I 2 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 15, 2005 Sunnis pressured to accept Iraq constitutioni Federalism, sharing oil revenue and the role of Islam remain hang-ups just days before constitution deadline BAGHDAD, Iraq - American and U.N. diplomats stepped up pressure Saturday on Sunni Arabs to accept a new constitution with only two days before the deadline for its approval. A top Sunni official said his group would never accept terms that would lead to the division of the country. President Jalal Talabani predicted a draft consti- tution will be ready by Monday's deadline, and a Kurdish official said the draft would be presented to parliament with or without Sunni approval. With time running out, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and U.N. envoy Ashraf Qazi met separate- ly with Sunni leaders but failed to persuade them to accept a federal system. "We will not be subdued and will continue to cling to our stance," Sunni negotiator Kamal Hamdoun said. "We don't accept federalism ... We don't want federalism. We are confident that federalism means division and federalism cannot be approved at this time." The final negotiations on the document - a key part ofthe political process the United States is count- ing on to curb a Sunni-dominated insurgency - took place against the backdrop of continuing violence. Bombs and gunfights killed at least 12 people, and a U.S. armored vehicle was set ablaze in eastern Baghdad. No American casualties were reported. In his weekly radio address, President Bush said Saturday that the Iraqi constitution "is a critical step on the path to Iraqi self-reliance." Talabani told reporters that negotiations were con- centrating on the question of whether to transform Iraq into a federal system and the role of Islam. Sun- nis have accepted the 14-year-old Kurdish self-ruled area in the north but do not want to see the system repeated elsewhere. "We have gone forward," Talabani said. "There is a meeting today and another meeting tomorrow and God willing we will finish the job tomorrow" - one day ahead of the dead- line for parliament to approve the charter. Negotiations were thrown into a tailspin Thursday when the leader of the biggest Shiite party, Abdul- Aziz al-Hakim, called for a Shiite autonomous gov- ernment in central and southern Iraq, including the southern oil fields. That enraged Sunni Arab del- egates, who fear federalism will lead to the disinte- gration of Iraq. Hamdoun said the Sunnis did not consider them- selves bound by an agreement worked out between the Shiites and Kurds. He said the Sunni Arabs were under "Iraqi and non-Iraqi pressure" but "we are not affected by pressure." Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish parliamentarian and member of the committee drafting the constitu- tion, said the Shiites and Kurds had reached a num- ber of agreements and were working to persuade the Sunnis to join them. But, he cautioned, "If the Sunnis refuse to accept the agreements, we will present the draft as it is to the National Assembly." That strategy could backfire, however, in the Oct. 15 referendum when voters will be asked to ratify the constitution. According to the country's interim charter, the constitution will be void if it is rejected by two-thirds of voters in three of the 18 provinces. Sunni Arabs are a majority in four. Sunni Arabs were to meet Sunday with members of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's secular party while the Shiites were to confer with Kurds, Iraqi officials said, adding that Khalilzad was expected to attend both sessions. Othman said Kurds and Shiites had agreed that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, third from left, speaks with former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, second left, on At 14. As of Sunday, the new Iraqi constitution had yet to be approved. ; j j ; s ! 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