U.S. envoy says 'edits' to Iraq constitution likely

Concern over Arab identity
One of the Sunni objections to the draft was that it identified Iraq as an “Islamic” but not Arab country — a concession to the non-Arab Kurds. But many Sunnis felt the change threatened the nation’s ties to the Arab world and lumped Iraqis together with non-Arab, Shiite-dominated Iran.

Concern about the constitution’s impact on Iraq’s identity and role in the Arab world was shared by Iraq’s Arab neighbors.

In Cairo, an aide to Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said officials were trying to contact Iraqi authorities “to ensure that the Arabism of Iraq is stressed in the Iraqi constitution that will be put to a referendum.”

“We think that the phrasing that had been reached earlier did not satisfy the Arab world and has caused grave worries,” said the aide, Hisham Youssef, adding that the wording “weakened (Iraq’s) belonging to the Arab world.”

Youssef said there were “contacts and we’re hoping for the best.”

In Baghdad, Saleh al-Mutlaq, a Sunni negotiator, said rumored plans to add a reference to Iraq’s Arab League membership would not be enough to overcome Sunni objections.

He said the Sunnis were demanding “clear wording saying that Iraq is part of the Arab nation” but the main sticking point “is federalism,” which they fear would lead to the breakup of the country.

'Anti-constitution front'
Al-Mutlaq called on all Iraqi sects and ethnic groups to set aside their differences “to form an anti-constitution front.”

On Tuesday, hundreds of Sunnis rallied three miles north of Ramadi to denounce the proposed constitution.

Protesters carried portraits of former dictator Saddam Hussein and al-Sadr, who also opposes the draft, along with banners reading “No to federalism, no to dividing Iraq.”

Sunni Arabs form about 20 percent of Iraq’s 27 million people but are the majority in four of the 18 provinces. Under elections rules, a “no” vote by a two-thirds majority in any three provinces would defeat the referendum.

In other developments Tuesday:

• Gunmen shot and killed two Iraqi police colonels in separate attacks in Baghdad and the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, authorities said.
• A suicide car bomber struck a police patrol in the city of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, killing two officers, a spokesman said.

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