Moussa told the BBC that the Arab League shared Sunni Muslim concerns over federalism and the fact the charter does not identify Iraq as an Arab country.
Shiite and Kurdish officials have endorsed the document on Sunday. But Sunni politicians refused to sign it, and delivered their rejection in a joint statement, describing the final text as “illegitimate” and urging the Arab League and the United Nations to intervene before the document goes to a referendum on October 15.
The Sunnis fear that federalism could split the country into a Kurdish north and Shiite south, depriving them of the country's oil resources.
“I think if this constitution passes as it is, it will worsen everything in the country,” said Saleh Al Mutlaq, a Sunni negotiator.
On Monday, more than 2,000 Sunni demonstrators rallied in Tikrit, the hometown of the ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, to protest the new constitution, AP reported.
The protesters gathered near the office of the Association of Muslims Scholars, a Sunni group opposed to the U.S. occupation, carrying Iraqi flags and portraits of Saddam Hussein, as well as pictures of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Jawad Al Khalisi who joined the Sunnis in rejecting the charter.
“We sacrifice our souls and blood for you, Saddam,” chanted the demonstrators.
Sheik Yahya Ibrahim Al Batawi, an organizer of the rally, read a statement denouncing the draft constitution, saying that it would divide Iraq along sectarian and ethnic lines.
- "Arab identity"
"I share the concerns of many Iraqis about the lack of consensus on the constitution," Moussa told the BBC's World Today programme.
He also said he was concerned that the charter denies Iraq's "Arab identity".
"I do not believe in this division between Shiite and Sunni and Muslims and Christians and Arabs and Kurds," he said. "I don't buy this and I find in this a true recipe for chaos and perhaps a catastrophe in Iraq and around it."
On Sunday, the U.S. President George W. Bush expressed disappointment that the Sunnis didn’t sign the charter, but hailed other politicians for finishing the constitution and said that the referendum will be a chance for the Iraqis to "set the foundation for a permanent Iraqi government".
"Of course there's disagreement. We're watching a political process unfold, a process that's encouraged debate and compromise," he said.
It is possible that the charter may never be enforced. To be authorized, the document must be approved by a majority of voters across Iraq, as well as not being rejected by two-thirds of voters in at least three or more of Iraq's 18 provinces.
Correspondents say the Sunnis dominate four provinces and thus they have the power to block it.
However, the Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni political group, said it would do all what it can to adjust the constitution before the October referendum.
"We have not signed the constitution and we still have the time starting from now until the referendum comes," party spokesman Tareq al-Hashemi told a press conference. "We might say yes to the constitution if the disputed points are resolved."
- Talabani won't sign Saddam's death sentence
Meanwhile, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani said that he wouldn’t sign a death sentence against Saddam Hussein even if it costs him his job, AFP reported.
"Once his (Saddam's) interrogation is over, he will go before a tribunal," Talabani said, adding that If the tribunal issues a death sentence against him, "I will not sign it,"
"I am a man of principles. I cannot forego my principles for the sake of my post. If there is a clash between the post and the principles, I will give up the post and keep the principles," Talabani said.
In other developments,
- Two missiles struck the parking lot of the Oil Ministry building in Baghdad, injuring one employee and destroying many cars, police said.
- Unknown gunmen shot dead Brig. Gen. Numan Salman Faris, director of the district rapid response force in Baghdad’s Azamiyah district.
- The Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni political group, accused the government's Shiite-led security forces of being responsible for the recent killings of 36 Sunnis.