I have recived this article that might be of interest to someone.
If you want to find more info about the constitution, and find a draft version of the document posted by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) go to:
http://electroniciraq.net/news/2151.shtml ---
News & Analysis
EIRAQ EXCLUSIVE:
LEAKED CONSTITUTION SETS SCENE FOR FOREIGN BASES, SECTARIAN TENSIONS
Tom Fox, Electronic Iraq, 27 September 2005
< http://electroniciraq.net/news/2166.shtml>
The draft constitution for Iraq that has been published in
the Western press has been widely reviewed and commented
upon by many individuals. There have been ongoing
revisions to the constitution. The most recent version was
released internally on Sept. 13th. This version has not
been disseminated to either Western or Iraqi press or to
the Iraqi public. CPT Iraq was sent a copy by a contact in
the government. While much of the document is similar and
most changes are more in terms of replacing a word or two
there are some significant differences.
Perhaps the most dramatic change is the omission of a
section of the "Transitional Provisions."
The published draft reads:
1. "It is forbidden for Iraq to be used as a base or
corridor for foreign troops."
2. "It is forbidden to have foreign military bases in
Iraq."
3. "The National Assembly can, when necessary, and with a
majority of two-thirds of its members allow events stated
in #1 and #2 to take place."
This provision is completely missing from the current
unpublished version.
Perhaps a more subtle change is in the "Fundamental
Principles" section. In the published draft, Article 2
states: "No law can be passed that contradicts the
undisputed rules of Islam." In the unpublished current
version, the article reads, "No law that contradicts the
established provisions of Islam may be established." Now
this may be splitting hairs but Iraqis have said that
"undisputed" would imply Islamic law that is recognized by
both Sunni and Shi'a. The word "established" would imply
that law that exists in one branch but not the other would
be considered the basis of national law. This could create
serious tensions if a Sunni or Shi'a were required to obey
a national law that is outside of their particular faith
tradition.
Financial issues play a major role in the constitution and
there is a significant contradiction in two sections of
the unpublished current version. In the "Powers of the
Regions" the second clause of Article 117 states, "Regions
and governorates shall be allocated an equitable share of
the national revenues [as a clarification oil revenue is
considered national revenue] sufficient to discharge its
responsibilities and duties." But there is an addition to
the unpublished current version in reference to oil and
gas revenues that states, "A quota shall be defined for a
specific time for affected regions that were deprived in
an unfair way by the former régime or later on." In other
words the Kurdish region or a new Shi'a region in the
south could get the lion's share of oil revenues for years
while the Sunni central region gets but a pittance.
This document is not available to the people of Iraq at
this time (Sept. 24th) and yet they will be asked to go to
the polls and vote on it in 23 days. Is this democracy or
yet another chapter in the ongoing saga of sectarian and
religious divisiveness in the country?
