By Samir Haddad, IOL Correspondent
BAGHDAD, June 11, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Iraq's Sunni Arabs have threatened to seek UN arbitration over a deadlock on their representation in the 55-member committee tasked with writing the constitution.
"We have not received yet a response from the National Assembly but we will not accept less than 25 members in the constitution-drafting committee," Adnan Dulaimi, chairman of the Sunni Waqfs body and a spokesman for Iraqi's Sunnis, told IslamOnline.net on Saturday, June 11.
"If our demand is snubbed we would seek arbitration," he said, adding the job requires a fully neutral party such as the United Nations.
Some 150 Sunni delegates stressed on Wednesday, June 8, that Sunni Arabs should be represented by least 25 people in the constitution-drafting committee.
They threatened to suspend their participating in the writing of the new constitution if their demand was rejected by the 275-member National Assembly.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Thursday backed their demand.
"We decided to include 25 Sunni members in the constitutional drafting commission with full rights like the other members elected by parliament," he told reporters.
However, a Shiite member of the parliamentary committee warned that such a number may be impractical.
"Bringing in 25 members would distort the body's balance. We are talking about adding 13," said MP Ali Dabbagh.
Main Sunni powers, along with other political groups, shunned the January general elections election, leaving Shiites and Kurds dominating the parliament.
Sunnis running as independents or members of other parties won only 17 seats in the parliament.
Islam & Constitution
In another related development, the Iraqi Islamic Party, the leading Sunni political power, stressed that the constitution must recognize Islam as "the main source of legislation" and that there should be no treaties with the occupier.
"We are also seeking a compromise acceptable to all Iraqis instead of mobilizing Sunni Arabs to vote down the draft constitution," Ammar Wageih Al-Abidine, the party's media officer, told IOL.
The constitution-drafting committee has an August 15 deadline but has the option of announcing a one-off six-month delay by August 1.
The document is due to be put to referendum by October 15 ahead of elections to choose a fully mandated government by December 15.
Anti-occupation Sunni powers said in February they might use the veto weapon if they were marginalized in drafting the constitution by the Shiites and the Kurds.
Under rules agreed last year, an October referendum to ratify that draft will fail if two-thirds of the voters in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces give it the thumbs-down.
If it is approved, a new general election will be held by the end of the year.