The UN must not endorse Iraq's US-backed interim constitution because it could lead to the break-up of the occupied country, Iraq's most influential Shiite Muslim cleric said.
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said he will boycott a UN team expected to visit Iraq shortly to advise on forming an interim government unless the UN says it will not back the interim constitution.
"The [Shiite] religious establishment fears the occupation authorities will work to include this law in a new UN resolution to give it international legitimacy," Sistani said in a letter sent last week to Lakhdar Brahimi, a senior adviser to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan who had led a mission to Iraq.
A transcript of Sistani's letter was made available to reporters yesterday.
"We warn that any such step will not be acceptable to the majority of Iraqis and will have dangerous consequences," said the 73-year-old cleric, who has been assuming a larger role in politics although he does not favor a theocracy in Iraq.
Annan said last week he would send a team to Iraq as soon as possible to help form an interim government in response to an invitation from the US-installed Iraqi Governing Council.
Sistani had criticised Brahimi and Annan for a report they wrote, which agreed with US authorities that general elections needed months of preparation and were not feasible considering a lack of security.
The Shiites wanted elections before June 30, the date Washington set to hand back sovereignty to an unelected Iraqi government.
The report angered Sistani and millions of his followers eager to take power after political dominance over Iraq by Sunni Arabs.
Under the interim constitution, which was passed earlier this month, elections are due by next year.
Sistani said the interim constitution was unworkable because it establishes a three-person presidential council composed of a Sunni Muslim, a Kurd and a Shiite Muslim who would be required to take unanimous decisions.
"This builds a basis for sectarianism. Consensus would not be reached unless there is pressure from a foreign power, or a deadlock would be reached that destabilises the country and could lead to break-up," Sistani said.
Shiites form a majority in Iraq but are a minority among Muslims worldwide.
The interim constitution, which was passed earlier this month, limits the power of Shi'ites by giving Sunni and Kurdish provinces a de facto veto over national legislation.
Sistani's followers said he allowed his supporters on the Iraqi Governing Council to endorse the constitution to preserve national unity as Iraq remained under US-led occupation and lacked stability.
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