr, who led two uprisings against U.S. forces last year, urged “all believers to spare the blood of the 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 SCIRI, condemn “what his followers have done.”

“I urge the believers not to attack innocent civilians and not to fall for American plots that aim to divide us,” al-Sadr said. “We are passing through a critical period and a political process.”

SCIRI denied any role in the attack on al-Sadr’s office and issued a statement urging an end to the bloodshed — also calling it “a plot that targets our unity.”

MORE FROM MIDEAST & N. AFRICA

Mideast & N. Africa Section Front

Reports: Iran protesters ‘savagely attacked’ Ahmadinejad dismisses nuclear deal deadline Destination of N. Korean arms cache is murky Ex-UK royal harpist handled stolen goods General: No trials of pregnant soldiers in Iraq Mediator in prisoner swap meets with Hamas in Gaza First Jesus-era house found in Nazareth Newsweek: Montazeri’s death rallies opposition World Blog: ElBaradei rattles official Egypt Mideast & N. Africa Section Front   Add Mideast & N. Africa headlines to your news reader: