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.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS