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Top Sunni warns against federalism

A leading Sunni Arab helping write Iraq's constitution yesterday said that accepting Kurdish demands for federalism would have "grave consequences" for the nation and that the issue should be left for a new parliament to be elected in December.

Saleh al-Mutlaq spoke as Iraqi political leaders prepared to resume talks last night in a bid to finalize the charter, which parliament must approve by next week's deadline. A second round of talks was postponed by a severe sandstorm on Monday.

Al-Mutlaq said yesterday's meeting was to concentrate on federalism. He said the Sunni Arab bloc might formally submit a proposal to delay a decision on the contentious issue until the new parliament takes office.

"I think they will accept it because there is no alternative. We will not accept federalism in these circumstances," said al-Mutlaq, who, like most Sunni Arabs, fears that federalism might divide Iraq.

Sunni Arabs are expected to take a bigger role in the elections planned for Dec. 15. Many of them boycotted the Jan. 30 vote following calls by religious leaders and threats by insurgents.

Sunnis, who make up 20 percent of Iraq's population, currently hold only 17 seats of the 275-member parliament.

The Kurds, who have enjoyed self-rule in the north since 1991, have demanded that the new constitution codify federalism to prevent a future government from curbing Kurdish autonomy.

However, al-Mutlaq said that if the Kurdish demands are met, "they will have grave consequences." He did not elaborate, but the strong language underscores the depth of passion which the issue of federalism evokes on both sides.

Al-Mutlaq also called for more political groups to join the constitutional discussions because the future of Iraq is at stake.

It was unclear whether Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and an outspoken champion of federalism, was to attend yesterday's meeting.

Meanwhile, at least 10 Iraqi policemen were shot dead in five separate attacks in Baghdad yesterday, an Interior Ministry official said. The attacks all took place between 7:30am and 9am.

In one attack, four policemen on patrol were killed by insurgents with automatic weapons on a major highway in the eastern part of the capital.

In the southern Baghdad district of Doura, a police captain and his driver were killed, and in nearby Zafaraniya an officer in the Interior Ministry's Major Crimes Unit was shot dead in his car.

Two police officers were gunned down in eastern Baghdad's Zayouna district, and gunmen shot dead one policeman and wounded three in another attack.
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